Time for Venus

Recap
Wednesday night most of us ended up a little dirty and greasy after the hands on clean your bike clinic. We revisited the drive train cleaning lesson from last week too. I think we turned a few heads on the trail with that many clean bikes. The ride through Cherry Creek State Park was so beautiful except for the bugs. We thanked Cheryl for sharing her bug spray.
On Sunday, Dawn, Deb, Robyn S. and I rode 41 miles as our last longer ride before Venus. We made good time down and on the way back. The heat pushed us to keep moving and we finished feeling great about this ride and the upcoming challenge of Venus. Thanks for the great ride!


This Week
For the last two sessions of the beginner’s summer season, we will skip the clinic and opt for longer rides. I would like to challenge you in two ways. The first would be to see if we can get all the way to REI on the bike path. We will meet at the store at 6 pm this Wednesday the 26th and take off at 6:10 pm. This is a pretty flat ride but can be a little sneaky. On the way out, it’s got enough downhill to make you think it’s really easy but then you turn around and realize there is a small, steady climb all the way back to the store. I would encourage you to try this. We’ll have more time and this is the easier ride of the two challenges. The total mileage will be between 15 and 20. Don’t worry if you’ve never gone that far before because it’s still a no drop ride.
The second challenge will be to go the long way around Cherry Creek State Park. It is similar to what we did last week, but instead of exiting the park at the Parker side, we will turn around and go back the way we came. This is the more challenging of the two rides. The distance is between 20 and 25 miles. There are gentle hills and a few short steeper ones too. This will again be a no drop ride. We will meet at the store at 6 pm on the 2nd of September and leave by 6:10 pm. Let’s finish out our summer season by seeing how far we’ve come and how much each of us has grown this summer.
Sunday August 30 is the grand finale for the Intermediate/Advanced group. We will be in our custom jerseys ready to ride Venus de Miles with clean bikes. I can’t imagine a better way to end the summer.

Jersey Update
Dawn has a call in to the printer to see when they will be done. When we find out, I will send out a plan to get them returned to you by Saturday morning.
The Day of Venus
Let’s meet at Vic’s Coffee Shop at 6:30 am, and then we can walk to the park and find a nice place for a few group and individual photos. I plan to start as early as possible to give myself enough time to do and enjoy the ride. I can’t wait to see us all dressed up and together at this event!!

RMNP Weekend
Put September 19 and 20th on your social calendar for this summer’s last outdoor event. We are invited to Patricia’s cabin in Grand Lake and will ride in Rocky Mountain National Park. We will have an organizational breakfast meeting to figure out the details on September 12th at 7 am. We will meet and discuss the details over breakfast at the Village Inn at Southlands Mall. Please plan to be there if you would like to participate.
Tips
Getting ready for an event or a race is just as important as all the training for the event. Here are a few simple check lists for your bike and yourself to think about this week.

Bike and Gear
Check the condition of your tires and brake pads
Check the contents of your flat repair kit
Clean and lube your drive train
Check that the screws holding your cleats in place are snug
Make sure your outfit is clean and will hold all you need/want to carry
Stock up on your favorite energy foods and drinks or find out if you can use just the food and drinks from the rest stops

Your Person
Don’t stop training
Do a few easy rides to keep your legs loose and mobile, walking and swimming are two other good ways to do this
Don’t change anything about your diet the week prior to the ride
Get a good night’s sleep two nights before the event, because you will be excited and nervous the night before and probably won’t get the best sleep
Plan out when you’ll wake up, leave the house, eat breakfast (at least 2 hours prior to starting), where you’ll park, and what time you’ll take off
Set all your gear out in the garage, the living room or another part of the house so that you can see it all in one place

Venus is getting closer

Recap

Last Wednesday night Robin Ketchem won the drive train clean while I demonstrated how to properly clean and lube a drive train. We rode toward REI again and appreciated the cool breeze and the shade of the big trees long the path. The total mileage for the trip was 15; that the farthest this group has went this year. Great job!!

This Week
On Wednesday we will continue with the theme of cleaning and I will give away a free frame cleaning during the clinic. Please bring your bike into the store. We will start promptly at 6 pm and try to be out riding by 6:30 pm. I would like to do some hills this week. Let’s see if we can manage the short loop through Cherry Creek State Park. I think this will end up between 12 and 15 miles. Be ready for the climb up the dam road and the 2 short hills before leaving the park.
For the Sunday ride, I’d like to give you one more chance at hills before Venus de Miles. We will meet at Challenger Park in Parker at 7:30 am and leave from the parking lot of the Rec. Center at 8 am. This is a long ride. The total distance will be about 50 miles. It’s a tricky ride!!! Getting to Chatfield seems all too easy, but you realize that once you turn around its a climb nearly all the way home. Remember to have enough food with you. Eating regularly is one of the best ways to prevent a bonk. As always, call if you get lost or need directions. 303-903-3473.

Challenger Park
17301 E Lincoln Ave
Parker, CO 80134

Tip
Its nearly time for Venus. Take some time this week to sit down with a cup of tea or coffee and read through the entire event packet. There are many good tips, suggestions, and guidelines for you to better plan your arrival, parking, and take off times. It’s a great read and I won’t soil the ending. I have attached the information that Venus has posted on their website. Enjoy!!

Jersey Updates
They are at the printer. Bethany, Dawn, or I will take a picture and email it out when we see the finished product. We will workout the details of returns when we have a definite date to get them back. The price turned out to be $20 each person for the graphic design fee and the screen printing fee. If you under or over paid, I will settle up with you when we give them back to you.

RMNP Weekend
We tried to cook up a girls only weekend earlier in the summer but the road into the park was under construction. Patricia says the new road, “is like butter.” We are attempting to put together a bike weekend at Patricia’s cabin in Grand Lake. It will consist of riding in Rocky Mountain National Park, with the option to stay overnight at the cabin. Which is where Austin and I spent our second wedding anniversary. This is the nicest, most welcoming cabin I’ve every seen. It’s got a beautiful deck and all the comforts of home. I will send out more details as I get them; we were thinking mid to late September.

Side Notes
Congratulations to our Rattlesnake Triathletes!!! Jackie and Kelly both did great at the sprint distance. Way to go Ladies!!

Good luck our Tour de Cure ride, Bethany has been training hard and fundraising hard so that she can have a great ride this Saturday.

If you are up for a double feature riding weekend, I am taking the Aurora Store’s group ride on our Aurora Res. Route. Any one wishing to join us is welcome. We will meet at the store at 9 am and leave at 9:30 am. Email or call me with any questions about this ride; it is the intermediate/advanced level ride and we will end up at around 50 miles. Let’s make it a century weekend!!

For the runners out there

Janeen asked me to post this:

"DetermiNation".

I work for the American Cancer Society and they are a partner with the Denver Marathon this year. You can either do the full marathon, half, or as a relay. Should be a great time.

Flat Tire Change Clinic

Recap

On Wednesday night the rain prevented us from riding but we made great use of the time. We did a worksheet designed to calculate how many grams of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates each individual should to eat in one day, looked at a sample menu, and got a few new recipes to try out. A few of the women who raced Tri for the Cure had a bunch of great questions about preparing for their tri.

Barbara, Robin, and I rode 40 miles on Sunday. We started at Challenger Park and went west on the 470 trail. We warmed up for cyclocross season a little because a giant tree had fallen in the middle of the trail near Chatfield. We got off our bikes and carried them around the debris. It was too hot to risk getting a flat tire. We climbed the hill to get to the top of the overlook and enjoyed the view of the boats before turning around. No matter how ready I think I am for that long, steady climb home, it manages to remind me just how important all those climbing drills are during spin classes.

As a side note, I rode with the Bicycle Village Aurora’s group ride. There were about 20 riders. We split up into two groups, both of which are no drop, and rode to Cherry Creek State Park. From here, I went with the faster group. We rode south to Parker and rode Inspiration Drive; there are three good hills out that direction. It’s a good way to get some climbing practice in before Venus de Miles.

This Week

We will revisit the how to change a tire clinic. This is something that takes practice and lots of it to get comfortable doing it. Think of where you get stuck or what part of the process that you want me to demonstrate in more detail. We will start at 6 pm and go riding at 6:30 pm. Whoever shows up will get to vote on which ride we take. All routes will be between 6-10 miles and are a no rider let behind ride.

Sunday we will keep our ride close to the store. We will meet at the store at 7:30 am and leave at 8 am. We will ride down to REI and back to the store before the path gets crowded. Then we can add on the long loop around Cherry Creek State Park. This is an easier ride. Not as many hills as we’ve been doing the rest of the summer. We’ll save our climbing legs for Venus.

2009 BVWO! Jersey Update

There are 18 women who bought jerseys and Bethany is working on getting the design and pricing set up. Below are the instructions. I will email you the amount of the check when she gets the numbers worked out.

Getting your jersey to the printer, your options are to bring it to a group ride and give it to myself, Bethany, or Dawn with your check to cover the printing cost. You must do this by August 12th.

Below are your drop off Options:

Bethany at Chase

14601 E. Colfax Avneue

Aurora, CO 80111

303-344-0292 work

720-278-0830

Dawn at Affinity

64 Inverness Dr East

Englewood, CO 80102

303-728-7480 work direct line

303-829-5857

Wednesday Group Ride August 12th

Sunday Group Rides

Andrea's Cell Phone

303-903-3473

Tip

Venus Prep

I hope all of you have chosen a distance that you want to ride for the Venus de Miles. Your options are 30, 50, or 65. You should ride which ever distance you plan on doing the day of the event at least once before the actual ride. Concentrate on eating and hydrating regularly so that you will have an enjoyable ride. Remember, they do not time you, and no one wins first place. You should enjoy the ride and the rest stops. I talked to the women running the Venus booth at the Tri for the Cure Expo on Saturday and they said that the 30 was a nice scenic ride, while the other two have a few good hills. So be ready, cause we will look great in our team jerseys!!

I will post another sample menu on the blog. See the link below.

http://bvwomenonly.blogspot.com/

Week 1 Sample Menu

Breakfast
	What	Serving Size	Calories
	Ground Turkey Breast	4 oz	120
	Kashi Waffles	2 Waffles	170
	Coffee	4 cups	6
	Creamer	4T	60
Snack
	Celery	100 g	16
	Peanut Butter	25 g	200
	Raisins	20 g	80
Lunch
	Chicken Tenders	2 pieces	100
	Whole Wheat Pita Bread	1	160
	Brussel Sprouts Steamed Single Serving Packets	1 pk	50
Snack
	Apple	1 meduim	95
	Tricuit Crackers	32 g	120
	Blueberries	148 g	84
Dinner
	Frozen Spinach	166 g	60
	Texturized Vegetable Protein	24 g	80
	Low Soduim Chicken Stock	1/2 cup	8
	Cheese	14 g	45
	Archer Farms Vodak Sauce	122 g	120
	Crutons	14 g	40
Treat
	Health Choice Fudge Bar	1	100
	Total Day's Calories		1714