The Auburn Collegiate Race

I am not happy

Chatting with Kim before the time trial

The mail man suspects something fishy is going on

At the end of the 2007 collegiate season, I vowed I wouldn't race collegiate this year (see my 'collegiate racing' post). This past weekend made me wonder why I chose to forget that vow.

The drive up was peaceful enough. We listened to music and talked and laughed at Shawn's singing (not because it was bad but because of the fearlessness with which he conquered "The Circle of Life"). When we got to the host apartment and realized there wasn't room for all ten of us - that was when the trip started to go downhill. After spending thirty minutes on the phone when I really wanted to sleep, I found a place for three of us with the Cumberland cycling team. The one girl on their team had an entire hotel room all to herself and kindly offered to share it with us.

The time trial went really well for me. It was on a flat course through the Alabama countryside. I was able to remain focused. I averaged 25.4mph over the 7.8 miles and beat second place by over a minute and a half. The road race, on the other hand, was one of the seemingly longest, most annoying races I have ever participated in. It was five versus one between me and Lees-Mcrae. My shifting was screwing up at the beginning and I missed covering the first attack. Over the course of the first lap, I chased the solo break down. The rest of the race I covered all the attacks from the LMC girls. When they weren't attacking me, they were going 8 mph, and that was what really annoyed me. On the bright side, it was great sprint practice. Due to horrible positioning on my part I got second in the sprint.

The criterium went pretty much the same way as the road race. I covered all the LMC attacks and ended up second in the sprint after the Cumberland girl, who I'd kinda forgotten about at that point. Anyway, I'm racing more consistently than I was last year, so I'm not disappointed in the weekend.

So I spent most of the weekend trying to not be upset due to lack of housing, race support, and teammates. I was sick of driving such long distances, sick of cramped hotel rooms, and sick of dealing with LMC.

That's my rant for the week. Now I'm home, and I'm calm. Today I officially switched my major to mechanical engineering, and I got a flip ton of PowerBars in the mail. I got my materials test back (I did well on it), and I finished Hemingway's The Garden of Eden. I was going to try to write this blog entry with a Hemingway-like edge to it, but I failed miserably. I guess it's just not my style.

Homeless in Nashville

What am I doing for my spring break? Am I going to beach to work on my tan? Am I lazing around at home all day and going clubbing at night? Perhaps I’ve been flirting with some cute guys or relaxing in front of the TV.

Well, no, nothing quite so exciting. Instead, I’ve been racing my bike, studying, eating, sleeping, and gradually realizing that I live a unique, interesting lifestyle.

It happens that there were collegiate races in Georgia the first and last weekends of spring break. Instead of driving up for both weekends, we decided to stay in Nasvhille for the five days inbetween.

After the race Sunday, Dave and I drove to Nashville. We couldn't get into the apartment yet so we camped out at a Panera a couple miles away. We’d just spent several hours sweating on a bike, followed by several hours in a car. I was wearing sweat pants and a T-shirt, I was exhausted, and my hair had dried salt in it – I needed a shower badly. Dave and I walked in with our backpacks, made our way through the throngs of sophisticated Vanderbilt students, and sat down at one of the tables to wait. It was then that I first realized what it must be like to be homeless - no home. It wasn’t just that we didn’t have a place to stay – with my odor and appearance I was practically living the part. And to top it all off, I didn’t buy any food there. Instead, I brought in some leftovers that I was saving from lunch and ate those. And for a drink? Dave and I brought one coffee and took turns sipping it.

Eventually the guys rolled into town and we moved into the apartment. The shower felt amazing, and I certainly didn’t look homeless anymore. But I still slept on an air mattress at night and had to pull on all my clothes to keep from freezing to death under my one, small blanket.

The next morning, I woke up, grabbed all my stuff (getting dressed was not necessary since I was wearing all my clothes), and went in search of wireless internet. I walked down Church Street and gazed up at the beautiful buildings. I practically tripped over the Nashville Public Library. It was hidden inside this beautiful building with columns that blended right into the architecture of all the other buildings on the street. The library had just opened.

I made my way to the third floor and found a comfortable place at a table. After checking my email and my facebook, I sat back and looked around. The furniture was very nice – it was obviously a new building. As I looked around, I couldn't help but notice how disheveled-looking most of the patrons were. Then it hit me. Who else would be at the library that early on a Monday morning? The people who don’t have to go to work or school or stay home and take care of the kids, the homeless people. Almost everyone there was homeless, and I was beginning to wonder if I should be included in that group. I looked down at myself. Again, I was wearing baggy sweat pants, a t-shirt, and a jacket. And to top THAT all off, I was wearing a hat that had just been given to me. Next thing I know I'll be begging on the street corner for cash. And after this trip is over, I might be poor enough that I’ll have to.

Collegiate Racing

Last year, I wasn't quite sure why I raced the collegiate calender. I suppose I did it because everyone else was doing it, because my coach said I should, or a combination of the two. At any rate, I can't say I enjoyed it very much. All a collegiate race meant was a long, cramped car ride, a cheap hotel room, and a lot of money out of my pocket. And the prize for winning the race?

...the satisfaction of winning the race.

I can remember several hotel rooms in particular: The Econo Lodge in Alabama with the stains on the sheets, the Motel 8 in Georgia with the musty old-cigarette smell (even in the non-smoking rooms). No one would draft behind us after two days in that place.

The worst part was the traveling. While all the Florida racers were enjoying a weekend off of racing, I'd be driving 500 miles to Alabama and Tennessee to compete in fairly small races that had no prize purses. These were the weekends when I could be staying home, catching up on some homework, and, for once, taking the time to breathe. So the 2007 collegiate season pushed my limits. In the end, I qualified for collegiate nationals and was there when my teammate, Rebecca Larson, won the road race and the omnium. So it was worth it, right? At the time, I didn't think it was because, truthfully, I didn't have much to do with Rebecca's victory.

But now the collegiate season has begun again and, because of last season, I feel prepared. I've been training harder and feeling stronger than I ever have before, and I know what I'm up against. I went into the first collegiate race (granted, many of the top contenders weren't there) and rode circles around the group. At the UGA race last weekend, Lees Mcrae and UGA gave me a run for my money, but I won both Saturday and Sunday. If there's one thing I learned last season, it's how to race my bike, and that learning began with the spring collegiate races.

So here I am continuing to race the collegiate calender. Right now, I'm sitting in a hotel room in Newnan, Georgia with several other team Florida members. We've brought 13 people to this race (Georgia Tech), and we've managed to cram ourselves and our bikes into two rooms. The drive up here wasn't too bad, except for the rain. The rain was from a cold front that we knew was coming through. We packed our warmest clothes and joked about the forecast for a 'chance of snow' never thinking that it would actually snow in March.

I woke up at 6 to leave for the race and couldn't believe it when I looked outside and saw the flurries falling to the ground. I was thrilled because I'd never seen it snow before. But by the time I started my ITT, it had gotten worse and I was ready for it to stop. Still, the way it floats through the air fascinates me. We got some pretty good pictures - I'll post them later.