Ricky Young - You will be remembered

72 riders showed up on our Saturday ride with blue ribbons tied to their bikes, to remember Ricky Young who passed away at the age of 16. Ricky was from a very loving family. Whenever anyone asked Rick (his dad) how little Ricky was doing, Rick would talk about all of his friends, his love of baseball, and how he was just getting the driving thing down pat. Ricky had undergone 2 heart surgeries this summer. Unfortunately, complications after his 2nd heart surgery were the cause of death. Many in the cycling community were present at both the wake and church service where we were made fully aware of just how many friends and loved ones adored this boy. He was not only an honor roll student and an athlete, but obviously was everyone’s best friend. Our condolences go out to the family in this difficult time for all.

Sunday we all woke to temperatures in the high 60’s which is not typical of August weather in Virginia Beach. The waves are near perfect for the surfers in town for the East Coast Surfing Championship. While the pros were in the Atlantic trying to find the perfect wave, a large group left Conte’s to go out to the country for a nice easy long ride. In town for the weekend were Don Saroff and his lovely wife Michelle, who came along for the ride. We soon learned that Don and his team set a new national record at Track Nationals in Trexler, PA on August 22nd in the 45 plus 4k team time trial. Thanks for visiting us here at the beach and for taking a 50 mile pull on your Cervelo track bike. Don, You Rock!

Am I the only one who LOVES time trials???

I woke up at 5:15 this morning to make my way over to Stony Creek for the state time trial only to hear rain falling on my skylight here at the beach. Thinking this was not a good sign, I checked the weather for Stony Creek and found that it was the place to be since rain was nowhere in sight!

The women’s 40 plus was the first category up so it was nice to get the time trial out of the way and enjoy watching the others suffer later in the day. A total of 21 women time trialed with lots of girls coming down from northern Virginia. It was nice to win my category with a time of 1:01:54, along with the 3rd fastest time of the day for the ladies, but I was equally happy to see that I’m not slowing down at the age of 59. I hope for good things next year and may even make a trip out to Bend, Oregon, to race with some other girls my age at Nationals.

As expected, Karen Hansen and her team put on a good event today. I was happy to receive some meat from Fiorucci as well as a gift card to Conte’s. I personally love this course and enjoyed the 30 second start times as well as the fact that Karen let the first to sign up be the last off in each category. As for my racing season, I’m done for the year and will find myself riding lots of centuries and taking photos of cyclists everywhere I go. Since my accident 2 years ago, I have found my way back to the crit scene a few times just to get my confidence back. Next year I hope to do more crits and get back to some road races.

Look for good things to come from Vanderkitten next year. Our team is growing!

BJ aka Podium Cat/Vanderkitten Racing

Chesapeake Crit and PLT #3 Race Report

The 100 degree weather left in time for cyclists from all over to descend on Hampton Roads for 2 days of great racing.

Saturday the stage was set in a crit course around the Chesapeake Municipal Center. The signups for the ladies were low until race day when another 10 signed up. Our Podium Cat started things off so the speed quickly moved from the teens to the twenties by turn one. She stayed up front long enough to get things going and moved comfortably back to watch the race unfold. Jennifer Rasmussen (Kenda Tire) made a bold move off the front but was brought back in. She later took another flyer with 3 other girls who stayed together almost to the end. At the finish it was Jennifer Rasmussen taking the win with our Captain Cook in 4th place. Ali came in first for the field sprint and Podium Cat was the caboose saving herself for her time trial the next day. Race promoters provided a great purse of $500.00 so the lion’s share went to Jennifer who was clearly the strongest competitor out there. Ruth did a super job as race announcer and had us all cheering the racers on all day long. Next year all the women racers need to come support this race so they don’t take the money away!

Sunday found many of the Saturday riders back to compete in the PLT #3 in Chesapeake, VA. This lollipop course is a favorite to many. The fields for the ladies were pretty evenly stacked. Jennifer Rasmussen again took the gold with a time of 53:20. Ali Cat was close behind with a time of 53:50, a PR for her by almost a minute. Podium Cat won the GOLD for the 45 plus and received a gold medal in this state age graded race. Lisa came out to help the team by racing in Category 4 and was pleased with her 8th place finish with a time of 1:08:52. We even had an out of town VK racer to cheer us on. Thanks, Ronna, for making the trip South.

All in all it was a great weekend for the Vanderkittens. We continue to enjoy each other’s company both off and on the bike and look forward to the VA State time trial next weekend and the last race of the season, the City Center Crit on September 11.

"Hill"acious Road Trip

Cook and Ali headed to Stanley, VA on Saturday for the VCA/MABRA Road Race Championship up in Page Valley. It was sunny and warm for this last race of the day. There were 21 women pre-registered for the 1/2/3s. The course was an 11 mile loop (52 miles total) and had a nice variety to it: flat sloped sections, rollers, momentum carrying hills, a lengthy mid-grade hill, a shorter, steeply pitched hill and, saving the best for last, a bomber downhill.

The start was moderately paced with everyone staying together. Small gaps were created a couple of times but no true attempts were made to break away, most seemingly content to keep company. Around about 2 laps into the 4 ½ laps, some separation occurred reducing the lead group to roughly 12 riders. The pack would break up in some sections and come back together in others. Eventually, with a lap to go, the group had dwindled down to 9. In the final steep uphill finish, 4 pulled away and the remaining 5 battled it out for the field sprint. Cook won that taking 1st in the VCA division and 4th in the 1/2s overall. Ali fell off the back around lap 3 ½ but managed to find her way back to the car, cooler & contentment.

The drive home later that night was one for the books. Thanks to the Sperryville police department for locating the unscathed wheel bag (with a set of our friend's 303 tubulars inside!) ...next year we’ll intentionally drive through your town – with dozens of donuts to deliver! And as always, many thanks to those who promoted this well organized race. Great job!