114km. 4 laps over a 28.5km rolling/hilly rectangularcourse. Start line, left turnuphill, flat, left turn/right turn uphill, long side, rolling WINDY, left turn(short side) most significant climb, stiff cross wind, left turn (longbackside) uphill, crest, downhill, rolling, little pitches, sweeping left,little pitchs 2-3 km to finish, flat/slight uphill. AWFUL pavement throughout and a 4-person/broken collar bonecrash as a result of some rut-sucking. Hot, mid-to-high 80s/30s and NO neutral feed.

This was the first time OA had been together since the February training camp. Since I’d been racing alone or as a grunt for other teams most of the season, it was nice to have lots of support both on and off the bike. Here are some highlights:

Stage 1: 72 mile RR, hilly, one big climb, rollers, flat finish

Stage 2: 10 mile TT, hilly – down on the way out and up on the way back.

Stage 3: 40 + 2 6 corner FLAT crit.

Stage 4: 103 mile RR, hilly, 3 climbs, flat rollers, 10 mile uphill finish in the mountains

Stage 1: 6th, second in the field sprint

Since Kern County, I've been getting in some fantastic training. I was going through a phase where I felt like crap all of the time, but over the past 2.5 weeks, my numbers have gone way up. Since the biggest goal of my season is Canadian Nats July 4-5, I'm pretty stoked to be peaking lately. I'm also (finally) dialed in my TT fit, mostly thanks to this: http://www.blackwellresearch.com/ism_seats.htm. Don't make fun of it -- it's brilliant. Of course my pedal efficiency on that bike is still awful.

4 stages over three days in a variety of places east of Bakersfield.
GC: 3rd women ½
Teams: Touchstone, Village Peddler, Proman, Velo Bella, Kahala-LaGrange, Dolce Vita, and NorCal Velo.

Bakersfield, CA – Sunday May 11th
7th (ugh)
62 miles over a 31 mile loop. Only one climb which, in actuality, was only about 3 miles long and probably around 5%. Otherwise, start/finish to false flat uphill for 2-3 miles, gradual descent, climb starts around mile 12, switchback descent, the flat for the last 12 miles or so.

This course was essentially the Inner Loop backwards, with an uphill finish about 12 miles after the Sapillo climb.Since it was the last stage, there was lots of excitement going on. My job was to help chase down and neutralize any breaks that happened through the long valley part of the course. It was also suggested that I try and initiate a sticking break.

Since I'm posting this late, I can't remember what I ate that day, but it was nothing unusual. The only treat was for dinner I ate at the Peace of Mind restaurant (I think that's right). They had raw-vegan food. It was very good. Yum

This was NOT good. I really need to train my TT more. I had a slow bad time and moved down. Blah!

There's not really much to say. I came in 36. Kelly came in 13, Olivia was 24, Maria was 32.
Overall, our GC looks like this:
Kelly: 9th
Maria: 21st
Olivia: 29th
Me: 33rd

Tomorrow is the crit. Ugh.

I ate the exact same stuff today as yesterday (so far), with dinner still to come.

was really worried going in to this race. I had absolutely no appetite in the morning. I had a "magic drink" of green power, oatmeal, soy protein, and soy milk and a piece of spelt bread and peanut butter. The race was 77 miles in 40 mph winds. Ouch. I drank only three bottles and had 6 goos. When I got home I had tempe, vegan gourmet and corn tortillas. For dinner I had borwn rice, chick peas, salad, broccoli, and carrots.