Present, Perfect

While Erica Allar (Team Vera Bradley Foundation) and I have remained in touch over the years, it had been some time since we actually shared some decent face time. But that changed this past month as I was able to catch up with her in Arlington, Virginia, the site of her Clarendon Cup victory last year, for the 2010 Air Force Cycling Classic.

Kind and sensitive, intelligent and quick-witted, and easily approachable as well as to laugh, Erica has always surprised me with her uncanny ability to stay in the present. Whether it is a by-product of a good upbringing or something inherent in her personality, but as we switched from topics ranging from Lil’ Wayne’s grill to the complexities of being employed as a professional cyclist, there was never a question of whether or not Erica was engaged in those instantaneous moments that make up a conversation. In this overly processed and digitally connected world, it is a characteristic that is not only refreshing, but also serves her well in the trenches of the women’s peloton, where focus and staying attentive is vital to one’s success, and on this day in June, even one’s livelihood.

Lenny B (LB): It has often been said that “You have to learn to follow before you can lead.” Where do you see your development in that equation?

Erica Allar (EA): There is no doubt in my mind that, like many things in life and especially with cycling for an ‘up-and-comer’ athlete- we must learn a majority of our knowledge from those who precede us. I am lucky to have a coach who has been involved in this sport for a very long time. He has experienced racing from juniors all the way to the Olympics. His input and knowledge is very “learn to follow before leading”. He has had plenty of experience and has been through a lot of different scenarios. There is such an abundance of knowledge that comes from his own personal experience that he can teach not just myself but the other athletes he coaches as well, important lessons and vital details as we all climb the hill to success. I also believe that never mind the fact that I may not always be on the same team as some of the other women; I have had great opportunities to watch, observe and race against or with great racers like Tina Pic, Laura Van Gilder and Ina Teutenberg. By learning from my coach and observing these other great racers (even watching video of the Tour de France and other big races) I am able to learn from the best of the best. All of these things help me follow in the footsteps of the great riders I look up to. When I think about it, this sport is quite amazing. It’s a constant learning environment. Before I am in a position to be successful, give back and teach the youngsters of the sport I must learn, watch, observe, interpret and follow the most successful racers in the sport. It all comes full circle and I feel it’s a necessary component of success in cycling.

LB: What are your greatest strength(s) as a rider?

EA: It is no secret that in cycling the strongest, best, fastest rider does not always win the race. There are big races that are won in under-dog moments. Those times are beautiful in my opinion; and it is just one of the many aspects to this sport that helps make cycling the exciting and multifaceted sport that it is. I developed early on racing on the velodrome. I have good bike handling skills, am tactically smart and know how to be as efficient as possible in most race situations. I prefer a technical criterium but fancy some fun road races as well. My ability to conserve energy and stay out of the wind while maintaining position really allows me to (hopefully) be in the right place at the right time when the end of the race approaches. It is no secret that I am not the most powerful or strongest racer in the circuit; however, I have a certain level of strength and skill ability that makes me a threat in most race situations.

LB: Cycling, it has been said, is pain. Many like to serve it up, but few enjoy enduring it. Do you think that is what separates a good rider from a truly great rider? How do you cope with the pain during a race and what is your tolerance to it?

EA: In all honesty, I have firsthand experience when it comes to cycling and the amount of pain it takes to be successful. I don’t mean that I am great sufferer and accept the pain with open arms. On the contrary, when I first began riding I wasn’t very good. I didn’t understand that this sport was all about a racers personal pain threshold and how much hurt someone can inflict on their own body. Cycling can be a great weekend hobby or given the right amount of sting, it can be one of the toughest sports out there. There is a necessary amount of strength, skill and power needed to be successful; however, the pain cave and the ability to live in it day after day is most definitely a factor that makes a good rider, a great rider. When I am racing it is easier for me to accept the pain as part of the race. I look around the field and see my competition and know what I am personally capable of. As a race finisher and/or sprinter I don’t often chase down breaks or race as the much appreciated “work horses”, though knowing there are a group of girls who back each other up and in a field sprint situation are counting on me, it is simple to deal with pain.

LB: Bumps, bruises and scrapes come with the territory. You have had your fair share of battle wounds, is there an occasion that sticks out in your mind?

EA: There is one particular moment that I won’t ever forget. It was in 2008 when I was racing the Visalia Criterium with my first pro team Aaron’s. It was a great crit course and a crash in turn 3 on the inside caused a domino effect to the outside of the field. It took out at least half of the field, if not more! I was going around the corner and had girls sliding out in front me. In order to miss falling down I never turned. I actually went straight toward a curb. I somehow realized I was going to hit the curb and bunny hopped it and ‘end-oed’ right into a bush. I didn’t think I would be hurt but after I crawled my way out of the shrubbery I was in a fair amount of pain. The reason it was so memorable was because I went to the pit and had leaves and branches poking out of my shoes, helmet and my bike. I walked into the pit limping and my director at the time (Carmen D) didn’t think I’d be able to get back in. I pulled the trees out of my equipment and did a cross mount on my bike to get back in. I ended up going down again in the last turn on the last lap as well but that crash was a lot less eventful, mostly just disappointing. Jumping the curb into a bush despite the pain was really quite humorous! I can only imagine what that would look like on video!

LB: You have ridden for and with some of great cycling people. Do you have any cycling role models?

EA: I love Lance [Armstrong]. [Laughs] Well, Lance is great. He is a voice and a recognizable entity in the sport of cycling. He is great; though we’ve never met in person! In all reality I really appreciate Rebecca Twigg and the success that she experienced on both the road and the track. I also appreciate watching Ina Teutenberg race because she is so unrelenting and I think what Evie Stevens has accomplished between last season and this season is just awesome. Her personal success and the impact she has for women’s cycling is really fantastic.

LB: You have been on both ends of the spectrum in the ever evolving world of women’s cycling. What do you think about the current state women’s cycling? Are there things that you would change?

EA: These are all very good questions. I don’t have just one simple answer when it comes to my opinion about the current state of women’s cycling. I do believe that as women we train and race just as much, as hard and as passionately as the men do. As a 24 year old (racing age 25) in this sport I find it shocking that women’s cycling lacks the amount of support it takes to develop the younger riders. On many of the men’s teams there must be a certain number of U27 riders to fill the team roster. The lack of support straight across the board in women’s cycling does not allow our field to have many of those young riders. When there is not much support for the developing girls and the time comes to choose between cycling and college, college may take precedence. The well-established, already promised riders who have been around and are a guaranteed investment for teams and their sponsors receive the support. I will be forever grateful to Carmen D’Aluisio for being the first director to take a chance on me and sign me to my first pro team in 2008 (Aaron’s). I was an unknown rider who in 2007 was trying to prove herself worthy. Carmen saw it and took a chance. I would not have been able to accomplish the results I got in 2007 without the help of Pat Marzi and James Carney. They made it a point to support not just myself but a few other young riders and help us develop the potential they saw in us. I’ve been very lucky and I know not everyone has the same opportunities that I did and that is really sad to me.

LB: Some would argue that it’s not the product but in how you market it. As it pertains to women’s cycling, how would you market the sport? Along those lines, what is appropriate?

EA: In terms of how I would market this sport? Women. I am a woman. I race against women. I relate to other women and as a member of Team Vera Bradley Foundation I am now a voice to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer- something that affects so many women every day. I feel like I am a role model to young girls and I personally, can have a positive impact on women. The relationship between cyclists like myself and other women is a huge factor. I believe that a lady who wants to ride will be more motivated and more accepting of the bike if she can connect with the other women who ride. Men’s cycling already draws the attention of females. Other males want to be like the male cyclists to attract females. Women need to relate to the sport in a way that is not intimidating. There needs to be an association attached to the sport that allows what can be interpreted as a masculine activity to maintain some level of femininity for women. I think Vera Bradley getting involved in women’s cycling is a great way for women to relate to the sport in away that relatable, motivational, not intimidating while being accessible and fun.

LB: What are your short-term goals as a cyclist…long-term goals? What are your goals in life, outside of cycling?

EA: I want to learn how to rap. I learned how to do a track stand a few years ago so I’m pretty satisfied….
My short-term goals as a cyclist consist mostly of me continuing my development, to keep learning and grow exponentially as a cyclist. I want to put a stamp on domestic racing and become a consistent name in the results. After that, I see myself doing some of the big Euro races and maybe even pursuing some world level events. I came into the sport racing on the Velodrome so track racing has a special place in my heart. It’s where I learned all my skills (as well as skills learned in our top secret ninja class). I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t think about World Cups, Worlds and the Olympics.

In life - I want to be in a position to give back. Not just in cycling though it’s a major focus- but in general. Cycling has a tendency to be a selfish sport and offsetting the self-absorbed nature by giving back to others is something I believe in. Not to be completely cheesy, but the merit of Team Vera Bradley Foundation is one that is so beyond all of us, I find it to be the perfect place to start! I’ve had my own version of Mr. Miyagi in life. I’ve had a good example of what it means to give back. I want to be the karate kid.

LB: What is one thing that most people don’t know about you?

EA: I think that feet are the most disgusting, appalling, nasty, horrific things in the world. I don’t care who you are or how pretty you think your feet are; your feet are gross. They aren’t cute.

LB: Ten things you currently cannot live without?

EA: 1. Ricky Martin, 2. Chocolate Cake, 3. My Dad and Mom, 4. Cats, 5. Music/iPod, 6. The Sun, 7. 111, 8. Laughter, 9. Red wine, and 10. Food and sleep (I get really grouchy when I don’t have those 2 things so it’s better for everyone if I don’t live without them! It’s all about giving back! [Laughs]

Part I - On The Rise | Part II - Transitions

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Photos: Leonard Basobas/LB Photos

Transitions

Change, as they say, is inevitable. For many of us, the biggest transition usually occurs some time after our last final exam when we are finally thrust into a world without the structure, and constraints, of academia. Change can occur at lightning speed and in many instances, all at once during this important juncture of our lives. In Erica Allar’s case, it was a combination of both.

At the same time that Erica was completing her degree in Letters, Arts and Sciences with an emphasis in Organizational Leadership from Penn State University and planning a post-baccalaureate move to North Carolina, Aaron’s Corporate Furnishings, a long lived and stable sponsor of women’s cycling, chose not to renew the sponsorship of their women’s professional cycling team.

The departure of Aaron’s was but the first in a series of events that changed the domestic women’s cycling scene that year, and the domino effect left Erica, and the rest of her Aaron’s teammates, scrambling. She was fortunate to land with another high profile team, Colavita-Sutter Home, for the 2009 season. But shortly after she debuted in their team colors at the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Criterium, Erica transferred over to the North Carolina based team BMW-Bianchi.

With a more tenable situation, she would garner victories at two National Racing Calendar events; the Air Force Cycling Classic in Arlington, Virginia and later at the Nature Valley Grand Prix as a guest rider for ValueAct Capital. But after another tectonic shift in the landscape of women’s cycling, Erica found herself on a new, but familiar team, Team Vera Bradley Foundation, formerly ValueAct Capital, for 2010.

Lenny B (LB): Last year was one of transitions for you, in many ways. Can you talk about that a bit?

Erica Allar (EA): Last year was a learning experience and a blessing. This sport relies heavily on foundation and building year after year. Last year was a building year and I’m very much so looking forward to the 2010 race season with Team Vera Bradley Foundation while adding to the foundation that I’ve got. I really believe this season is going to be great and part of it is a result of me coming into my own a little more. I know I have a long way to go and I still have an immense amount of learning to do. I feel as though it will be easier to keep things in perspective and not let what is truly important get lost in translation. Last year’s transitions allowed me to come out of my shell a little, dip my toes into the chocolate frosting and know myself a little more. I have big plans and while I figure all of them out I am going to race my bike and raise money for the Vera Bradley Foundation.

LB: You rode as a guest rider for ValueAct Capital (Team VBF) last year, pulling off a great win during the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Was that your most significant win to date? If not, what is?

EA: Winning the Cannon Falls Road Race stage at Nature Valley was definitely a milestone for me. There was a lot of emotion wrapped around that stage win. In 2007 I represented Penn State University on the Ryan All Stars Collegiate team and finished 2nd behind Brooke Miller on the same stage. That was where I met Carmen D’Aluisio, the former director for Aaron’s. I feel it was this stage that was the gateway to my career as a professional cyclist. The only other event I feel quite attached to in terms of significance is the Susan G. Komen Tour of Georgia Criterium I had won early on in 2007. That was the first time I had won a big event…it was a big eye opener for me on multiple levels.

LB: An article at the start of this season suggested that you might be the future of US women’s cycling, but it also took some liberties with regards to your appearance. How did you feel about the article?

EA: I felt it was well written until I got to the cleavage part. I was actually very disappointed when I read that because it wasn't necessary. I'm flattered to be part of a list of such well known cyclists and to be described as he did...I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. But the main thing is that I pride myself on being a bike racer of development, growth and value. I want to be a good team mate and a cyclist who works toward winning races and being the best. I work toward being the “tough as nails, sweet personality with the determination of Kristin Armstrong rider” he describes, but not one whose cleavage is a part of that character. It was especially dissatisfying because I now race for Team Vera Bradley Foundation; a foundation created in 1998 that raises funds to help eradicate breast cancer; a disease that affects so many women in multiple ways. The cleavage comment; I feel, doesn't go hand-in-hand for what Team VBF stands for. I am all for being proud of yourself, the way you look and what you accomplish in life but the comment was simply unnecessary.

LB: You had the opportunity to meet with the people of the Vera Bradley Foundation during a photo shoot before the start of the season. What was that experience like? Does it provide you with some added motivation knowing that you are riding for a sponsor that supports such an important cause?

EA: It was a great opportunity to travel out to Napa Valley and see the production behind the company catalogues and marketing aspects. And the new prints for the fall! The most rewarding portion of the trip was meeting Barb (the Founder of Vera Bradley) and Amy, her daughter who works heavily with the photo shoots for the company. Each member of the company and the ambassadors and supporters of the foundation are so passionate about the product and what the Vera Bradley Foundation stands for that it is hard not to be motivated and excited to be riding for Team VBF!

LB: How was training camp this year? How has it compared to previous camps?

EA: Camp is always a highly anticipated time of year. It’s often referred to as “Christmas in March” (or whichever month teams choose to have their camp) because you show up and receive all your race schwag. The Team VBF camp was really fun. There was a fair amount of rain in the beginning but the girls have a great chemistry and I really feel that coming together under the Vera Bradley Foundation cause is something that allowed us to mesh on an even more intimate level. We are not just bike racers this year. We are advocates for a cause that is greater than all of us. Of course we want to win races, but we also want to reach our season goal of raising $22,500 for the foundation and raising awareness of the disease. Camp was based around learning about breast cancer, the Foundation and riding the beautiful roads of NorCal. And, of course, there were the top secret ninja fighting courses we took together too...but those are top secret and I’ve said enough already… If I told you any more, well, I’d have to kill you [Smiles].

LB: You have known most of your new teammates in some capacity through racing, but in differing degrees. How easy/difficult is it to forge the types of bonds (trust, positioning, etc), in a camp, that are needed in the heat of a race?

EA: One of the main goals of team camp is to get to know your team mates and establish a trust with one another in riding together. I have been team mates with two of the girls previously and ride often with one other girl. Many of us ladies have raced against each other in the peloton for quite some time, which allows us, as teammates, to have a basic understanding of what type of rider the others are like. Of course there’s a honey moon period where we really get comfortable with one another. That helps a lot and this usually happens at team camp.

LB: What will be your role this year on Team Vera Bradley Foundation?

EA: Team VBF has really stepped up its game for the 2010 season. It’s a new start with new riders and new opportunities. My position on the team is to apply my skills and abilities in bunch sprints or field sprints etc. It is a big leap to take on this position but I am excited. There are moments I sit back and take it all in. Sometimes it makes me really nervous. The good thing is that we have a solid team this year and we will all be able to help push, motivate and be backbones for one another in multiple race situations. I am excited for the chance to challenge myself and compete against the best in the nation. My other job is to be an ambassador for the Vera Bradley Foundation. We are a group of girls who work toward a universal goal of winning as many races as possible while raising awareness and funds for a universal disease; breast cancer. I take to heart the fact that yes, I am a sprinter/race finisher but this year, I am so much more than that now. I am now a representative for the Vera Bradley Foundation and a voice for breast cancer awareness. It’s really nice to have a greater meaning attached to my involvement in cycling. I saw my mom’s best friend struggle with breast cancer last summer. She is healthy now which is fantastic but it is something very painful and difficult to see someone go through. I am excited to be a race finisher but more grateful to be part of something so grand.

LB: Are there any specific races that you are targeting this year, individually…as a team?

EA: As a team, the stage races are really important. We’ve got the former national TT champion and current NRC champion Alison Powers with us who dominated the stage race events last year. This year with Team VBF, we have an incredibly strong army of GC riders who can contribute in different ways to the overall success of the team at these events. Those same GC riders can also contribute in the big one-day races which is ideal. Personally, I want to be able to contribute to the team overall while trying to achieve success in some of the big one-day events such as the Presbyterian Criterium in Charlotte, NC and naturally, Criterium Nationals in Bend, OR (update: Erica garnered the silver medal in the US Criterium Nationals). There are a lot of opportunities for success this year. Of course I’d like to do well at those 2 specific events but the beautiful crazy thing about this sport is that you don’t always have the power to dictate which races you will ride well in. Sometimes it’s more about patience, luck and being in the right place at the right time. Realistically, I just want to try and be in those places more often.

LB: To date, what achievement(s) are you most proud?

EA: There is no doubt the fact that I am a 24-year-old woman and somehow still managing a way to race her bike at the highest level in the US is a proud achievement for me. I’ve been racing for a while now, but before 2006 and 2007 I was awful on the bike. No, really…awful. I have been very lucky with the amount of support I have had in my upbringing through this sport. It isn’t normal and most girls in their early twenties don’t have access to the same support. Many of the girls in our current peloton didn’t even START racing until they were my age…I have been racing since my early twenties and am still here. That’s a big deal.

But like Lance said, it’s not about the bike and outside of cycling I am most proud of being the first in my family to graduate from a four year college. When I got my official Penn State degree in the mail I was elated. I would have cried but Chuck Norris taught me not to…maybe ONE tear fell but you’ll never know.

I’m also really proud of having my cat, Pooker, for 15.5 years. She passed away just after my 24th birthday in November of 2009, but she was an awesome kitty. Bless her heart.

In Part III, we look at Erica’s strengths as a person and racer as well as touch on the topic that is fundamental to our discussion, women’s cycling.

Part I -On The Rise | Part III - Present, Perfect

Follow Erica on Twitter or on Facebook
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Photos: Steve Klein (top); Brian Hodes (middle); Leonard Basobas (bottom)

I was not privy to the conversation occurring in the row in front of me for most of the flight, not that I am particularly averse to eavesdropping, but mainly because I am the type that begins to yawn as soon as the door is slammed shut and the cabin is pressurized. But as the process of disembarking began to commence, some three hours later, my ears perked up when the travel weary, but smiling young woman ahead of me invited the elder couple to come out and watch her race.

Wrapped up in the excitement of covering my first major race, it did not take very long for me to catch up with the then 22-year old Erica Allar, who coincidentally was out in California to participate in the inaugural Amgen Tour of California Women’s Criterium. To my surprise, Erica already had a working knowledge of our site given that I had recently completed an interview with one of her former teammates, Shannon Hutchison-Krupat, a true stalwart of the once mighty Aaron’s Professional Women’s Cycling Team.

As we waited by the baggage carousel, she would relay the details of her trip; the flight, the conversation with the couple seated next to her, the sponsor arranged trip to a local bike shop and the upcoming race in Santa Rosa. Though we would soon quickly part ways, we have continued to carry on a running conversation since that sun-filled day in February of 2008.

In the first of my three-part interview with Erica Allar (Team Vera Bradley Foundation), we take a look back at her early days on the bicycle and how an unproductive and disinterested cyclist turned herself into one of the top sprinters on the domestic circuit.

On The Rise

Although the great cycling state of Pennsylvania can easily claim Erica Allar as one of their own, the 24-year-old was originally born in DeKalb, Illinois. “We lived in Illinois until I was 6 and then moved to Liverpool, New York. My dad got a promotion at work and when I was 12 we moved to Fogelsville, PA.”

She would dabble in a variety of sports as a youngster, but it was ultimately the move to Pennsylvania that helped shape her future. “I had never even heard of bike racing or “The Tour” before PA. My first sport was gymnastics…I was pretty flexible so my mom and dad enrolled me at “Which Way Is Up” where I enjoyed pointing my toes and prancing around the floor in bright, girly leotards. I learned how to do a round-off back handspring and then dropped that sport kind of the like the balance beam dropped me. After gymnastics, I bent it like Beckham in soccer, shot hoops in basketball and when I moved to PA I even ran some hurdles in track and field. I didn’t even know bike racing existed until PA happened.”

Introduced to the sport through a friend she met in school, Erica joined a developmental program and raced the early part of her career exclusively on the track, where she competed in most every event available, and as she pointed out, even “getting down and dirty in some Keirin action,” as well. But it was not until she would meet up with Pat Marzi and James Carney that her true potential as a cyclist was realized. “I didn’t really take the sport seriously and was not fully applying myself…2006 was a pretty life changing year.”

She would payback their efforts handsomely by winning the 2006 U23 National Criterium Championships. ”There was a point in that race when I realized that I could really win my first national title. When I made it safely to the last corner of the course I realized it was really going to happen and when I crossed the line first I was so proud I had tears in my eyes. It was awesome, also, because I won my first title in front of Pat and James which really meant a lot.”

In 2007, she would make the permanent move to the road. Racing solo and playing off the bigger teams in the field throughout the year, Erica would garner her first professional contract with Aaron’s Professional Women’s Cycling team in 2008. Under the guidance of Carmen D’Aluisio, she would learn to navigate the world of women’s professional cycling and the responsibilities that come with being a team member.

By year’s end, her second place finish at the 2008 Tour of Missouri Women’s Criterium all but seemed to signal that she had arrived.

In Part II, we take a brief moment to reflect on Erica’s frenzied 2009 season and look closer at what drives her new team.

Part II - Transitions | Part III - Present, Perfect

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Photos: Brian Hodes (top); Leonard Basobas (bottom)

An American in Graz

The second largest city in Austria, Graz sits in the southeastern portion of the country and along the Mur River. In 2003, the city was named as the European Capital of Culture, an annual European Union designation highlighting a city’s cultural life and cultural development, and its Old Town area is presently listed as one of UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage Sites.

Lenny B (LB): You have resided in Austria for two years now, what has the transition been like…is there any part of American life that you miss?

Amber Rais (AR): There are many things I miss about America, and I worry a little that I’m putting myself into an impossible Catch-22, where when I’m in America, I will miss a lot about Austria, and vice-versa. One does manage to adapt surprisingly well to certain lacks. For example, I never thought I could live without burritos, but here I am. That said, I go straight for the Taqueria when I’m in California. Mostly, though, I miss people – my family, friends, and hometown. I did get a serious craving for a chocolate malt while I was in the hospital, and my friend Bruce ground up some Whoppers and blended them into a proper malt shake for me. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

LB: What is the most fascinating thing that you have discovered about Graz or Austria?

AR: I’m sure if you ask ten expats living in Graz the same question, you would get ten different answers. What has most intrigued me is the close relationship between family farms with everyday life. Nearly all of the produce, dairy and meat at the supermarket is labeled with the name of the family who produced it. With few exceptions, produce is really only available seasonally, which in some ways (environmentally and health-wise) can be great, and in other ways can be frustrating (no fresh berries in winter). There are plenty of farmers’ markets in the US, but most supermarkets there aren’t buying from local families the way they are here. That said, all of Austria is about one fifth the size of California, so economically, the smaller scale is easier to manage.

The other big difference is the history. No building in American is realistically more than a few hundred years old. Our apartment building in Graz was built in the 1600s and is a few meters from an ancient Roman trading route. The history goes back much farther and is much more visible here than in the states. I probably ride past an average of two castles per training ride. It’s awesome.

LB: There are obvious cultural differences between the United States and Europe, most notably in the attitudes toward cycling and the sport of cycling. As a professional cyclist who has experienced both, what are the advantages of working in an environment conducive to your profession? Are there any disadvantages?

AR: The biggest advantage I’ve noticed is how much more respect cyclists get from motorists. So far, Austrian drivers have been far more respectful of cyclists than drivers in California, and Italian drivers even more so. It makes training far more enjoyable!

LB: In recent years, Jim Miller and USA Cycling have really ramped up the women’s program abroad. How important has it been for you to be a part of it, and how do you see the program benefiting Women’s Cycling in the US in the future?

AR: The US National Team’s program in Europe is crucial for the international development of US women’s cycling, because it eliminates some of the biggest barriers to successful racing abroad; namely, the program provides a comfortable home base for the riders between races, in addition to the essential infrastructure required for racing.

Racing with the National Team provided the foundation I needed to make this move. In 2007, the program threw me head-first into UCI racing at La Route de France, where I came down with a violent case of strep throat after the first stage and spent the rest of the tour riding on the front to protect Amber Neben’s maillot jaune. I suffered like a dog there. I remember one day in particular, the other team directors heckled us before a long stage, asking whether team USA really planned to ride the front for 100 miles in the crosswinds for Amber. Of course we did and eventually won the tour.

That experience stayed with me and still motivates me. In fact, every time I have raced with the National Team, I have come away more fired up and more focused. What I’ve learned through the program, I’ve mostly learned the hard way, but those are the lessons that stick. The program provides experience and knowledge an athlete can’t get from domestic racing.

LB: When we last spoke, you stated that you have always been shy about verbalizing some of your goals. Have your personal expectations as a cyclist or your cycling goals changed since that time?

AR: My goals have not changed, but with each year, my resolve and focus grow stronger; the path to those goals becomes clearer. Actually, the biggest change for me over the past couple of years has been a process of elimination: slowly paring down my commitments to only those that effectively contribute to my goals, and learning to identify and remove obstacles and sources of stress wherever possible. Of course, this is an ongoing process, but I’m getting better at it!

LB: What are your specific cycling goals for this season, and long term? Are you targeting any specific race(s)?

AR: Fracturing my pelvis in Qatar instantly shifted my perspective on this year’s season, though many of my goals remain the same. U.S. Nationals will be a major target, and I’m currently trying to raise money to be able to fly back to the U.S. in June to race there (more info here: http://bit.ly/AmberUSNats). My long term goals are simple: World Championship and Olympic medals.

LB: How did the crash occur? What is the time-line for your return?

AR: The crash was totally stupid. I hit a reflector in the road wrong and dumped it. It happened so quickly I don't even really know what happened except I hit the ground on my right side and didn't slide at all. I think the fact that I didn't slide meant that my pelvis absorbed all of the impact. I would have taken more road rash if it meant I wouldn't have broken bones! Such is life. The pelvic fracture was stable and non-displaced (as was the fracture to the sacrum), so the bones began healing immediately, without need for surgery or invasive stabilization.

It’s been over 8 weeks, and everything seems to have healed very well. I have no pain at all and have been back to normal training for a few weeks now.

My first race back is going to be the KUOTA Route 666 in Hungary, April 10th. It’s a 66.6 kilometer team time trial, so it will be one heck of a test for the legs!

LB: How is the healing process…the pain?

AR: I didn’t take any pain meds for two reasons. First, pain was valuable information that guided my range of motion and general activity. I didn't want to mask any pain and accidentally push too hard and set myself back. Second, anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen tend to slow bone growth, which is the last thing I wanted! Even though the initial injury hurt like hell, I didn’t have much pain through the recovery process. I was completely pain free at about 5 weeks post-injury. As for now, the only pain I think about is the pain I want to dish out in the upcoming races…

Follow Amber through her official website & the KUOTA Speed Kueens on Facebook

Part I - Need For Speed | Part II - Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...

Photos: Erwin Haiden, nyx.at (top); Courtesy Amber Rais (middle and bottom)

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions…

Decisions are never easy, or so, that is what we have been told. The anxious moments leading up to finalizing our choice are often just predilections of instantaneously grading our decisions as being good or bad before they are even made. Although the consequences or outcomes of our decisions can be viewed in these terms, more often than not, the choosing turns out to be the simplest part. For this former Stanford swimmer, the decision was not if Amber would jump into the deep end to race in Europe, but more precisely when.

Lenny B (LB): Your excitement is palpable, what have been the reactions to your decision?

Amber Rais (AR): I’ve had a lot of support for this decision, even from my former teams. I think most people around me could see and understand the toll it was taking to be away from home so long.

LB: Your former team, Team TIBCO, now has an international footprint as a UCI team and seems to be growing into a unit that may someday, in the near future, challenge the Women’s World Cup circuit, what were the reasons behind your move?

AR: To achieve my goals, I need to race full time in Europe. It’s that simple. I’ve raced a handful of races in Europe with the US National team over the past couple of years, and those experiences have taught me that to become one of the best, I have to race against the best. This means World Cups and UCI 2.1 stage races, nearly all of which are in Europe, a point made all the more poignant with the cancellation of the Montreal World Cup and Tour.

Of course, my decision bears a personal side as well. My husband and I live in Europe. Our home is in Austria. For most riders, one of the biggest barriers to racing full time in Europe is leaving home and family for months on end. Well, I was doing just that, but in the opposite direction. It made no sense.

LB: The sampling size may be too small to quantitatively state that “US women who make the full commitment to race abroad will find great success,” but from the qualitative end it is hard to argue with the benefits, not to mention the successes that riders like Kristin Armstrong and Amber Neben have garnered. How much did their example influence your decision?

AR: Amber and Kristin have been invaluable sources of support and guidance. When I raced Tour de l’Aude with Amber in 2008, I really picked her brain about American versus European racing. She made the point that each rider has to decide for herself where she wants to race, what she wants from her career. Her words helped me to take a step back and proactively choose the big-picture direction I want for my career.

Kristin has emphasized (in no uncertain terms) the importance of racing full time in Europe; her advice has reinforced my determination. Both she and Amber have been very supportive and encouraging of my decision, and their support means a lot to me.

LB: Because so few American women have committed to race in Europe full-time, do you consider yourself one of the trailblazers, in some respect, or do you get a sense that you are a part of a new wave of American women’s cycling?

AR: Actually, there are many American women who have raced in Europe and who have paved the way for me to be able to follow suit. Inga Thompson, who coincidentally happens to also be from my hometown of Reno, Nevada, is one; then there was the whole T-Mobile women’s team which included riders like Kristin Armstrong, Amber Neben, Kim Baldwin, and Dotsie Bausch. American Kristin Lassasso also raced overseas in 2008. And we can’t forget other forerunners like Karen Brems and Christine Thorburn. I would hardly call myself a trailblazer.

I hope that I am part of a new wave of American women’s cycling. This isn’t just about me. This is about developing women’s cycling in America, about bringing our athletes and programs to higher levels. Of course, I am a competitive person and want to leave my mark, but it’s important that people involved in women’s cycling (including athletes) focus not only on expanding their own pieces of the pie, but also on making the whole pie bigger. It’s in cooperative efforts that we will really make a difference in the sport.

Many women’s programs are moving in that direction. Webcor Builders raced part of the 2008 season in Europe as a UCI team, and this season TIBCO is doing the same. Team Twenty-12 is restructuring the traditional relationship between domestic trade teams and the USA Cycling European program, by prioritizing National Team projects over NRC races, which will allow them to better leverage the opportunities afforded by USAC programs.

My hope is that these efforts become more common and more unified. Right now, there are countless people dedicated to elevating women’s cycling in America and abroad, but most of those efforts are isolated and independent of one another. Once we can start to pool resources through more unified collaboration, I think we will start to see big changes and more rapid, positive growth, but that will require a major shift in thinking. Sport brings out the competitive side in most people, but we also need to remember the value in cooperation.

We are all interdependent. The growth and success of our athletes, programs, brands and industry rely upon how effectively we can work together. I believe the greatest growth and progress in women’s cycling will arise from cooperative relationships that explicitly value these connections.

LB: Although you have won a criterium or two in your day, you seem to really excel in road races and stage races. As criteriums seem to be the predominant form of racing in the US, how much of a factor did the style of racing go into your decision?

AR: Actually, the style of racing was a major factor in my decision, but not necessarily as crits versus road races. Instead, it’s more about American versus European style racing. The skill sets and tactics differ considerably between the two pelotons, and when it comes to races like the World Championships and Olympics, well, you can guess which style predominates.

LB: How would you characterize the differences between American and European style racing?

AR: International races in Europe allow far less room for mistakes, both literally and figuratively: literally, because the peloton is bigger and races tighter through narrower roads, affording less room to maneuver; and figuratively, because the depth of the peloton means that one tactical mistake can mean the end of your race. U.S. races allow a little more wiggle-room, if you will. The roads are wider, racers don’t ride so closely, and you can usually recover from mistakes.

In Part III of our interview, we discuss what life is like in Graz and Amber's current condition and future plans.

Follow Amber through her official website & the KUOTA Speed Kueens on Facebook

Part I - Need For Speed | Part III - An American In Graz

Photo: Erwin Haiden, nyx.at

With the “shrinking globe,” an American woman plying her trade in Europe is not as much of a cultural oddity as it may have been in the past. But an American woman racing her bicycle on the European circuit full-time, well that is another story.

American women racing in Europe is not a wholly new phenomenon. In fact, their history is replete with extraordinary talent and amazing achievements. The inaugural Grand Boucle, known at the time as the Tour de Feminin, the female equivalent to the Tour de France was won by an American. Marianne Martin captured the then 18 stage, 616-mile race in 29 hours, 39 minutes, and 2 seconds. She would share the podium in 1984 with fellow American Deborah Shumway, who finished third on the General Classification, and the stage with the third placed finisher of the men’s race, a young Greg Lemond.

But despite their great successes, the progression of American women into the European theatre has fluctuated and lagged considerably behind that of American men.

The financial disparity between the genders is without doubt a major contributing factor to the lack of egress from the United States to Europe. While their male counterparts have made places like Girona, Spain a temporary haven during the European season, American women lacked the means to maintain a foothold in two continents or even a consistent European race schedule. One of our country’s most decorated cyclists, Kristin Armstrong, had to make some hard decisions while shaping her illustrious career, often times straddling both canoes, so to speak, to maintain her life’s balance. Additionally, the opportunities for American women to race abroad, until recently, were sorely lacking. In 2008, that all changed. Buoyed by the accomplishments by riders like Amber Neben and Amstrong, among others, on the international stage, the USA Cycling Development Program revamped its program to provide its female riders with more opportunities to race overseas.

Amber Rais is one of the products of that renewed emphasis by USA Cycling. A standout on American soil as part of Webcor Builders and more recently Team TIBCO, and a dynamic performer for the US National team, Amber is the latest American racer to test her skills full time in Europe, racing for the Austrian based KUOTA Speed Kueens.

Need For Speed

Although KUOTA Speed Kueens is a new name to women’s cycling, its basis is the UNIQA-ELK squad, which ultimately was a consolidation of two Austrian teams Team UNIQA Graz and ELK Haus. The team is managed on the road by Klaus Kabasser and features a great mixture of veteran riders, such as Bernadette Schober and Daniella Pintarelli, and youth. At 29, Amber is one of the older riders on the team, but she will also rely on her new teammates and manager to navigate the European circuit.

Lenny B (LB): How did your transfer ultimately come about? Were you looking at any other European based teams?

Amber Rais (AR): I approached this season with an attitude of Europe or bust. I have good relationships with U.S. directors and riders and had several good offers, but to race another full season in the states, trying all the while to negotiate limited opportunities to race in Europe, would have perpetuated the circumstances I wanted to change.

To commit to racing in Europe required a leap of faith. The European teams and directors didn’t know me as a rider, so even with good palmares from the US, there was no guarantee anyone would sign me. When everyone else was signing contracts in the US (a process akin to Musical Chairs), I had to stay true to my goals and believe that it would work out, and it has, thanks to a lot of folks who helped me through the process.

I could not be happier with my situation now. The KUOTA Speed Kueens team is based in Graz, where I live, so I can be home between races, instead of couch-surfing. Plus, our team manager, Mag. Klaus Kabasser, has a good relationship with the US National Team Director, Manel Lacambra, so the two of them work out my schedule. Now I am racing all of the UCI calendar races I have always wanted to race. The only question is whether I will do a particular race with KUOTA Speed Kueens or with the National Team, which is easily settled between Manel and Klaus; whereas before, I had to negotiate for permission to accept what European race opportunities I was offered, which made what should have been a simple planning process extremely stressful.

Racing for KUOTA Speed Kueens is a huge step forward for me. The team infrastructure, as Uniqa-Elk, has been racing the World Cup circuit for a long time and has a ton of international experience, and this year’s team is great mix of both young and experienced riders. I want to learn and contribute as much as I can. Hopefully they’ll forgive my schlechtes Deutsch and teach me a little more Austrian dialect too!

LB: What, if any, do you see as the biggest challenge(s) to racing in Europe?

AR: The international races in Europe are hard, because the fields are bigger and have more depth than any other races in the world. The biggest challenge for me will be to learn the peloton – the racers, tactics and dynamics. That said, I have eliminated a lot of the obstacles most American riders face when coming to Europe. I have a home base here that is really, truly a home, where I know the roads and have family and friends. Being able to come home between races will really help my recovery and minimize the time I have to live out of a bag.

In Part II of Graz's American Speed Kueen, we discuss some of the reasons behind Amber's decision to race overseas, and in Part III, Amber provides us a snapshot of what her life is like in Austria.

Part II - Decisions, Decisions, Decisions... | Part III - An American In Graz

Follow Amber through her official website & the KUOTA Speed Kueens on Facebook

Photos: Erwin Haiden, nyx.at

Projecting young talent in cycling, as in any sport, is a difficult endeavor. Maturation, both physically and mentally, coaching, sponsorship, and desire can all play an integral part in the development of a cyclist. But sometimes, on those rare occasions, talent can, figuratively, leap off the page and make you take notice.

Coryn Rivera is just such a talent.

Since she began racing competitively, the 17-year-old has earned more junior national titles, 24, on the road, track, and through cyclocross than she has actually celebrated birthdays. Coryn, who packs as much power in her legs as Manny Pacquiao does in his punches, could easily be described as a phenom, but that descriptor actually belies the amount of work and preparation she has put into what has quickly become her passion.

With a seemingly never ending upward trajectory, Coryn’s transition from the junior ranks to the senior women’s circuit will undoubtedly be closely scrutinized. But, if this season was any type of an indicator, the youngest of the Elite PROMAN Hit Squad has already proven that she more than belongs in their company. This past season, she roared to victory in three events, the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix, the San Rafael Twilight Criterium, and the Cascade Cycling Classic criterium, her first National Racing Calendar win, despite being saddled by the constraints of junior gearing. These efforts earned her the distinction of being named the Best U23 Woman of the Year by Velonews.

In my conversation with Coryn Rivera, we tackle junior gearing, growing up a Filipino-American, and racing for the US National Team.

Lenny B (LB): When did you officially start racing...when did you know you were good?

Coryn Rivera (CR): My first race was a kid's race in 2003. The next year I did the same race again then started to race more local races. So I officially started racing in 2004. Well I won both the kid's race, but my first real race with a license and rolling out the junior gears was the LA Circuit Race in 2004. I think I knew I was kind of good because I started crying when I beat all but one boy in the junior field [smiles].

LB: You had some big wins this year, is there a favorite among them?

CR: I think my personal favorite was San Rafael Twilight. We had a really good team out there for that race and we were all super aggressive. We all owned that race; attack, after attack, after attack. When it all came  together for the final lap, I set up for the sprint and I just so happen to cross the line first! And afterward it was a big celebration for the team. Everyone was just so happy and we all felt like we accomplished something amazing; it was a lot of fun.

LB: For those out there who don't know about the constraints of junior gearing could you please explain the difference? Has is helped/hurt you in certain races/terrain?

CR: 'Junior Gearing' is a USA Cycling rule that restrict juniors to a 52 tooth front chainring and a 14 tooth end cog. Most adults race with a 53 tooth front chainring and an 11 tooth end cog. During NRC criteriums I am usually always in my 52/14. Sometimes I think I won’t be able to hang on, but somehow I end up sticking. The gear is not impossible. The most trouble I have with the gearing is on downhills during longer road races. I have to work SO hard on the downhills just to keep up.  I am SO worked from just trying to keep up on the downhill that when it comes to the climbs, I just can’t keep up. But the bottom line about junior gears is that they are a blessing in disguise. I have to spin super fast sometimes during races, but once I get my "big girl" gears and I still spin as fast as I did with junior gearing, I will be that much more faster.

LB: You have ridden for the US National team, most recently in Russia. What was that experience like and what does your future agenda look like with the US National team?

CR: Yes, I was in Russia with the US National Team for the Jr Road and Track World Championships. I don’t think I ever want to go back to Russia ever in my life, [laughs]. We were basically quarantined in our hotel. Then we would have to take a 30-minute bus ride to the road course/velodrome, which were right next to each other. That was the ONLY place we could ride. If we rode on the road we would probably get run over.

The food was almost exactly the same for breakfast/lunch/dinner every day. And as far as the racing went, it didn’t go the way I wanted it to go.

I just recently came back from the Manchester Track World Cup about 3 weeks ago. That was quite an experience. I qualified for the final in the scratch race and finished 13th in the scratch and Shelley [Olds] finished 3rd! And in the points race qualifier I got crashed out by a Hong Kong chick and was unable to collect enough points to qualify for the final. But there are no plans for the rest of 2009, at least to race with the US National Team, but I am going to US National Team track camps every month for the rest of the year.

LB: What have been your favorite races, places, and/or experiences with the National team so far?

CR: I’d have to say my favorite experience with the national team so far was my month long trip to Belgium. It was the first time ever for USA Cycling to invite junior girls to the national team house in Izegem, Belgium. I was there with Kendall Ryan, Kaitie Antonneau, and Anna Young. We had a lot of fun and success. We did 4 races on the road and spent a weekend of track racing in Apeldoorn, Holland. We worked well together as a team during the races and I learned a ton about the European style of racing. I won 2 races on the road and won the derny race on the track in Apeldoorn.

LB: It is currently your off-season from the road, but you recently raced overseas on the track as well as some cyclocross. What does the rest of your program look like as you prepare for next year?

CR: Right now I am preparing for cyclocross nationals in Bend, Oregon. But I am still using the track as training for cyclocross.

LB: PROMAN is undergoing some major changes for next year. Do you know what your schedule is yet, and are there certain races that you are targeting?

CR: Yup, there are going to be a lot of team changes for next year. At this time, there is no set schedule yet but I am still targeting Junior Road and Track World Championships in Italy during the summer.

LB: You have some great leaders/role models within PROMAN. What is the most important thing you have learned from any/all of them? Is there one person who has been the most influential?

CR: Especially being the youngest person on the team during the really big races, everyone is a role model to me. I have learned a lot from everyone; Shelley Olds, Nicola Cranmer, Rachel Lloyd, Cari Higgins, are just a few that have always been there for me to help me out and teach me the ropes. I think everything they have told me is important, I can’t put my finger on one important thing I have learned from them, they are all important.

LB: What are your strengths as a rider?

CR: I think I have a lot of strengths as a rider. I don’t want to just call myself a sprinter after winning many criteriums this year. I’d say I’m a bicycle racer. I’m still a junior and I’m still developing into the kind of racer I want to be.

LB: You have won national championships on the road, on the track and in cyclocross. Which cycling discipline is your favorite? Which one suits your talents the best?

CR: Road is my favorite cycling discipline. Track is the most helpful cycling discipline. And cyclocross is the fun discipline. I think road racing suits my talents best because it has everything, from climbs to downhills to technical areas.

LB: Road races or criteriums?

CR: Hmm…this is a tough one. Lately, I’ve done well at criteriums, but I do love road racing. I’ll say road races because the criterium is not a world championship event. Road races really push your limits while making you think tactically.

LB: You bring up a good point about tactics, as cycling is as much mental as it is physical. How much of your success has been a product of “out thinking” your opponents rather than just “being the fastest” one out there?

CR: I’m not quite sure exactly how much of my early success has been a product of out smarting my competition, but I’m sure a good amount of my current success has to do with outsmarting my competition. I’ve been very competitive since I was really young, so it has grown with me. I really hate losing, so I try to prepare as much as I can physically and mentally for races.

LB: Mass start races, sprints, or timed events?

CR: Definitely mass start races. It’s not just power that can win the race; you also have to be smart.

LB: A recent photo of you with Shelley Olds was captioned “PROMAN Hit Squad's 5-foot assassins.” Does being of smaller stature help you in mass start races, or conversely, as a smaller rider, do you take a beating in the pack?

CR: I’d say being a 5-foot assassin has the best of both worlds. I am able to squeeze through some gaps and spaces that most other riders couldn’t. Plus, I can get a draft off of pretty much everyone, but not everyone can draft off of me. But that can also work in a bad way because sometimes people do not want to get into a breakaway with a smaller rider because they can’t get a draft off of us. When I was in Manchester for the World Cup, I remember a Czech rider trying to fight me for a wheel and her thigh hit my shoulder. It could have potentially been dangerous, but I held my ground. Overall I think being smaller is more beneficial in the peloton.

LB: What are your future aspirations, both on and off the bike?

CR: In the future I’d like to develop into a world class female cyclist. I’d like to race in Europe and ultimately race in the Olympics. Off the bike, I plan to continue school, I don’t know where yet, but it is in the works.  I’m thinking of studying business and/or graphic design.

LB: Are you looking into schools that have accomplished cycling programs, or do you plan on racing for PROMAN during school?

CR: I am not quite sure at the moment, but I will probably race for both. For collegiate racing I would race for my school and for regular category racing I’d race for PROMAN.

LB: There aren’t that many Asian/Pacific Islanders in the professional peloton. In fact, this year was the first time an Asian rider finished the Tour de France in its 106 year history. How did you get your start? Is there anyone in your family that races? Do you have any cycling role models?

CR: My dad got me started on the bike. When I was still playing soccer, my dad and I used to go mountain biking at a local trail and I would be on a heavy mountain bike my dad bought me from Costco. Then I got upgraded to the back of the tandem and that was how I got exposed to road riding. Eventually I got my own road bike. Next thing I know, my dad signed me up for a kid’s race and everything evolved from there. Nobody races road in my family, but my dad used to race motocross and downhill.

Kristin Armstrong is an awesome cycling role model. I’d say the Olympics are the pinnacle for female cyclists, and she achieved that goal. It’s so great to see that everything she did to prepare for Olympics paid off.

LB: You have had great success at such a young age, do you consider yourself a role model?

CR: I personally don’t think so because I am still a junior, I am very young, I learn new things every day, and I am not a perfect cyclist. But sure, if I inspire people and they look up to me, I must be doing something right to be a role model.

LB: What is your favorite Filipino food?

CR: Hmm…I’d have to say Caldereta. I’m not sure if I spelled that right! But I know it tastes good! My mom cooks a lot of Filipino food, they are all really good, but I like Caldereta the best.

LB: Like some other Filipinos born in the States, sadly, I never really learned tagalog. Are you fluent, and here is the typical Filipino question, how often do you get back to the Philippines?

CR: I grew up with my parents speaking me to in tagalog and English or taglish. So I understand tagalong, but I can’t speak it. The last time I was back in the Philippines was when I was about 12, if I remember correctly. My aunts, uncles, and cousins all want me to take a visit, but it seems like I never have time.

LB: Music is a big part of the racing culture, from background music playing at some criteriums to training. What are some of your favorite songs, groups, artists?

CR: Yes, music is a very big part of my life in general. I listen to pretty much everything. If I were to list off who I listen to, it would take forever. But on my warm-up playlist I have: Chris Brown, MGMT, Lil Wayne, DJ Tiesto, Taking Back Sunday, Basshunter, Kevin Rudolf, Fort Minor, Phoenix, Jay-Z, Kings of Leon, LMFAO, Chester French, Donavon Frankenreiter, Armin Van Buuren, Justin Timberlake, Reel Big Fish, Super Mash Bros., The Dream, The Lonely Island… and it goes on and on.

LB: Although a big part of your life is on the bike, what are some things that you enjoy off of it?

CR: When I’m off the bike I try to enjoy that time as much as I can. I am usually caught up hanging out with friends and family, going to the beach, movies, snowboarding etc. Lately I’ve been enjoying painting/designing Oakleys.

To track Coryn as she takes on world of cycling, visit her website or follow her on Twitter.

Photos: Courtesy Bob Cullinan, CycleTo; Rob Evans

A Beautiful Mind

A link between genius and madness has long been postulated. But, the romanticized view of the classic “mad genius,” whose psychopathology fuels an insatiable creativity, and was so aptly portrayed in the movie A Beautiful Mind, may be a bit erroneous.

Psychologists today suggest that heightened creativity is not necessarily predicated on possessing a mental disorder. On the contrary, “all significant creative leaps have two very important components—talent and technique. By far the most universal and necessary aspect of technique is dogged persistence, which is anything but romantic…Even acknowledged creative geniuses find that endurance must follow intuition. Einstein's ideas were not worked out in a day. It takes a great deal of discipline, and often many bouts of trial and error, to work out an idea. Follow-through is critical to the realization of an idea. Discipline is not a hallmark of minds in the throes of emotional distress.”

It is in this respect that Nick Frey, founder of Boo Bicycles, is considered a mad genius of the most talented and persistent kind. Truly, a beautiful mind.

A Beautiful Bike

Unlike his Princeton University predecessor, “The Phantom of Fine Hall,” whose inspirations were drawn from game theory, Nick Frey was inspired by the bamboo creations of Craig Calfee.

Light, stiff, strong, and eco-friendly, bamboo possesses all the necessary and sought after properties that frame builders look for in materials when fabricating their creations. So during his pursuit of a Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering degree, Frey and his classmates set out to create their own version of the bamboo bicycle. But rather than follow Calfee’s lead into the genre of touring and utility bicycles, the Des Moines, Iowa native currently residing in Fort Collins, Colorado set out to design a bicycle with the racer in mind.

What emerged from almost two years of research, design, and testing was Boo Bicycles: race ready machines unlike anything you have seen on the start line.

In my conversation with Nick Frey, we take an in-depth look at bamboo, and discuss the 22-year-old’s future endeavors with Boo Bicycles and aspirations as a racer.

Lenny B (LB): Why bamboo? Where do you get?

Nick Frey (NF): Bamboo is an incredible material--it's actually a composite with high-strength fibers running through a matrix of softer material called lignin. The fiber density is greatest at the very outside of a bamboo stalk, maximizing the bending strength, and the inner material is softer and less dense and accounts for the amazing vibration dampening properties. Boo Bicycles have bored-out tubing, specific to each tube of the frame, and this actually controls the ride properties: increased stiffness in the down tube and chain stays, increased vibration dampening in the seat stays and seat tube. We've done many, many prototypes for testing the ride characteristics and have arrived at a frame that is very stiff yet smooth and completely devoid of any harshness. Bamboo has been optimized by nature over thousands of years, and it must be stiff enough to resist wind (at over 60 feet tall) while having enough compliance to not snap in a typhoon.

LB: Calfee has been working with bamboo for some time, how is Boo Bicycles different?

NF: Craig's amazing creations inspired me to create a bamboo bike as a design project for my junior year Mechanical Design course at Princeton (I graduated in 2009 in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering). To build a bike out of such a unique, different material simply blew my mind, and a few classmates and I decided we would try to do it ourselves. Almost two years later, I've teamed up with an expert craftsman (James Wolf, in Vietnam) and tested countless designs and prototypes to arrive at a stiff, relatively light bamboo bike that is incredibly smooth and lively. Craig's bikes are a bit heavier and meant more for touring and, many people believe, as an interesting novelty if you want to really stand out from the crowd. When I started Boo, I decided it would be the only builder working exclusively with the material and building high-performance frames competitive with Ti and carbon. I know the properties of the material, I know as a racer what the top bikes feel like and what customers expect, and I made it my goal to have a bamboo bike with no compromises--that's why our tag-line is "Stiff. Light. Smooth. PICK THREE."

LB: I would imagine that you would get bamboo tubes with some varying diameters, could you say that every one of your creations is essentially a one-off? How do you choose the bamboo used for your bicycles and what sort of standards are there for bamboo?

NF: Every frame is definitely a one-off, although our consistency from frame to frame is quite good. We use plantation bamboo (meaning it grows in a controlled location in rows, like corn) and cut it green and age it ourselves for four months. James and his team control every aspect of production, meaning we can really perfect the entire process. Bamboo is surprisingly uniform in height, diameter, and thickness--the key is to pick the bamboo at the proper time of year and at a specific point in its maturity. Bamboo shoots from the ground at the same diameter it will be at maturity, meaning it grows from the outside in, but the fiber density changes throughout its lifetime and it is crucial to pick it at the right moment. There is also an incredible amount of bamboo that is NOT used, meaning only the best tubes make it into our frames. You may think this is wasteful, but remember: bamboo is a grass and it will just grow back and spread! It's been an honor working together with James, he the builder and I the engineer/tester, because his knowledge of building with bamboo is unrivaled--the subject of his very first email to me was "Bamboo Master"! James and his workers have incredible skill (James has been working with the material for over 15 years with his custom furniture business) and their attention to detail and quality is like I've never seen in my life--every time I get a new batch of frames at my doorstep, I'm just giddy and can't stop smiling!

LB: Calfee Design heat-treats their bamboo to prevent it from splintering. Aside from boring your bamboo tubes out do you do anything else to them?

NF: Back when we started to project in 2007, Craig was not (to my knowledge) heat-treating. We heard through the grapevine that he was having serious warranty issues with splitting, and we experienced it ourselves when letting our Jersey bamboo air dry. The problem is that bamboo is not a homogeneous material: the inner growth is young and has a lower fiber density, and the lignin shrinks when it dries while the fibers do not. This creates a stress differential inside the tube, with the inside shrinking and the outside not, causing a longitudinal split.

We had a deadline approaching in Jan 2008, when our presentation to the class was scheduled, and we needed treated bamboo ASAP! We scoured the internet for answers, assuming Google would know the answer, but bamboo—while incredible popular and used around the world—has little information written and is basically a Third World miracle material that has not been tested or standardized by the First World. Luckily we ran across an article mentioning, “Traditional methods include treatment over an open flame” and we were off to Home Depot for some propane torches!

After some experiments with treatment and baking (making a few different test samples and testing the results for stiffness/strength), we got our treatment method down pat.

This brings me to Boo Bicycles today: we do NOT torch/bake our tubes. Why? We’ve done testing on James’ drying methods versus my torching/baking methods, and because the dendrocalamus strictus is so incredibly stiff, the torching/baking does not improve its strength. James has been working with this species for over a decade, and it’s one of the strongest bamboos in the world—we’ve had no issues with splitting, and we are even boring out our tubes for weight reduction. The key is WHEN the bamboo is harvested: when during the growing season, and when in the plant’s life. This obviously requires 1) incredible control over plant selection, including knowing how old the bamboo is, and 2) harvesting and treating a vast amount of bamboo at one time. We believe it is imperative to have complete control over the build process, as the best frame builders in the world have specific tubing and alloys for their steel and Ti frames, or an exact modulus and weave for their carbon. We are definitely perfectionists, and that’s why our frames require 50 hours of hand labor per, but I’ve got very high standards for Boo and we do everything it takes to make a beautiful, stiff, durable, and light bamboo/carbon frame.

As the company progresses and our experience grows, we are decreasing tube wall thickness and continuing to test for splitting and stiffness—the goal is to further reduce frame weight while preserving the incredible durability and stiffness that Boo prizes in our frames today.

LB: In the building process you chose to utilize hand wrapped carbon joints, was it the best way to join the bamboo tubes, rather than some prefab joints?

NF: Hand wrapped carbon is actually done because it allows us to work with a non-uniform material. We miter all the tubes to fit perfectly, tack them together with high-strength epoxy (similar to tacking a Ti or steel frame before welding), and then wrap 12k hundreds of times around each joint before sanding and polishing. It's very labor-intensive (every frame requires 50 hours of hand labor!) but it allows us to control the layup and work with an imperfect material. Most of our R&D has actually gone into the wrapping process and the fiber layup and orientation, and it's the only thing we never photograph or discuss because we've made a remarkable advance in wrapping technique. Our process allows a majority of our carbon fiber to align parallel to the load path, decreasing reliance on the weaker epoxy matrix, and increasing stiffness by THREE TIMES compared to our first carbon joints.

LB: Have you raced on your R…how does it compare to other bicycles you have used?

NF: I have raced on a Boo R twice—I did the Highland Ranch Criterium (14th in a sprint) and recently WON the Vuelta Miami Road Race on November 8th! In the Highlands Ranch race, there was one particularly nasty section in the middle of the second turn, at the bottom of a fast downhill every lap, with two large cracks right in the middle of the turn and a bunch of chip-seal strewn about. While other guys on super-stiff carbon monocoque bikes had their rigs skip inches outward every time through the corner, the Boo just sailed right through without any twitches or sketchiness.

In the Vuelta Miami, the bike was simply incredible. It is very stiff and accelerates like a rocket, and over the course of the 70 mile road race I really put it through its paces with many sprints to get into the front break through 20-30mph sustained winds. The bike really showed it can win at a big ($7k prize purse) race, and spectators and fellow racers alike were just blown away.

LB: Did you have an opportunity to race while you attended Princeton?

NF: I did! I actually did an event (the 2008 Rutgers Season Opener) on the bamboo bike we built for class! It was VERY eye-catching and made warming-up difficult: I was speaking to a crowd even on the starting line. The bike was very smooth, but not as stiff as I was used to, and it was at that point that I understood the difference between building a frame made of bamboo and building a racing bike. We had the bike to 80% of what it needed to be—we thought. That last 20% has taken over 18 months!

LB: You’ll be racing for Jamis/Sutter Home presented by Colavita next year, and most likely contractually held to using their bikes. Could you see outfitting a professional team with Boo bikes in the future?

NF: I will indeed be racing for Jamis/Sutter Home, and I'm VERY excited! Jamis makes incredible bikes and I really look forward to mounting their top-end Xenith SL. I've definitely considered having Boo ridden by a top amateur or pro team, but for a start-up, that's a huge bite to chew and I don't want to choke--to that end, I've actually "sponsored" my good friend and teammate Tyler Wren (Princeton '03) with a Boo CX for the cross season and he's successfully raced it already at Wissahickon and Granogue (taking 10th!). I'm also looking into sponsoring another friend in triathlon, and of course my first customers are all going to be representing Boo in various capacities on group rides. Right now the focus is to get the word out about Boo as a top-end, high-quality, handmade bamboo bike, but I've definitely been following how smaller companies have transitioned into sponsorship roles (like Parlee with Fly-V Australia) and I think the feedback they receive, as well as the exposure and legitimacy as a top-end racing bike, is incredible.

LB: Aside from the R and Wren’s Boo CX does Boo have any other models…do you intend to have a model for every type of racing discipline?

NF: We do indeed have other models: the T and the F, for Touring and Fixed. The former has a very beautiful integrated bamboo/carbon rear pannier rack that easily holds 200 pounds, and the latter has a quicker geometry, traditional horizontal top tube, even stiffer bamboo tubing with very thick walls, and no stops/derailleur hangers/bottle mounts. We launched both of these models alongside our R and CX at Interbike this year.

We are going to launch two more models at the North American Handmade Bike Show in late February in Richmond, Virginia. I’m keeping these close to the chest, but you can probably take a good guess at what markets they will address! The NAHBS is an incredible event and is the source of much of our inspiration. The show definitely suits Boo better than Interbike, and the buyers of our frames will be looking closely at this show, so rest assured we’re going to be pulling out all the stops. We will, however, be showing production frame models, rather than one-offs just for the show—I believe in showing people what they can buy today, not simply what we’re able to create once.

For now, Boo Bicycles are exclusively handmade and high-end. Our least expensive frameset, the F, still retails for over $3,175 with an Edge track fork and a King headset. It’s a bicycle for connoisseurs of the sport that want something beautiful, smooth, and amazingly well made. I’ve looked to companies such as Serotta, Moots, Independent Fabrications, Parlee, Calfee Design, and Vanilla for inspiration, and James and I are on the same page: we are building Boo into an extremely high-quality brand known for top-notch quality, design, and innovation.

That said, we are surely going to bring a bike to market with a more affordable price point. My goal is to have a Boo frameset that retails for half of our current Boo R, at $1,650. The same quality and design found on current Boo models will of course find its way into this more affordable version, but the junctions will likely be pre-fabricated because the currently require 60% of our labor. The hand wrapping, sanding, and finishing is an incredible process and results in the stiff, light, beautiful frames we have now, but I believe we can preserve the ride quality and stiffness with pre-made joint lugs while reducing our costs and reaching a wider audience.

LB: How and when were you introduced to the sport of cycling? Did you have cycling role models growing up?

NF: I was introduced to cycling by my father--he had always ridden RAGBRAI and the Denver Children's Hospital Courage Classic. We would ride bike trails together, and I got interested in serious mountain bikes--the technology behind bikes like the 2000 Trek 9.9 SL carbon hard tail and Cannondale F5000SL just fascinated me. My good friends Neil Neumann, Rob West, TJ Fort and I would ride in the woods behind my house for hours on end, enjoying crashing and mud and catching air.

Soon, Neil started training on the road with a local under-18 cycling team led by Keith Wells and Tim Abramowitz. Keith worked at our local shop, Bike World, and encouraged Neil to start racing road bikes to compliment his MTB racing. After racing throughout the summer of 2000, while I was playing soccer (my eighth season), Neil convinced me to come over to his house for indoor training. Incredibly, the indoor training was both challenging and gratifying--I was hooked.

I completed a full season and took 6th place in the 13-14 National Road Race, a case of being in the right place at the right time, but very encouraging nonetheless. I stopped playing soccer and focused on cycling, later getting 2nd in the 15-16 National Time Trial and getting a spot on Hottubes, the best 17-18 junior cycling team in the country. We traveled to France, Belgium, Holland, and Canada, as well as all over the US, winning some of the biggest junior races on the calendar. I wrote over half of my college admissions essays about my two years with that amazing program.

I wouldn't say that I had one real role model starting out--Lance would obviously be one, though--but over the years I've admired many different riders that work hard and rise slowly through the ranks. I really value hard work mixing with talent, and seeing riders overcome setbacks to ride faster than before is truly what inspires me.

LB: What are your strengths as a rider?

NF: As a rider, I am quite tall (6' 3") and built a lot like George Hincapie and Rory Sutherland. I have similar skills as well: I am a fast time-trialist, a good leadout man, and a strong rider in big one-day races. I can climb fast on short to medium length climbs, but I'm not a fan of climber's stage races or altitude (although that may change after living in Colorado for a while!). I really enjoy epic races like Philly, the Tour of Battenkill, USPRO road race, and the Univest Grand Prix. However, I'm getting more experience with stage races and I really look forward to growing as a rider and improving my ability to recover day-to-day.

LB: What are your goals and aspirations as a rider for...next year & long term?

NF: My biggest goals for 2009 were to 1) successfully graduate from Princeton, 2) get good enough results to secure a contract with a top professional squad for 2010, and 3) launch and grow Boo Bicycles as a top-quality handmade frame building company. I did all three! Honestly, back in January I had no idea how I could do it all and I had many sleepless nights and stressed nerves--I cracked on multiple occasions, but managed to keep it between the lanes.

My new goals for the short term are to successfully race with my new team, Jamis-Sutter Home, meaning top-10 at races like USPRO TT and Nature Valley Grand Prix overall, but I really want to grow as a racer, learn from my teammates and director, and help them win even more than they have in the last two years.

Over the longer term, like the next five years, I want to build Boo into a great company like Serotta, Parlee, or Independent Fabrications. I want to become one of the top professional cyclists in North America and secure a contract with a European-based team (like Garmin, BMC, and likely Team Type 1). Cycling in the US is growing very quickly, the level is rising, and winning a big race in the US means you can be competitive across the pond--that would not have been true just a few years ago. Seeing domestic riders make the leap, like Tom Zirbel, Ted King, Phil Zajicek, Hilton Clarke, Dominique Rollin, and Ivan Dominguez, is very inspirational. At my age of just 22, and now able to focus--for the first time ever--on racing my bike, I have intense motivation and desire to strive and reach my potential.

We'll see--I've written these goals down, and I think each day of what I can do to get me closer to achieving them. At the same time, I've found it incredibly important for me personally to really enjoy the process and have fun. It's cliché to be certain, but enjoying what you do is a constant goal, and I believe it's important to enjoy the process just as much as the result.

For more information about Boo Bicycles, visit their website, or follow Nick on Twitter.

Photos: Courtesy Nick Frey & Boo Bicycles

Alison Starnes (Team TIBCO) is one of the fresh new faces of women’s cycling. Then again, it might be better said that she is one of the fresh new faces to the sport of cycling all together.

During her collegiate years, Alison’s notions of “spin” and “cycle” revolved more around forehands and backhands, and electrons and Krebs rather than of the two-wheeled variety. An accomplished tennis player and Biochemistry major at Abilene Christian University, she would be instrumental in helping the Lady Wildcats achieve a national ranking in tennis, while her own work on enzymes would garner publication in a prominent scientific journal.

It was only through a post graduate flirtation with the sport of triathlon that Alison would discover her true calling, and some might say her natural self, through cycling.

As a member of the Bay Area based Dolce Vita cycling team, Alison worked her way from entry level to professional in just three short months. Though her initial experience among the professional rank-and-file at the Nature Valley Grand Prix could best be described as “pieced together,” it would also earn her a contract with Team TIBCO.

This past year, her first full year as a professional, Alison experienced the growing pains that usually accompany such a brilliant rise through the ranks, but it was also one that was marked by some exceptional performances, both domestically and internationally as part of USA Cycling.

In my conversation with Alison Starnes, we compare tennis to cycling, look back at her first year as a professional, and discuss how patience is truly one of cycling’s virtues.

Lenny B (LB): You had quite the meteoric rise in classification. After your first full year at the professional level, what are some of the lessons that you learned? Was there anything that surprised you, either positively or negatively?

Alison Starnes (AS): I have learned so much this year it is hard to pick just a couple of instances or experiences. I was very “green” at the beginning of the year, yet I had the opportunity to work with the women of Team TIBCO and learn an incredible amount. Linda Jackson, the team founder and owner, really took an interest in my development and the team supported me throughout the year. The team was extremely patient with me as I made plenty of "rookie mistakes" but they allowed me to grow and develop as they continued to challenge me in each race.

A couple of things I learned this year:

1. Glasses are worn on the outside of the helmet straps.
2. Chamois time is training time.
3. You don’t always need a warm-up, so don’t stress, but it doesn’t hurt. Checking your BlackBerry prior to a race can count as a warm-up.
4. When it is important to stage before a race, and when it is not.
5. How to race really, really, really hard.
6. Respect all your opponents, but fear none.
7. Racing aggressively causes huge gains, and a lot of pain.

However, I think the biggest thing I learned this year, was racing in Europe, and learning how to race. Not just ride around in circles, but to race your bike, hard, race it aggressively and go for it. Team TIBCO taught me to do that, and although it can be painful and difficult, and you may not always win, you learn how to race. This year was a positive experience, acquainting myself with professional racing at its finest, both domestically and internationally.

LB: As a whole, Team TIBCO may just be the most intelligent cycling team around with some extremely accomplished women. If you were to compare brainpans, who would you say is the smartest among the group?

AS: We are a smart group of women, if I do say so myself… If you want to see who is the smartest, you should host a Team TIBCO’s jeopardy or something. Ha. Actually, I think it is common in women’s professional cycling to find many higher education degrees. I am very proud to be a part of such an intelligent group of professional women.

LB: Is that the biggest difference between racing in Europe and in the US, format of racing? Or is the difference deeper rooted as in the mental or physical makeup of the European riders…the culture?

AS: Racing in Europe is hard. That about sums it up. The format only differs in the way they approach the start of the race. They race hard, from the gun, and then they go harder until the finish. It is relentless. The fields are deeper in Europe. Therefore, the competition is hard, intense, and it stays that way. It is pretty incredible. I have been racing there saying to myself, “Surely, they will let up. They can’t go this hard the whole time…” Yet they do. You have to experience it to really understand. I think the deeper fields, and the passion for the sport there fuels the intense racing. These women are strong, and motivated. However, the US women have proven themselves to be some of the strongest riders in the world. We just need to keep gaining the experience of European racing to further our successes. All in all, I love racing there. It is hard, but it makes you stronger. I am ready to go back!

LB: Another rider who exploded on to the scene this year was Evelyn Stevens, who also had a tennis background. I read where her coaches felt that her tennis background may have helped her in a tactical sense while racing. What is your assessment of that theory and how has your own sporting background helped you in bicycle racing?

AS: I had the privilege to race with Evie at La Route de France for the US National Team. She is a phenomenal athlete, and we have a similar story of collegiate sports and quick acceleration into cycling success. People always give me a confused look when they ask me my sporting background and I reveal, "tennis." Tennis is not known for its huge aerobic requirements, such as Nordic skiing, soccer or rowing. However, I will admit, although I excelled in tennis, it always frustrated me. I couldn't practice enough to get where I wanted to go. I felt like my experience was limited to hours in the day and the amount of times you can hit a little fuzzy yellow ball, yet in cycling, I have found my calling. I feel like my options are endless and I have opportunities to succeed and grow. Once realizing that cycling came "natural," I gained confidence in not only myself but my ability. I could never find that in tennis. Tennis taught me that nothing comes easy, and you must be mentally tough to succeed. I struggled to find that solace in tennis, and I have found it in cycling. What tennis showed me where my limitations were, cycling revealed to me my strengths. Tennis taught me hard work, dedication, strategy, and tactics, and I have been able to apply these to cycling. I do miss those skirts and dresses though...

LB: How would you characterize your tennis game…baseliner, serve-and-volley, finesse, power? Have you stepped out on the court since your collegiate days or since you started cycling?

AS: Power player. Yet, when that failed, I turned to a pusher who just tried to run down everything and win with my fitness. I hate to admit that. No power player ever wants to resort to becoming a pusher, but I did it. I had a huge first serve, and then I would float my second serve in and immediately find myself on the defensive instead of the offensive. Did I mention that tennis was a frustrating sport for me? In tennis, you find yourself having to repeat your same mistakes over and over again. Ouch. I haven’t played tennis basically since NCAA nationals...my knees couldn’t take the pounding anymore.

LB: One of the most understated elements of cycling is its mental approach. Each team goes into a race with a plan to execute. Are there any similarities in executing that plan, to say setting up an opponent in tennis for a winning shot?

AS: Strategizing and planning is an integral part in not only tennis, but cycling as well. As a team, we always have a plan that we will plan to execute for the race. It takes each member of the team fulfilling their role to make it a successful day. In tennis, my mantra, although it would not always work, was “Control. Hurt. Finish.” First, you must “control” the point. Set yourself up to then “hurt” your opponent by putting them on the defensive. When they are lunging for a ball, or off-balance, you then “finish” the point. I think this holds true in cycling, and emphasizes how one individual cannot accomplish this, but requires a team to truly dictate the race. Fortunately for me, as a member of Team TIBCO, I have a very strong team to help hold this mantra true in racing. As a team, we want to control the race. We need TIBCO riders in every move, we need to be initiating and covering attacks and in general, “controlling” the race. This takes a strong mental component because you need to be ready for whatever happens in the race. No matter how much your team strategized prior to the race, you cannot plan for the bike race. However, you need to be prepared. Once you are controlling the race, you can then start “hurting” the other teams. By keeping the race hard, fast, or whatever your goal is that day, it puts your team on the offensive, while the other teams find themselves in a defensive state.

In tennis, this may be a severe crosscourt backhand that puts your opponent off the court before you plan your down-the-line winner. Yet in cycling, this is sending riders off the front or developing breaks that our in our team’s favor, thus, causing other teams to chase. Once you are in this position, you can then plan for the finish. Just like finishing a point in tennis, there are a myriad of ways you can finish the race. Not every finish has to be in a break, or even a sprint finish. Team TIBCO is strong and has several cards to play in order to finish the race in our favor. Unlike tennis, where I only had a couple of tricks up my sleeve, in cycling, I can rely on my teammates to assist in “finishing” the race. As a team, we work together to execute our plan, and this can only happen if we first are controlling the race, and then setting our team up for the win. The same way you set up a point, you can set up a race to end in the result that you desire. Just think of the succession of a backhand cross court, angled drop shot, and down-the-line winner, as a lead out train. Thankfully, I have a team to help me do this, because in tennis, it was all up to me. I would find myself trying to “control” the point too quickly, becoming impatient, and then launching a ball over the fence.

LB: Do you sense some of that impatience creeping into your cycling? If yes, how does that bode for you in certain cycling disciplines?

AS: Of course! Patience is required in cycling as well, yet I often find myself “chomping at the bit” to animate a race or start a lead-out sooner than necessary. With my strengths as a cyclist, I like to attack early and often, and I like to make a race hard. Yet, sometimes that isn’t my job yet, or I need to wait. I have learned that sometimes you need to sit in and allow other teams to do some work as well. In a lead-out, you need to be patient and confident to start it when you need to, and not go too early. Thank goodness for race radios! I am learning to read the race better and to just respond, but sometimes it is very nice to be told when and where to be, and how hard to go.

Impatience also shows up in a time trial. You start the effort, and you want to go really fast, right NOW. Instead, I am learning to build into my efforts. I don’t think that impatience is that harmful of a quality to have in cycling, but you also need to learn to relax and burn your matches when they will have the most effect. Luckily for me, if I make an “impatient” move, I can still give myself a chance to recover.

LB: You’ve done exceptionally well in time trial events. What are your ultimate goals…Nationals, 2012 in London, World Championships?

AS: My specialty so far has been the time trial. I really hope to focus on this discipline throughout the year as I continue to develop as a complete cyclist. My goal is to win time trial nationals, then on to the rest of my goals… I really hope to compete at the World Championships and eventually the Olympics. One step at a time, and with a great support team—I will get there.

LB: Some would say that time trialing is in your genes. Who is the better time trialist, you or your grandfather?

AS: My grandfather, has over 12 national time trial jerseys, and he is 79 and still racing! If that isn't impressive, I don't know what is. I think he is probably still the better time trialist. He knows his stuff. I can't reveal any of his secrets, but trust me, he is the real deal. I am still working towards my first National Time Trial jersey... My grandfather is one of the main reasons I am in this sport, and I am truly inspired by him.

LB: What type of time trial course best suits your talents (fast and flat, hilly…short prologue or long)…of the ones you have ridden, do you have a favorite?

AS: Being relatively new at this, I actually haven’t done all that many time trials. The ones I have excelled in have all had a variety of terrains and distances. I like power climbs, I like the course short, I like them long, and I like them difficult. So really, I don’t know what I prefer? I got 5th at the prologue at La Route de France, which was 4.4k long. I loved the short effort and the technical nature of the course. That was my first prologue I had ever done, and I loved it. However, I also loved the TT course at Cascade, which I got 2nd at, because it a long steady climb and a fast downhill. Ultimately, I like time trialing, and I find out to take any course and make it suit me. If you are having “fun” while competing in a time trial, you aren’t going hard enough.

LB: Cycling seems an awful long way from Biochemistry, or is it? Have you been able to apply your analytical skills to the road or in training?

AS: I am a huge science nerd. I love Biochemistry and all it involves. Actually, that is a part of what attracted me to endurance sports, such as triathlon, and now cycling. I love the science in it all. If your training has science involved and you can get really dialed in on what your body requires and how to structure your training around that. That being said, of course I am a "data junkie" when it comes to my training and racing. Even though I don't like discussing that with the general public, I like knowing what I can do and how I can improve. I am fortunate that my coach, Charlie Livermore, at Endurance Performance Training Center uses physiological testing to determine my training plan and needs. I love plotting the graphs and drawing the molecular structures...oh wait, should I admit that? Although science is not the golden standard, it is a valuable tool to use. I use biochemistry not only to clarify my training, but I am not going to lie, sometimes I draw chemical structures in my head to get my mind off of the pain of interval at times... You should have seen me when I went over my nutritional analysis with Dr. Rich Stagliano at Live Fit Medicine when he showed me my personal glycolysis and electron transport chain diagram...can you say science nerd? I loved the information, but I also loved the reminder of that Biochemistry final...

LB: You do realize that you are about one mention of the electron transport chain away from me forever labeling you as “The Big Mitochondria?”

AS: Very funny. I will leave the further ATP generation to oxidative phosphorylation.

LB: At this moment, what would you say is your greatest strength as a rider...weakness?

AS: My strength this year has been my time trial, but I also have had the opportunity to work on all my weaknesses as well. I have loved learning how to perfect a lead-out, how to be a good teammate, how to attack, and how to climb. I have so much to learn, but the good news is, I have the time, the support, and the dedication. I will leave the discussion of my weaknesses for another time....

LB: I have always been a big proponent for women’s cycling, yet like other female sports for every big step forward it also seems to take two steps back, so to speak. What is great about your sport…how would you improve upon it?

AS: What I find the most fascinating about women’s cycling is the opportunity that you can discover there. Cycling offers not only an outlet, but a career for those who have excelled in sport at the collegiate level. You find former soccer players, Nordic skiers, cross-country runners, and maybe a couple of tennis players. It gives us a chance to find a sport that we were meant for, it gives us a purpose, a place, and limitless opportunities. What was frustrating about tennis was that I started tennis when I was a freshman in high school, and I was always behind. I was always struggling against time. I never had enough time on the court to make up the deficit against my opponents. It was an experience issue, and I didn’t have enough time to gain the experience. It was a losing battle. However, cycling gives a chance to aspiring athletes. In endurance sports, women have time to get good educations to live, and to still excel in the sport. Yet, even so, there is so much room for the sport to improve. It is so behind the times as far as equality in sports. I won’t get on a soapbox about this, but the women need increased opportunities, increased visibility, and increased importance. We would love the chance extended to us as well. Equally.

LB: What is one thing that people don’t know about you, and might be surprised to find out?

AS: I am a cowgirl at heart. I grew up on a ranch in Santa Barbara County, then moved up to a ranch in Shasta County. I knew how to ride a horse before I ever knew what a tricycle or walking was. Although I live in Marin now, I am still country at heart.

LB: Does that mean you are a country music fan...if so who are your favorite artists and are they in the queue for training or pre-race warm-up music?

AS: I LOVE country music. My favorites are the classics, like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Merle Haggard... But, I love some of the new stuff too, like Taylor Swift. Yet, that music is saved for the "base" miles... For an interval or warm-up, I have to go with Lady Gaga or the Black Eyed Peas...

LB: Stage Races or Crits?

AS: Of course my instincts are screaming, “Stage Races, Stage Races, Stage Races!” I love the difficulty of stage racing, and the new battle each day holds to ultimately win the war. May the strongest team win. I love it. However, I have learned to like crits, and even dare I say, have fun doing crits! Crits used to make me cry, seriously, and now I love them! It helps to have such a strong team, and it is fun to be able to race them with no fear. To race hard, fast, and aggressively, knowing you can win the bike race. Although I adore the variety of stage racing, crits are adrenaline full and spectator friendly. Ultimately, I would have to choose stage racing over crits, but I have a new appreciation for the criterium and look forward to becoming more accomplished in them…

LB: Top 5 things you cannot live without?

AS:
1. Peanut Butter. I have tried on multiple occasions to give up the stuff, but I must have it. Maybe we should have it put on the banned substance list?
2. My CrackBerry, I mean BlackBerry… It is my only connection to the world at times…
3. My cat. I happen to adore cats more than one person should…
4. Daily dose of Vitamin D. I love being outside and even on a rest day need to get out there and enjoy God’s creation…I get grumpy if I don’t get that…
5. My family. They mean the world to me.

LB: Best experience on a bicycle, to date…worst?

AS: I have so many good days, and so many bad days on the bike. I think when you ride as much as I do, that happens. However, the day that comes to mind was both my best day on the bike and my worst day on the bike.

It was Etape 1 of La Route de France, after the epic prologue where I found success. This was my second trip to Europe for the US National Team, and I was 5th in GC at the start of the stage. Positioning is key in European races, yet it is the most difficult skill to learn. With narrow roads, and large field sizes, moving around the peloton is nothing like you have experienced in the US. The major difference between my first trip to Europe and my second, was that I felt like I belonged there. I was no longer looking for survival, I was looking to race.

When the peloton slowed just for an instance, I saw the perfect opening. It was like the proverbial seas had parted. I launched an attack, and launch I did, right out into the French countryside. Who is with me? No one. Oops. I proceeded to spend the next 60k off the front of the race, solo. I was not just finishing a race in Europe, I was racing! It was an instinct attack, and it was confidence to keep going. It was an exhilarating experience to race through the hills of France with the cheers of “USA” resounding and being the bike race. I wasn’t just settling to be a filler, I was the bike race. I couldn’t believe it. This was the best day on my bike.

Although I put 3:30 on the peloton, I was caught within 10k to the finish. The effort caught up to me, and I was cramping through the finishing circuits. I ended up losing time on the peloton, and was completely demoralized at the finish. I went from a severe high to a relentless low. I needed help getting off my bike, and my body was destroyed. Then it happened. The French came up to me to get me for the podium. They had awarded me, most aggressive rider, or as they translated it, “Miss Combatitivity”. I went from barely being able to turn the pedals to standing on the podium, wearing the USA jersey with pride, and receiving flowers, kisses, and a trophy. My best day on the bike, turned to the worst day, and was transformed into a solid conclusion of recognition not only for me, but for Team USA for racing aggressively, racing hard, and representing. Best days, worst days, it’s all good…

LB: You are in your off-season right now, when will you start to get after it again…any cross or track in your near future?

AS: I have already started to ramp up the training again. I started around November 1st. I would love to get on the track, and who knows, you may see me doing a little cross! Since I have never ridden in the dirt before, I might keep this time and location a secret to spare embarrassment! If you have a chance to catch my inaugural attempts, I am sure it will be entertaining to say the least.

LB: It is a bit early, but what are your goals for next year?

AS: It is early, but I have my goals. I have steps and benchmarks to reach in order to make my ultimate dreams a reality. I want to be a strong rider, and teammate for Team TIBCO and do the roles necessary for our team to have a successful season. TT Nationals is also an important goal. I will keep working hard, get faster, and hopefully attain my goals, one step at a time.

To follow Alison as she navigates her way through the peloton and through life, visit her website, or follow her on Twitter.

Photos: Courtesy Bob Cullinan (CycleTo)

When I last spoke to our “Dancer on the Pedals,” Kristin Keim, she was recovering from a bad crash and living in Boulder, Colorado. My, how things change?

Her life, as beautifully fluid as her movements on the dance floor and in the saddle, has once again undergone another transition. In the past year, the South Carolina native has moved further west to Northern California, and she is now actively pursuing a career that will have her dancing in peoples’ heads in hopes of helping them to excel on the pedals.

In my latest conversation with Kristin Keim, we discuss her latest passion, her return to racing, and her future involvement with the Triple Crankset.

Lenny B (LB): Since we last spoke, you've entered graduate school. What are you studying? What is your ultimate goal?

Kristin Keim (K2): Wow, yes it’s been well over a year since my last Triple Crankset interview and my how things changed. I ended up deciding to take a big leap a wee bit earlier than I had previously planned to pursue my goal of becoming a Sport Psychologist. I packed up my things from CO and road tripped with my dad out to NorCal to start school last October at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill. I finished up my first year of graduate school this past month and have been on the journey of a lifetime! It’s been a crazy year with many highs and a couple of lows to keep me on my toes and focused on my positive goals. Sometimes I need to be challenged mind, body, and soul to really appreciate and to work even harder at the things I’m passionate about in life. The program has been amazing, and to be honest it’s more than I could have ever expected. I’ve been able to work hands on with athletes of all ages and levels and even worked on life skills training through our LEAP program where I worked as a Sport Psychology Graduate Intern at the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility. All these experiences have solidified my reasons for going into this program so I can help others realize how much potential they have by taking a peek into their mental tool box to enhance their performance. I was also fortunate to be accepted this past winter into the Doctorate program for Clinical Psychology and will begin that journey next week… yep, in four years I hope to be Dr. K2!

LB: In addition to furthering your education and practicing in your profession, you have also returned to racing. Has it changed how you mentally approach each race?

K2: Well let’s just start by saying that it was my mental resilience that actually got me back into racing this past summer. I suffered some complications and a very stressful flare-up of my Crohn’s disease just when I was starting to prepare for the 2009 road season with my new team Wells Fargo Racing. It was pretty bad and I was unable to ride for almost 5 months and I lost a ton of weight, muscle and fitness. Luckily, I have an amazing support system where my family, friends, teammates, and twitter followers (www.twitter.com/thek2) helped keep my spirits high and encouraged me to keep fighting. I’d like to give a special shout out to Mara, Kami, Kim, Yuki, Karen, Lyne, and yes you Leonard for all the support, laughs, and encouragement. I could list probably 100 names and I’m very grateful to have such amazing people in my life. Actually, it was around spring break when my mom and sister came out to visit that the new meds finally started to kick in and I saw a glimmer of hope that I was going to get back to my old self. I had been doing all kinds of mental exercises I might work on with other athletes like: positive self-talk, motivation statements, affirmations, imagery, and one of the most important to my situation, goal-setting. It’s funny because I owe a ton of my ‘comeback’ to a new friend I met out here who gave me some fun tips about training on Mount Diablo (at the time I was living at the base in Walnut Creek) so during my break I started riding and after a week or so the hunger started to grow inside of me again. He told me to just keep doing what I loved, which has always been climbing so I just went out and hammered Mt. D repeats for a week. All of a sudden I felt like my strength, focus, and passion for racing where coming back and I wanted to race… badly! One of the keys to starting up for my first race was to acknowledge that I was in no way prepared for an entire season and to just take each week as I could while balancing school, training, and life. I also tried to rely on my past years experience and did a ton of visualizing peak performances from other training rides, races, and enjoyable moments on the bike to spark that important mind/body connection. It was important for me to lie out short term and long-term goals where I realized that any of the racing and training I did this summer was actually a foundation for my 2010 season. I have come to terms with the idea that I probably won’t be able to do a ton of races but hopefully be able to support my amazing team with more confidence in my own racing abilities. By increasing my self-confidence I can increase my self-efficacy, which will lead to more productive racing and hopefully enhance my overall performance for next season.

LB: There are a great deal of popular misconceptions in your chosen profession, some of which involve someone lying on a sofa and talking about their parental relationships in some Freudian terms. Is that really the case?

K2: Funny because I just took a class this summer in preparation for the doctorate program that covered some of the mainstream forms of psychology like Psychodynamic Theory, Humanistic Psychology, Self-Psychology, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and one that really interests me Positive Psychology to name a few. The focus of Sport Psychology in many ways takes a bit of each philosophy; I guess you could say it’s a melting pot of theories. One area that many people get confused about is the difference between a sport psychologist and a clinical psychologist. Most people working in this field are actually Sport Psychology Consultants who have earned their masters in sport psychology but do not hold their doctorate in psychology. A Sport Psychologists is typically someone who has their doctorate, is licensed to practice psychology, has training in sport psychology techniques and is a member of the Association of Applied Sport Psychology. Sport Psychology Consultants look to help athletes, coaches, and teams learn how to use various mental exercises and techniques in order to improve their overall performance but are not qualified to work with psychological pathologies, though we are trained to look for red flags and to make referrals. Since I have been on both sides as an athlete and now a future consultant, I’ve found that there are some deeper issues that many athletes have to face such as: depression, eating disorders, and substance abuse. These are issues that I would like to be able to offer consultation on if they happen to arise when working with an athlete. No matter what, my goal is to provide each client with the tools needed to help them become mentally prepared to excel as a person and athlete on their own. And no… there won’t be any ‘couches’ involved though maybe a bike ride or a chat at the start line.

LB: How does your profession differ from what a club or team coach might do for their athletes?

K2: That’s a great question and one I’ve already touched on a bit. So, instead of telling you how to eat, how many hours to ride and what zone to be in, I would be teaching you skills like imagery, goal-setting, positive self-talk, and helping you work on your concentration, focus and motivation through various techniques to reach your optimal level of performance. Just like training your body, you need to practice your mental skills for them to really help you in the long run. It would hopefully be a partnership between yourself, your coach and myself where we could all work together in synergy to facilitate a mind/body training program that would fit your individual needs.

LB: It’s often said that sports are 80 percent mental, but doesn't that mostly pertain to knowing what to do and when to do it?

K2: Actually, I like to think that it’s 90% mental and 10% physical but I have my biases. (laughing) Knowing what to do and when to do it is a lot easier said than done for most athletes. Some of the things we help athletes become aware of are things that might help to improve their confidence or motivation by focusing on things that are in their control and how to use positive thinking to improve their athletic performance. The next step would be to figure out various times or places to practice these mental tools, whether it be in a pre-performance routine (like listening to music or doing stretches before a race) where the athlete can focus on the exercises. Each athlete will have their own set of mental tools that they will be able to choose from and over time become more aware of when and where to use them. It’s comes down to the basic idea that… if you think it, feel it, act it, eventually… you will do it.

LB: Psychology has long been considered a "soft science". These days, isn't cycling (or any endurance sport for that matter) all about the hard scientific data: Power, Watts, VO2max, and Strength-to-Weight Ratio?

K2: The same train of thought is actually presented in psychology. Many theories are not taken as seriously because there isn’t enough research and or data to back up the theory. Since sport psychology is a rather new field of study we are still on the verge of gathering more scientific data but most of the theories that are used with today’s athletes have been thoroughly studied, researched, and tested. It’s surprising how many research articles there are about sport psychology techniques and how they are very effective and in some sports almost as effective as actual physical practice. In most cases, the combination of using mental techniques with physical training will enhance performance but no matter what, the athlete will always need the physical aspect in order to reach their peak performance. If an athlete was to inquire about the hard scientific data, I would be more than happy to provide days worth of reading materials proving that sport psychology is a key ingredient to helping an athlete reach their full athletic potential.

LB: With our "microwave" society where everyone seems to want a quick fix to any of their issues, how would address that type of athlete in search of a “magic pill”?

K2: That is something I think many coaches, trainers, and sport psychology consultants have to face when working with athletes, especially since most athletes are highly motivated and determined to do or try anything in order to win. This is not to say it’s entirely a bad thing, there needs to be some focus on what we call extrinsic motivators such as focusing on winning. It’s when the athlete becomes desperate and losses focus on intrinsic motivators like their passion for the sport and might turn to illegal means of getting ahead by taking ‘magic pills.’ If an athlete really wants to work on their performance they must understand that it’s just as much mental as it is physical and that it is going to take hard work, dedication, and practice to reach their full potential…but it can be done. The best way to address this is to have the athlete create a list of why they play or participate in their chosen sport and what goals they have that keep them motivated. The athlete needs to understand that the only ‘quick fix’ will come from them internally and they must decide how hard they’re willing to work mentally and physically to improve.

LB: You make the distinction between clinical psychology and sports psychology. Once you complete your degree, would you be able to address the issues associated with clinical depression, as in the case of athletes such as Tyler Hamilton?

K2: After I complete my doctorate program, I would be able to work with athletes like Tyler who suffer from the disease of clinical depression. What many people don’t realize is that depression is a disease and that most people who suffer from it need psychological therapy in addition to being placed on medications to cope with daily life. I do not know all the details of Tyler’s case but I commend him for seeking therapy and I wish him the best with his future endeavors.

LB: Like with most things, you get out what you put in. How much of treating or helping out the athlete is dependent upon the effort they put into it?

K2: How we approach athletes is not that much different from what coaches expect from physical training. Just think, would you be able to race an entire season on 1 week of riding? No. The difference is that you can use your mental skills throughout the entire day if needed and adapt them to fit into your training, racing, and daily life routines. The key is to make sure you fully understand how and when to use the skills that your consultant presents. It’s a team effort and as a consultant we are in a partnership to help athletes become the best they can be without our help. With that said, it’s very important for the athlete to take their mental exercises seriously and to practice them just like they would riding their bike everyday. I like this quote, "A lot of people want a shortcut. I find the best shortcut is the long way, which is basically two words: work hard." - Randy Pausch (The Last Lecture)

LB: I'm a lowly Cat 5 racer, how can sports psychology help me or is that type of help better reserved for elite athletes only?

K2: First off, there are no ‘lowly’ categories in world of sport when it comes down to how people perceive their own passion, dedication, and commitment to doing something they enjoy. So for starters we would need to work on changing your self-talk by possibly re-framing that as, “I’m and up and coming Cat 5 racer.” Making sure you are referring to yourself in a positive, productive, and powerful manner. To get back to your initial question… no, sport psychology consultants work with people of all ages, levels, incomes, cultures, and physical abilities. I would like to work with the Special Olympic athletes in the future as well as for the U. S. Olympic Committee. These skills can be taught and successfully used by athletes and performers of all types such as dancers, musicians, and actors. It’s funny because most of the techniques we teach could probably do just about everyone in the world some good at enhancing their own performance personally and professionally.

LB: Through your program, you have already worked with some younger athletes. Is it easier to work with minds that are readily impressionable as opposed to the adult athlete who may already have a bevy of ingrained beliefs/notions?

K2: This is similar to what most coaches deal with; it’s easier to work with new athletes or cyclists who don’t already have a set pedal form or way they’re used to training. The same thing goes with the mental aspect as well. I’m not sure if I’d say it’s easier to work with younger athletes though because the approach would be different since each individual presents a wide spectrum of issues we might need to work on. Younger athletes might also have a more difficult time understanding the importance of their mental training and it might take more convincing than it would be a seasoned adult athlete. In some regards, it might be easier to work with adult athletes because they might have a better time with understanding how the mind and body are connected and would be able to retain the material in order to practice it on their own. The focus with younger athletes is to help them start to become more aware of the mental side and then how to use their mental tools in order to help their performance. No matter what, I look forward to working with both youth and adult athletes as I continue down the road to becoming a Sport Psychologist.

LB: As the newest contributor to the Triple Crankset, you will be dropping some of your newly found knowledge on our readers. What are your hopes and aspirations for the “Mind Meets Bike” section?

K2: My hopes and aspirations for life are big and it’s a wonderful opportunity for me to start working on one of my main goals of writing a sport psychology book focused on cycling so these articles will kind of be my rough drafts so to speak. I will be focusing on spreading the word and concrete information about sport psychology and how it really can help all athletes at any level reach their full potential. Most of my articles will focus on using sport psychology techniques and exercises that can be adapted towards cycling rather it be a one-day crit, stage race, or a weekend century ride. One of my old coaches for cycling gave me the book Thinking Body, Dancing Mind by Chungliang All Huang and Jerry Lynch and it’s the book that sparked my own passion for wanting to learn and someday teach the mental side to sport. Another wonderful book of reference is Flow for Sport by Susan Jackson and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi; flow is a topic that I will probably touch on throughout my articles. I come from a diverse background of experience in many sports which I think helps me understand the various stages we all go through mentally and physically as athletes and these will be some of the topics I hope to address. Overall, I would like to help each reader understand the positive, productive, and powerful capabilities they have within their mind when they meet their own bike at each race. The best part of this project was trying to come up with a name… it was an email I got from you about liking my idea of Mind Meets Bikes and how it reminded you of the song Soul Meets Body by Death Cab for Cutie. This is actually one of my all time favorite songs and here are some lyrics I think are perfect for what I hope to contribute…

“Cause in my head there’s a greyhound station
Where I send my thoughts to far off destinations
So they may have a chance of finding a place
where they’re far more suited than here.”