Hutchins World Champion

Tam Cycling News
CAROLYN HUTCHINS WINS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 1/2 IRONMAN

Tam Cycling's Carolyn Hutchins took first place in her age group 45-49 at the Ford 1/2 Iron Man World Championships. The world championships in Clearwater Florida were invitation only and she beat out 36 other athletes in order to take the win.
Total time was only 4:48!

Tam Cycling News

Tam Cycling News
CAROLYN HUTCHINS WINS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 1/2 IRONMAN

Tam Cycling's Carolyn Hutchins took first place in her age group 45-49 at the Ford 1/2 Iron Man World Championships. The world championships in Clearwater Florida were invitation only and she beat out 36 other athletes in order to take the win.
Total time was only 4:48!

Giro de San Francisco

by Katie Kelly

September 4th, San Francisco, CA.

Race: Giro de San Francisco

Where: Around the Levi Strauss Plaza.

Course description: Mildly bumpy with one turn oversome railroad tracks, and even one left hand turn,just to keep us on our toes.

When: Yesterday morning.

Teammates: Laurie Fenech (Team Taylor)

Result: 19th out of 20 but wait.

As this was my first race as a Cat 3, I knew I would need the help of a teammate, if only to motivate me to even show up to the line. My friend Laurie and I also had discussed some team tactics weeks prior tothis race. Having a a tactic is a great way to distract your mind from the reality that you may be in over your head.

Because we'd be in two different team kits, we thought this might be to our advantage as no one would knowthat we would be employing a "team strategy".

Our strategy was to attack and to counter-attack MetroMint's attacks for which they've grown famous.

Then what happened was the race started. My typical habit of yelling, "Hey, wait up," wasn't going to work here. These are Cat 3s, hardened byyears of racing experience.

The brisk pace soon became uncomfortable. I spent the first four or thirteen laps dangling off the back, inspired by friends on every corner of the race, all yelling something to the tune of, "Hang inthere, Katie!"

This isn't what champions want to hear. Champions want to hear something alluding to the pain they are inflicting. But we count on our friends for their honesty. This is why they are our friends. I probablywould not have finished without them cheering for me.

During the race, I reminded myself of all of the latest research that says that lactate is actually used by your muscles as fuel.

Off of the front, I could see MetroMint and other racers staging attack after attack. Somewhere in there, there was Laurie. That I was somehow still withthe group, barely, even by lap 18, was nothing shortof a miracle to me.

With one and a half laps to go, I remembered our team strategy, the one about all the attacks.

And then, another thought: how many times in my life have I let golden opportunities go by, only to wonder, what if. Katie, think of the stories you can tell your grandchildren one day. That you don't even havechildren is not of consequence at this moment. It's just the idea, the principle, that one day, you will have a good story to tell.

I jumped off the front.

"Who is that, is she in our race?" I heard someone say.

Now I was spinning furiously through the start-finish line, too afraid to look behind me while pretending to look collected in front of the cameras and screaming fans.

"There's Katie Kelly, stringing out the pack," said the announcer.

By the time I reached the railroad tracks, I could only breathe via coughing as my throat was blocked by phlegm which I told myself was really fuel.

Could I hold them off during the ascent?

No. They swarmed around me so close, in hindsight, I should have grabbed onto someone's pocket.

"Hang in there, Katie!" I heard, again, as I was spit out the back.

For some reason, I passed MetroMint's Sarah Lightfoot, who was obviously doing work for teammates.

"That was awesome," she said. That felt good.

We coasted in 19th and 20th. She let me win.

After the race, I caught up with Laurie, who managed a pack finish.

"Well, I had to change my strategy," she said. We had a good laugh.

Devyani Kamdar Reports from the World Xterra Scene

by Devyani Kamdar, Tam Cycling News World Correspondent

I've really been enjoying reading everyone's stories. Here is a race
report from a different sort of race. I'm sorry that this is so long. It is actually three race reports in one. I'm hoping I can get some of you mountain bikers to come do some Xterra off road triathlons with me! They are really fun. If you are looking for something new to try.....

I just returned from Europe where I did two Xterra races. I'm
thinking of trying to start a tour company for triathletes with some of the tours taking athletes to races overseas, so I needed to check out some races in Europe as possible tour destinations.

The first was Xterra Italy which takes place on the island of Sardinia. The race was on June 4th and my daughter was graduating from high school on June 1st, so I flew out of SFO on the morning of June 2nd and arrived in Sardinia at 7:00 pm on the 3rd. Unfortunately my bike box with my bike, shoes, helmet, etc., didn't make it and they weren't quite sure where it was. Perhaps in Rome?

To make a long story short my bike arrived in the nick of time the next morning. However, having given up on it the night before, when they still didn't know where it was, I'd been out drinking a Sardinian herbal liquor called Mirto with Dave Nichols, the Xterra "Big Kahuna"
and some of the staff, while the rest of the athletes were getting a good night's sleep! So I started the race jet-lagged, hung over, and with only half a bottle of water as that was all I could bum off other athletes in the transition area. Hey, I didn't get the bike box until an hour before the race (delivered by another athlete who'd picked it up at the airport after midnight. He'd been waiting for his bike, which never came, but he found mine and very sweetly brought it to the race start for me. By the time I had changed my clothes in the back of a truck, built my bike and thrown my stuff together I made it to the transition area just as they were closing it and calling athletes to the start.

The rest of the race was less eventful. A slow swim (no surprise there and can't blame the jet-lag or the mirto for not being able to swim straight), a long hot bike where I really missed my camelback. I did take advantage of those moments I'd usually take to grab a drink to
soak in some of the beautiful views on the course as it wound up the mountainous interior of the island. It was a road biker's course. All fire roads. All hard pack. All about fitness. Unfortunately, fear wasn't a factor, and bike handling skills didn't really come into play, so I just had to work hard. Some of the climbs were so steep I had to fight to stay on the bike. I was sweating up a storm, there was only one aid station, and no shade on the entire course. By the time I got to the run I was spent. Exhausted and dehydrated. I didn't walk the run, but it actually might have been faster. I was running so slowly it was more of a shuffle. People doing their second lap passed me on my first. On my second it seemed I was out there on my own. You know what though. It didn't matter. I was still smiling. I had made it to Italy. My bike had made it to Italy. I was going to finish. And I'd heard that Villacidro had the best after race party of any Xterra in the world!

I wasn't let down. The party was great. The whole town seemed to be there and it went on for hours. More Mirto surfaced.. And some Limoncello... I came in second of three women in my age group and even won a helmet. Xterra age groupers usually just get a medal so it was really fun to actually win something.

After a few days recovering on Sardinia's white sand beaches I flew home. I gave the helmet to my son, who was thrilled to get something besides the usual tee shirt.

A week later the kids and I flew to Frankfurt en route to the second European Xterra race in the Czech Republic. We arrived mid-morning and picked up the rental car, which, luckily happened to have navigation and spoke flawless British English, so we made the car journey to Hluboka from Frankfurt in good time - about 7 hours. Once again my bike hadn't made the flight. However, this time Lufthansa was in control. They knew exactly where it was (It had been left in San Francisco because the flight was full and overweight so they had to leave some baggage behind.) If I'd known that was their policy I'd have objected to the new overweight fee I was charged to get the bike on the plane! Anyway, the capable agent in Frankfurt insisted that the bike would be delivered to me at my hotel in the Czech Republic. And it was. They flew it to Prague and then had it trucked to me in Hluboka. After which I no longer resented the $50 overweight charge. It was acually easier than hassling with the big box myself.

I don't usually have my kids at my races. I'm divorced and I only get them half the time, so I usually travel for races only when I don't have them. I have to admit, though, that Xterra Czech will always be a special race for me. Having my sons there cheering for me gave me such a lift. We swam in a muddy river, starting just beyond a pontoon bridge and going upriver to the turnaround and back. I had a good swim. The river was narrow so I couldn't swim too far off course and the buoy was a big bright orange one which was easy to sight off of. The bike course took us up and down and around the extensive private grounds of the Hluboka Castle. Some fun single track, a few creek crossings, a few climbs, some rocks, some loose leaves and roots in the forest, some fast road sections.... The race had a little of everything but nothing really technical. I had brought my hardtail and was perfectly happy with that. The run was fun. Of course I wasn't exhausted and dehydrated like I'd been in Italy, which helped. We ran up to the Castle and and even used ropes to get up an extremely steep section that was, well, almost a cliff. That's the fun of Xterra. You never know what you'll find on the course. It is always an adventure.

I finished not sure if the other woman in my age group (I race 45 - 49 and often don't have a lot of company in my age group.) was ahead of me or behind me. I hadn't passed her on the bike or run so I thought I must be behind her. Almost no one is a slower swimmer. Evidently she
dnf'd or didn't show though because they called me up to the podium alone. The mayor of Hluboka came out to give me my award and in Xterra Czech you win crystal. Real lead crystal. They must have felt sorry for me being up on the podium all alone, because I got a gorgeous crystal covered candy dish! The awards for Xterra Czech were in the evening and they had a great BBQ, drinks and a band. The Europeans do know how to party after a race.

The European races were really fun, but they don't count in the USA series, so after I returned to the US I had to do a little Xterra qualifier in Snow Valley in the San Bernardino mountains. The series counts your three best races and I only had two. Luckily I came in first and snagged my spot for the National Championship race in Tahoe in September. Since I won the Regional Championship race in Temecula and now have two other regional wins I've earned the title of Regional Champion, too! Last year I didn't even qualify for Nationals, so I am very happy with my racing so far this season. Of course I'd be happier if there were more women out there racing with me.

If anyone is interested in trying an Xterra the Xterra Nevada race is the day before the National Championship race at Tahoe. It is the exact same bike course (on the flume - one of my favorite courses) but has only a half mile swim and a short 4 mile run. Check out Xterraplanet.com for more info.

Hope to see some of you out there some day!

Howell Mountain Challenge Results

Good results for the dirt lovers on Tam Cycling!

Cammie Urban took 1st in Expert 35-44 (and her husband, Chris, got 1st in Expert 45-49)
Tricia Wallace took 1st in Masters 45+ (and her son, Stephen, got 3rd in Junior expert)

and Alexander Price took 3rd in Beginner 30-34!

Our hero Pat Bush cracked his frame after a short battle with a manzanita bush. Bush v. bush and the manzanita pervailed.

Good Job All!

Brain Flat: One Racer's Experience at Berkeley Hills

From our correspondent

San Pablo Reservoir, CA -- It can happen to almost anyone. The symptoms seem all too familiar.

"It started with an increased exertion level with no increased speed," says Katie Kelly after her experience at the Berkeley Hills Road Race last Sunday.

"There were four of us in a chase group. I was giving it all I had," she said. "A girl pulled off, saying she had a flat tire."

It was then that Kelly's symptoms began to take effect.

"I felt it at the bottom of Mama Bear," the first of three climbs in this gruelling road race. "It was becoming more difficult to pedal. The other two were pulling away from me."

Kelly gallantly continued pedaling to the top of Mama Bear, "where I knew I could stop safetly", she said. It was then, however, Kelly's worst fears of her life were confirmed. This was, in fact, not a flat tire at all but, as Kelly calls it, "A flat BRAIN!"

In fact, the tire was pumped to its suggested PSI of 116.

Kelly took a quick glimpse around her and noticed that least there was no one to witness this charade, and promptly started pedaling again, hoping for her second wind, or even a large gust of wind, to help bring her to the finish line.

Kelly eventually finished in the top twenty, not too far behind her teammate Paula Bock who finished 12th, but far enough.

Kelly later complained to her coach, saying, "I am not sure if I'm the climber I thought I was."

"Well," said her coach, "Berkeley Hills really isn't a climber's course."

This has only added to Kelly's depression as she is wondering what those three hills were. Short sprints?

Kelly urges other to play close attention to the symptoms of a Flat Brain. A few symptoms include:

Stale, tired legs.
A lack of power.
An inability to increase your effort, no matter how much you will yourself into it.
Depression, thoughts of turning around.
Questioning your own reason for living.

Kelly urges all bearers of these symptoms to just keep on pedaling and whatever you do, do not vocalize that you have a flat tire unless you can prove it with hard facts.

Neto Wins Berkeley Hills!

Photo of Joachuim Neto courtesy of steep.tv.

by Harry Hunt

San Pablo Reservoir, CA -- Men's team captain Joaquim Neto delivered his 2nd victory of 2006 to Tam Cycling by winning the 71 mile, Cat 3, Berkeley Hills Road Race on Sunday.

Despite the presence of much larger teams, including Team Spine, Webcor and Squadra Ovest, Neto was able to overpower the field, which had widdled down to 25 riders, on the final climb with only one teammate, Harry Hunt.

Neither Hunt nor Neto would have fared well without the support of up and coming Tam Cycling star and teammate, Peter Billington. Billington worked the neutral support like a pro making sure his teammates had fresh water bottles each lap to combat the heat.

The race was one of attrition, as lap after lap, riders slowly fell off the back. Harry Hunt had the dual role as domestique and director sportiff during the race and instructed Neto to conserve as much energy as possible until the final climb. Despite Hunt's guidance, Neto decided to test his legs with an attack on the 3rd lap, but was reeled in after a few minutes off the front.

As the temperature quickly rose, Neto thought he had burned too many matches during the attack and didn't think he had the legs for the win. However, Hunt knew that Neto was on form and could recover before the last climb. Channeling his his inner Bjarne Riis, Hunt ordered Neto to sit in and ready himself mentally and physically for the finish.

As the final climb began, Neto dug deep and attacked the field. No one could match Neto's power and only a few managed to hold his wheel as he crossed the finish line in first. Hunt didn't have the legs to follow Neto on the final climb, but was able to hang on for a position in the top 20. It was a great win for Neto and Tam Cycling.