will ride for pancakes

i have heard whisperings about a ride around here called the pancake ride. i heard something about it last year when i just started riding, then never heard it again. then, about a month ago, the words 'pancake ride' were uttered by a teamate who invited me to come along on this mystery ride a few weeks' ago - i couldn't go then, but ever since, i have been dying to see what this pancake ride was all about. at lunch yesterday when a friend mentioned that there was a regular saturday ride out to eminence, kentucky leaving a local park at 7 am on saturday mornings, my ears perked up. the only thing i knew about the pancake ride, other than the fact that there are pancakes, was that it went out to eminence. i almost jumped out of my seat - "is it the pancake ride?". yes indeedy it was. i was in. hook, line & pancake. i dragged my husband and a friend with me.

when the alarm went off at 5:30 this morning, my husband wasn't liking the pancake ride idea so much - he suggested 3 other rides that were leaving later in the day. but i was hell bent on riding 60 miles for pancakes and would not be deterred. we really had no idea what to expect - all we knew was it was 30 miles to pancakes and 30 miles back and we'd be rolling at an average of 20mph. it was exactly 30 miles out, 30 miles back & we maintained exactly an average of 20 mph. this ride has been going on a long time - they have it down to a science.

we started rolling promptly at 7, and while things were a little jacked up and wiggy to start, it didn't take long for the group to get a groove and start a nice rotating paceline that we kept for almost the entire 30 miles out. the morning was a little chilly, there was a blanket of mist, we rode on big wide gorgeous country roads, past farms, horses and those fences that go on for miles and saw the sun rise over it all. it was picture postcard perfect.

the chat-n-nibble restaurant in eminence kentucky is a tiny little dive-y spot in a tiny little town by some railroad tracks. i loved it all - i loved the name of the restaurant, the bikes leaning up against it, tables all pushed together, everyone all squished in, introducing ourselves if we hadn't already gotten a chance to chat while riding. there was a lot of chatter at the chat-n-nibble. no menus - you just order two pancakes and coffee. this is the pancake ride. that's what you order. and you better woof it down, cause the pancake riders keep a tight schedule.

the mist long gone, the sun shining, and bellies full of mid-ride sustenance, our ride back was even faster. i almost died when in the paceline i took a split second to look at my speed thingy and saw numbers like 25, 26, 27 and then 30. holy crap, this is fast. this was the longest ride i have ever been on. the longest and the fastest. steven (my husband, a.k.a. coach) was curious to see how my marathon legs would feel around 45 miles in to the ride. about 41 miles in, i had gotten spit off the back and was feeling the hurt as i rode solo trying just to keep someone in sight so i didn't get lost. i was overjoyed to be collected around mile 45 or so by the group behind me and getting back in a paceline instantly helped get my mojo back. i finished strong - and as the only girl in a ride with 12 guys, in pacelines that reached 30 mph on occasion; i think i held my own pretty well and am over the moon with how it all went.

this was one of the most fun rides i have ever been on. and i think i say that now after every ride. we didn't know what to expect, other than 60 miles with pancakes in between - but i just had that warm fuzzy feeling that it was going to be just about as perfect as it was. we met some great people, had a nice long ride, and enjoyed two pancakes and a cup of coffee at the chat-n-nibble in between the miles.

sixty miles later, i felt amazing. i've said it before, i'll just keep saying it - i cannot get enough of the very literal change of pace this cycling offers; and today's ride was just the ultimate perfect ride. i'm on a cloud. a cloud made of pancakes.

attack of the skirts

i went on my usual monday night chicks-only skirt ride this past monday; but there was nothing usual about it. usually, we ride and do some drills - hill repeats or intervals, or we have a cornering and bike handling clinic and then a mock crit. usually, we ride and then collect at certain places to get tips and instructions.

we took things up a notch on monday - a big, quads screaming, lactate threshold burning notch. you see, there is a weekly ride in town that has become known as the tuesday night worlds' (a.k.a. TNW) - i have never been on this ride but hear all about it from my husband. the ride is comprised of local category 1,2 and 3 racers. it is a massive testosterone-fest of a weekly race; complete with attacks, surges, breaks and a whole bunch of other bike racy terms i am only just now learning about.

monday nights' ride was the skirt version of the tuesday night worlds'; minus the testosterone. thus, it was way cooler. we were pre-warned about the ride - there were going to be surges, there were going to be attacks, people were going to get dropped. we knew going in what it would be like - it was the skirt worlds'.

there were seven of us, a mix of seasoned racers, new racers and triathletes. i went into the ride with strict intructions from my coach (a.k.a my husband) on how to ride, what to do when and what not to do. my goal was to make it to the end without getting my ass handed to me. i knew going into this ride what my current limitations were. i do not have a huge bike base right now, i'm just using whatever is leftover from my running base. i'm not strong enough (yet!) to do any long pulls or attacks and hope to make it to the end in one piece. so, my goal was to ride smart. if i found myself on the front, i was to do a short pull and then pull off. i was to hang on to the breaks, push it and suffer through the surge knowing that it would not last. i was to save myself for the hill climb that would come when we turned off a fast & furious ride down river road. mostly, i was to get on a wheel, stay there and suck it.

for the most part, the ride smart plan worked. some of the surges and attacks i could hang onto. others, not so much. i fell off at one point -so much so that i was dropping f-bombs all over the place, hauling ass, sucking wheels and sucking wind trading pulls to get up to one person, to then get up to the group. despite this minor hyperventilating setback, it was a hugely successful ride for me. i did hang on to some attacks. i didn't burn up all my matches. i did short pulls. and while i was dying on some of the flats (i always am) i felt great on the climbs and had juice at the end of the ride. nobody handed my ass to me.

here's what i loved most: seeing when the attacks would happen. our skirt rides leader would literally annouce that someone was about to attack - it wasn't so much to ruin the attackers fun, but more so that we could learn. which was great for me seeing as in the three races i have been in, i had no idea what the hell was going on until it was far too late: i'd be off the back and the rabbit chase was on -- i would see them, through my haze of hyperventilation - riding slowly. slowly! i knew my recovery time was just up ahead, sucking someone's wheel. but now i know, thanks to my husbands' insistence that i join the club rides again and thanks to last monday nights' skirt ride, that if you can just hang onto that initial surge, that initial attack - it will. slow. down.

it is a great group of girls. i love the support they'll give to a newbie by saying "get on my wheel!" and the inspiration they provide when they are oh so hard to catch. with another skirt worlds' ride this monday, i am hoping that i will have learned a little bit more about riding smarter and will be able to recognize the attacks in next weekends' race and hang on, before its too late.

the club ride

i am back on the club ride program. these are the same rides that my husband would drag me kicking and screaming to last summer. the same rides that i would white knuckle my way through. the same rides where i perfected the art of hyperventilating and the negative self talk that was "i so do not belong here".

i got sick of the hyperventilating. i got sick of chasing the damn group. i got sick of being told i had to get on someone's wheel or i was gonna get hosed. i did have a few brief shining moments on these rides; they all involved climbing a hill fairly victoriously only to be caught again on the downhill and promptly dropped. i took myself off these self-defeating rides at some point last year & wiped my hands clean of them. i didn't need no stinkin' club ride. i was a runner, anyway.

well. i am back on the club ride (entirely self imposed); and have been for about 3 weeks now. i wanted more practice in a pack for the bike races i am now doing. my husband said if i can handle myself in the pack that is a club ride, i can be ready for anything in a race.

i will never forget how i felt the first day i rode up to a club ride meeting place with my husband. i thought surely, everyone could see my heart beating out of my chest. the intimidation factor upon rolling up to a group of people all kitted out in cool team uniforms was enormous. but now? now i ride up to the club ride with three races under my belt all kitted out in my own team uniform.

i used to dread the moment that i got spit off the back and found myself all alone. but now, even though i may still fall off the back and find myself all alone; its its the back of the front group, and i am still part of a team - cause my jersey and shorts say so. and i am totally digging that and eating it up. i love seeing everyone's green jersey and knowing that's who i need to be with. and when you're with them; training, riding and racing tips are handed out like candy.

i need to ride this wave for a little while. and while i feel its' almost sacriledge to say it - there is something here that the running never gave me; and i need to keep figuring it out. i know this blog is called see zanne run; but i just hope y'all will indulge me (take note, yankee girl just said y'all) - if you haven't figured it out already, i really think its gonna be a little more of see zanne ride. so even though i rode through the park today & saw a group of people running the trails and thought that looked really fun, and was completely intrigued by the people at the park running with parachutes attached to their backs (someone please tell me what that is all about, cause i am dying to know); and i'll keep running a little bit, just to make sure my legs don't forget how to do it - this sabbatical from running may be extended until further notice.

there's something to be said for lining up at the start line of your first ever bike race, and then the next and the next and not feeling the slightest bit nervous. and there is something to be said for finally reaching your goal of finishing the club ride with the front pack - okay, i didn't finish with the front pack, but rather was rain-delay dead last on the front pack. but still. it was the front pack and pack number two didn't roll in until a good 5 minutes later. there's always next week. at any rate - there's something to be said for it all and i don't know what it is, but i intend to find out. its either complete stupidity, or the sign of promise. i need to figure out which one it is.

do you have a plan?

this is what my husband asked me before i headed out for a run this morning. i took a break from my break from running to, ah - run. i actually wanted to run and i thought this was a desire that should be embraced. so as i headed out for the first time in a week, i had no plan other than to run as long as my legs would carry me, and to hope that no one i knew saw me walking should the need arise.

the need indeed arise. five miles felt crazy hard. it wasn't pretty, it wasn't fun. i didn't wonder what the hell i've been missing. my ass hurts. my back hurts and my knee is squishing. that wanting to run disappeared pretty quickly once i was actually running.

so, do i have a plan? yeah - right now i gotta go lie on top of a tennis ball to get the knot out of my lower back. that's my plan. beyond that, i got nothing. actually, i have plenty of bike riding plans - and do think i need to come up with some sort of training plan for my next few race endeavors. but as far as running goes i discovered this morning that sadly, or not so sadly (which is sort of sad); i didn't really miss the running. maybe i just need to be more patient, not sure exactly what i expected from a once-a-week run. but, as me and my aching back walked the last quarter mile home this morning, i thought maybe it was running on the road that i didn't miss and it may very well be time to hit the trails. its still running. but its different. and i still really need different.

so, maybe some new trail shoes are my plan.

drinking the kool-aid

i applied for and received my cycling license last week.
i'm officially offical.