Final Chapter - Vanderkitten Virginia Beach

It’s been fun. We’ve had some great results. 30 plus women came together almost 3 years ago to start something new. Everyone bought a great kit. Some loved cats, others loved dogs. Some riders became racers. Some racers became riders. The team became social. Over time everyone got comfortable doing what they wanted to do. It’s time for some to move on and others to step aside. It was a great ride.

BJ aka Podium Cat

FALLON CX RACE

Karen traveled to Roanoke and represented the kittens on Saturday for the Freakout at Fallon Cx race. This was the first year it was part of the VACX series and it did not disappoint. The course was tough with mud pits, rocky sections, off camber turns, and steep climbs. Karen participated in the Cat 4 race, was a bit scared of the course, and finished 7th (out of 7). Not happy with her last place finish, she entered the 40 + race. With her comfort level higher, and prize money at stake, she did much better with a second place finish. This race was fun with lots of swag, prizes, free chili. Many thanks to Starlight Bicycles, Dire Wolf Racing, and Roanoke Parks and Rec for putting on such a great event.

CROSS TIME!!

Keeping it local, Karen represented the kittens by participating in Chesapeake's Frogs On The Farm cx race, the first race of the VACX series. The conditions were perfect with little mud, sunny skies, and cool temperatures. The course had a couple ditches, some logs, and two sets of barriers. Karen rode her mtn bike in the Cat 4 Women's race and was very surprised and happy with the results. 5th out of 11. She may just show up at some more cx races this season.




Jen and Brittany also raced this past Sunday in the Winchester AppleCross, which is race #2 in the MABRAcross Super 8. The course featured an asphalt start and finish, two steep hills: the Belgian Wall and the Cemetery Slog, varying technical turns and several off camber sections. Important things to note for the day: fire pits, bicycles, cool peeps, coffee, and NO RAIN equal good times.

Stay tuned- next race on the docket is the Richmond Festival of Cross!

Gettin’ Rowdy at the Ruckus

Brittany, Jen, and Karen took part in the last race of Virginia’s road season Saturday at the Residential Ruckus, presented by the Hilton Cycling Club. The course featured a flat, fast, 0.9 mile loop, with four 90-degree turns and a long sweeping turn into a straightaway to the start/finish. Though Saturday featured a smaller women’s field than previous VA races, the weather was perfect, course was silky smooth, and the girls were ready to finish up the season in style.

Jen led the pack at a steady pace for the first lap before dropping back. A couple laps later, she made a break off the front, with Marci Hill, from Hilton Cycling, going for a solo chase. The pack picked up the pace in a successful effort to reel Marci back in, but couldn't chase down Jen. A few laps later, Brittany made a break attempt of her own and was able to bridge the gap up to Jen. After several laps of steady rotations, Jen and Brittany were able lap the main field and end the day with a 1,2 finish. Karen, who stayed with the main group throughout the race, finished 3^rd for the CAT 4’s.

Vanderkitten would like to give a special thanks to Joe Altomare from Hilton Cycling Club for putting on a great event, the Fat Frogs for letting us sit under their tent, and the Manderkittens for giving us great support throughout the season.

With road season officially over for these cats, let’s bring on some cyclocross!

Shenandoah Valley Century

After Saturday's crit, BJ and Karen headed to the mountains and rode the Shenandoah Valley Century. There was a large group of cyclists from the Hampton Roads area that participated in this ride, including a big group from Tripower Cycling Team. The weather was purrrfect with chilly temps in the morning that warmed up throughout the day. The kittens climbed close to 5000 feet and enjoyed the beautiful day on their bikes. After the ride, cyclists were treated to paninis, door prizes, and massages.

DR100

This weekend is the DR100 Ride that is also in the Harrisonburg area. This event consists of a 50K or 100K ride, and a 5K or 10K run. It is in honor of Frauke's husband Joe Mirenda, who was tragically hit by a car while riding from Wintergreen Resort to JMU to visit his son in 2009. The money raised goes towards expanding bike/pedestrian lanes on public roads and other similar programs.

http://dr100.org/

Tour of Page County

Cloudy with little chance of pie: Page Valley Road Race

The Page Valley road race proved once again to be a tough test for mountain-loving kittens. With overcast skies and slightly cooler temperatures than years past, Jen and Brittany lined up for the Women’s 1/2/3 race with a small but fierce field. Attacks started as soon as the pavement turned upward with the charge led by Rachel (Missing Link Coaching Systems/Specialized). The field split immediately with Jen and Brittany caught behind slower climbers. Brittany was able to bridge Jen back to the lead group on the descent, but this was the last they saw each other until the finish line. Jen worked with a small group to chase on and off of the 5 leaders for the remainder of the race. On the third lap, the motor referee indicated that bad weather was moving over the ridge and the women’s race was ending on this lap! On the final left turn to the finish line, Sara (ABRT) made a well-timed move that got a gap over the chase group and sling-slot Jen into 6th place. This was fortuitous because Jen got a front row seat to Brittany’s finish – 3rd place for the cat 3 women.

Sunday’s Luray Crit

With Jen having headed back to the ‘Peake earlier in the morning, I had plans of finishing up the weekend at the downtown Luray Crit. This course consisted of a 0.8 mile loop featuring eight 90-degree turns and a steep short climb to the finish, where there was a feed zone! Though greatly welcomed (another mid-ninety temp weekend), never before had I seen a feed zone at a crit until Sunday. As soon as the whistle blew initiating the start of the Women’s 1/2/3 pack, it was serious go time. After an immediate left turn up a false flat, the pack took a fast descent down the back side of the course, vying for positions, eager to make their way to the hill climb. After my second trip up the hill, my legs said “No more!” and I dropped off the pack to time trial my way through the rest of the race. I was, however, able to witness the amazing first place finish of Kathleen Giles (ABRT), who had broken away from the pack, with several laps to go.

Vanderkitten Racing extends a biggie thanks to Chris Gould, Page Valley Cycling, WWVC Racing, and Syn-Fit Race Team for a great weekend! Next up, Vanderkitten will be racing the Chesapeake Criterium and Peter Teeuwen Memorial time trial.

Tri'd & Succeeded

One Kitten tried to get smart and beat the heat by doing a Triathlon. Unfortunately there has been no escaping this heat. Roberta headed down this past weekend to North Carolina for an FS Sprint Triathlon in Washington, NC. The participants had to be set up and out of the transition area by 6:30am and at that time it was already 83 degrees and the water temp was 86….a bit like bath water in our opinion. With the heat already a known factor, Roberta made sure she was well hydrated. The swim in the Pamlico River went well after being pulled, slapped, and swam over; these participants we merciless in the water. All Roberta kept thinking was “your swimming to your bike” , “swim to your bike”. Once the swim was over and a quick transition she was off for a rocket bike ride. The 15 mile ride was mostly flat with a few hills. She finished the bike with a time of 34:06: the fastest women’s time in the sprint. Her legs felt great as she started the transition to running. The run was very hot. No shade and all pavement. It was brutal. After crossing the finish line with a time of 1:20:25 she headed straight for the water to cool off. When all was said and done she walked away with first place in her age group.

Lost River Classic

In an attempt to escape the heat wave over the east coast, Jen headed toward the mountains of West Virginia for Lost River Classic this past weekend. The 31 mile road race for the women’s field (roughly three 10 mile loops) proved to be well-suited to her love for climbing. The women’s field enjoyed rolling through narrow mountain roads until Laurel (Syn-Fit) launched an attack that shredded the field. Despite valiant attempts to match Laurel’s climbing prowess, the race settled into 4 leaders, a chase group of 4 riders, and a series of individual finishers behind. Jen helped power the chase group and happily finished 7th overall. Vanderkitten extends a big congrats to Mary of Team Traveler for the overall win!

Jen spent the remainder of the afternoon attending to friends in the men’s cat 3 field, who simply melted as they crossed the finish line with the heat index approaching triple digits. This was a great race thanks to NCVC and Raw Talent Ranch.

Next up, Vanderkitten VB will be racing Presbyterian Hospital Invitational in Charlotte, NC and Tour of Page Co. in Luray, VA.

Photo courtesy of David Cobb/Team Traveler

Franklin Omnium

The kittens were wide awake early Saturday AM to make the journey to Franklin, Virginia for the first ever Franklin Omnium. The Vanderkittens were honored to be asked to share the event with Celerity, a very classy group of racers. Humid weather gave way to beautiful blue skies for the whole weekend.

It’s not often to find a nice short time trial course in a town with very little traffic. The Franklin police officers, as well as the residents, seemed to be very happy to have us in their town. For the time trial, VK had Ali, Laura, Brittany and Jen representing in the CAT 1/2/3 category. The outcome of that race was Ali taking the gold, Laura taking the bronze, Brittany in 4th and Jen in 5th. Representing VK in the CAT 4/40 plus was BJ, Karen, Suszann and Lisa. BJ brought home the gold, Karen the silver, Suszann bringing home bar points in 9th and Lisa doing the same in 10th place.

After a quick cat nap and some good grub at Fred’s Restaurant, we got ready for some exciting action for a very technical crit course. BJ was probably the happiest of all because photo opportunities were abundant with great shots being taken from every corner. The CAT 4/40 plus women consisted of BJ, Karen and Suszann. Action took place immediately when BJ took off to make sure she got through the first turn without company. That worked for a few laps but unfortunately she came up on a rider down who had clipped her pedal and BJ did one of her very graceful head over heels maneuvers. Saved by her helmet and a pit crew to get her back in the race, she was able to finish in 3rd place. Karen was right behind in 5th and Suszann placing in 6th. The Cat 1/2/3 race was very exciting and much safer. In the end, it was Ali sprinting to the finish against Erin and Emily (VA Asset Group) where Ali pulled off a 2nd. Close behind was Jen in 4th, Laura in 7th and Brittany in 8th.

Sunday morning was just another beautiful day to do a race. 14 miles of quiet with a few rollers was a perfect way to end the weekend with a nice road race around town. The Cat 4/40 plus took off at 8:00 for 2 laps. The field stayed together for the first lap but the pace picked up quickly on the next lap. A few attempts were made but nothing really stuck other than the field thinning out for the final sprint. Karen, in an out of body experience, took the win at the end with BJ taking 4th. Everyone stayed upright when a motorcycle went down near the finish. Our CAT 1/2/3 racers went late in the day. Laurel and Emily (Va Asset Group) took off and were never seen again to take the top 2 spots. Ali came in 4th, Jen 5th, Brittany 6th and Laura 8th. When all was said and done, Ali captured 2nd place in the CAT 1/2/3 Omnium. In the CAT 4/40 plus BJ took home some loot with 1st in the omnium in that category and Karen took home the 2nd coveted spot.

We all want to thank Celerity for a great weekend. They did an outstanding job for their first annual event. We also want to thank Donna for being a race official and a big shout out to Wendie and Maggie for driving all the way to Franklin to help out with volunteering.

Coffee Talk with the Vanderkittens

We were just featured in the GamJams Coffee Talk column. Read it at the link below:

http://www.gamjams.net/2011/07/coffee-talk-with-vanderkittens.html

Gus is now one of our Manderkittens, with his own limited edition T-shirt!

Podium Cat

7th Race, 7th Place

Headed up to West Chester, PA over the weekend to do my first evening race at the 7^th Annual Iron Hill Twilight Crit. It was a 6:45 p.m. start for this 4 corner, .8 mile rectangular course on the streets of downtown. Prime forecast and an atmosphere that was pretty happening thanks to lots of spectators and a brewery as the primary sponsor.

The start seemed standard with everyone trying to get a feel for whom to watch. Not surprisingly, Kacey Manderfield (Pure Energy) & Erica Allar (Ride Clean) were top on the list. To avoid any potential accidents or slow ups going into the third corner (the only slight downhill turn where speed and momentum would come into play), I worked to stay toward the front of the field.

Several nice primes helped to keep the pace up and eventually led to a break when Manderfield and Allar sprinted for one and got a gap. What was initially 12 seconds increased with each following lap as attempts were made to close it down but no one seemed committed to the effort, including myself. Once it was evident that we weren’t working as a group to make it happen, it then became a matter of holding position as the pace was pushed off and on with different riders launching off the field to try for a second split.

Going into the last lap the pace picked up and into that 3^rd turn, the sprint was on. One racer crashed on the right side but was okay and no one else was involved from what I could see. My placement coming into the 4^th corner turned out to be how I finished (5^th in field, 7^th overall). Another great learning experience.

(All photos courtesy of Todd Leister)

Very cool venue, very nice crowd, very tasty beer…this one will be on our team schedule next year fo sho! Thanks to the West Chester community for supporting such a successful and damn fun event! Highly recommend a visit to this area any time though with all that it has to offer: many miles of scenic, rural roads that have rolling climbs and descents through various townships and quality restaurants in the quaint downtown area to refuel at afterward.

Kitties tear it up in the 'Noke!

This Fourth of July weekend, Jen and I were Roanoke bound. The ID3 is an omnium consisting of a 1.87 mile time trial and two downtown crits. We both competed in this last year and really enjoyed it, so it has become a staple on our race calendar. With so many from local teams competing in this race, it was a great way to get away for the weekend and still feel like you’re with family during the holiday. The only bummer was that the 4th landed on a Monday this year instead of a Sunday so we missed the fireworks…not that it would have mattered due to the torrential downpour!

Saturday’s Mill Mountain TT
The first of the three races was the 1.87 mile time trial. You may be thinking, “Hey it’s barely even two miles…how difficult could it be?” I invite you to try it out next year and see! Though this climb isn’t incredibly steep, due to the short distance you’ve got to push it to the max and there are little to no opportunities for recovery. The main thought going through my mind during this race was “It’s supposed to hurt, it’s supposed to hurt”, and hurt it did. When I asked Jen how she thought she had done, she basically said she was enjoying the ride and forgot for a moment that she was actually racing, until she realized close to the end that she was supposed to be holding off her hubby and our Manderkitten, Tim, who had started 2 minutes behind her. A few hours later, we were incredibly excited to see that Jen came in first and was this year’s “Queen of the Mountain”, with a time of 11:58. I came in with a time of 12:11 to secure the second place finish.

Sunday’s Downtown Criterium
The second race of the weekend took place in downtown Roanoke and was a fast, 5-corner, 1KM course with a particularly interesting section consisting of a 180 degree turn onto brick. This is my favorite of the two ID3 crit courses simply because it’s short and fast.
The initial few laps were held at a steady pace until we heard the first prime called out and we found ourselves sprinting to the line. Throughout the 45 minute race Jen and I took turns issuing attacks off the front, in an attempt to make a breakaway from the pack. With less than ten to go, Jen made an attack which I countered when she was brought back by the group. Though I was not able to make a solo breakaway, Emily (Tradewinds) and I were able to sustain a widening gap for the rest of the race. I came in second at the line and Jen won the field sprint, taking third for the day.

Monday’s Downtown Criterium
The second crit and last race of the weekend also took place in downtown Roanoke and was a technical “L” shaped course with a slight uphill finish. Early on in the race, Emily and a Virginia Tech rider had a gap from the rest of the pack which Jen and I spent about a lap closing down. With the heat picking up and the pace quickening, several primes were called with the group sprinting to the line on each. After being first to the line on one prime, Emily made a breakaway from the pack with Jen shortly bridging up behind her. The two worked together and were able to hold us off for the rest of the race. For the last several laps, Rebecca Keller (Dire Wolf) and the VT rider took turns setting the pace as I sat second wheel. On the last lap, Rebecca stepped it up and made an early move for the finish. Shortly after the last turn I came around her and was able to take the field sprint and secure third for the day. I heard later that Jen had an incredible sprint behind Emily and that the two road around for a lap after the race unsure of who had reached the line first. Emily ended up taking first for the day as well as the overall win for the omnium. Jen took 2nd for the omnium/“Queen of the Mountain” and I finished third.

A huge thanks goes out to the promoters of the Roanoke ID3 for a fun and successful race/holiday weekend.

Till next time,

Britt
“Crusher Cat”

Bike Virginia 2011

Suszann and Karen headed out west for some hill training last week during Bike Virginia. The girls were joined by their favorite Tripower, Fat Frog's, and triathlete friends for 5 days of amazing riding. There was over 1,600 cyclist participating in Bike VA this year.

This was Suszann's first Bike VA and she proved that a flat lander could excel in the mountains. Every day she rode she got stronger and faster on the climbs and was fearless on the downhills. Karen, who did Bike VA last year on her TT bike, was much more comfortable on her new road bike and she learned a valuable lesson in proper hydration. The girls survived their first hilly century ride with close to 9,000 feet of climbing. Suszann decided that 100 miles wasn't far enough and added a little detour to spice things up a little. After the five hilly days, the girls rode over 300 miles and climbed over 20,000 feet.

Suszann and Karen are back home in Virginia Beach and hoping to cash in on some of the fitness they gained in the next few weeks.

PLT MADNESS!

Vanderkitten was well represented in each of the women’s categories on Sunday, for the first Peter Teeuwen time trial of the season, in Chesapeake, VA. Nearly 30 women pre-registered for the Senior State Championship TT, making for a relatively large and competitive field. Crosswinds were challenging, but the heat held off until the women's field had raced. The kittens pushed it to the max along the 23-mile lollipop course, with the finish line and hopes of illegally sweet victory nearing with each pedal stroke. When all was said and done, Cap’n Cook, BJ, and Brittany took first place in each of their respective categories (with BJ setting her PLT pr), as well as the top 3 spots for the women’s overall. Also representing VK, were Christy in the 40+, and Lisa in CAT 4, after having just ran the “CHKD RunWalk for the Kids” the day before and taking 4th place in her age group. Christy escaped before pictures were taken, probably a smart move...
(picture courtesy of Manderkitten Danbo)
And a big thanks to Donna for working as an official, and CONGRATS on her new grandmahood!


9 Lives and True Grit...
Three weeks ago, Jen was on the ground after a gnarly crash at Bike Jam/Kelly Cup with a broken jaw, fractured temple, and bleeding from the face. It seems that in order to cash in all 9 lives, ‘kittens are required to land on their faces. (Now is a great time to thank Frank of Celerity Cycling who spent 8 hours at Johns-Hopkins ER taking care of Jen and getting her home safely, as well as all the friends who stopped by, called, and/or texted to offer help, support, and dirty jokes to keep her light-hearted about having 2 black eyes, a strict diet of ice cream, and being off her bike for 5 days.)

Still a little broken but determined to get her racing mojo back, Jen entered the Tour of Washington County sponsored by SRAM and Antietam Velo Club this past weekend. Through much encouragement from team mates, friends, family, and jack russells, she finished 10th in the general classification (8th in prologue, 5th in road race, 10th in time trial, and 9th in criterium). Tour of Washington County was a great event and is now a staple on the Vanderkitten-Virginia Beach race calendar. A big thanks to Joe Jefferson, AVC, SRAM, and all the badass women who raced hard, fast, and fun all weekend!!

First Race//First WIN!

Karen and Roberta are hooked. After worrying themselves silly about how they would perform in their first crit they both made Vanderkitten proud. They both spent more than enough time up front battling the wind but said it was safer there than in the pack. Karen decided to go for the GOLD on the last turn and never looked back. Roberta followed close behind. Watching them race made the rest of us remember what it was like as a newbie. We’re all glad that they’ve got the racing bug.

Karen decided that bad weather predictions for Bryan Park wasn’t going to keep her away from a race today. Still high from her win she stayed upright on a wet, technical course with two 90 degree turns and rough, bumpy sections.

She was super nervous because it was raining, the course was wet and said she had zero bike skills. She stepped in dog s--- right before she was getting on her bike, rode 3 laps in the small chain ring (Duh), legs were dead from yesterday, Garmin wasn't working, stayed up front almost the whole race (she didn't want anyone crashing in front of her) and did all the work, got out-sprinted in the end by almost everyone, came in 7th out of 9th.

Her impression of the race – AWESOME! She’s glad she did it because she now has more confidence because she rode a wet technical course, survived it, and felt pretty comfortable and learned a lot. This year is all about gaining experience and Karen said she got plenty today.

Wilmington Grand Prix Criterium

On Saturday Ali and Jen went up against 50 of the toughest women in the region at the Wilmington Grand Prix Criterium. This Pro 1-2 women's race consisted of a one-mile, 8-turn course that the women completed 25 times. Laura VanGilder, defending champion, was at the line, along with Colavita's Kristen Sanders who was celebrating her 40th birthday and came away with the win over VanGilder. Our old friend Rachel Warner was there, and Anna Lang from the Vanderkitten Focus team. The pace was quick from the start, with Colavita and others making several break attempts. Both Ali and Jen stayed within the main pack as the race broke apart and women dropped off of the back. Ali spent some time on front driving the pace, and managed to keep herself in good position toward the front of the pack for the entire race. Jen worked hard to stay in the pack, so hard in fact that she got to see her breakfast for a second time. Badass. In the end, Ali was in the thick of things for the sprint, pulling out a 15th place that put her in the money! Cap'n Cook embarassed her by forcing her to take a money shot picture.

Jen came in 29th, just a few spots out of the booty.

Wintergreen Ascent & Jefferson Cup

Five of the Vanderkittens headed west this past weekend to do the Wintergreen Ascent and the Jefferson Cup race in Charlottesville. It was a Vanderkitten sweep for Laura, Jen and Brittany at Wintergreen with Captain Cook taking the GOLD and the title of “Queen of the Mountain” with a time of 46:01. Jen was right behind with a time of 46:03 and Brittany took 3rd with a time of 48:41. As for me, I placed 2nd in the 40 plus behind Valerie Netsch (Tripower) with a time of 51:35. This ol’ Grandma hasn’t thrown in the towel to old age quite yet. We also need to thank Ali for cheering us on in her comic cheerleader outfit!

After some great comfort food and drink at Devil’s Backbone, some of the girls got back on their bikes and headed up toward Crabtree Falls for some more miles. I decided to head back to Charlottesville to take a much needed nap. We all decided on a great local Indian restaurant for dinner in Charlottesville where we inhaled our food and wine getting ready for the next race.
Waking up on Mother’s Day morning to sunny skies was a perfect beginning to a great day. 50 plus women arrived for the 9:00 start of the race with their engines primed for what would be a blistering pace. The hill by the winery broke up the race lap after lap. Brittany, Ali and Jen all hung in there for the full 50. As it came down to the finish, Brittany was in the money for 3rd place in Cat 3. Jen placed 9th and Ali was close behind for the Cat 2’s. Unfortunately, the results have Ali listed as a DNF. As for me, I was spit off the back after the 2nd hill climb and totally enjoyed the company of a chase group consisting of Janet from ABRT and Amanda from Fat Frogs plus others. After having a nasty accident a few years back, it was the first time I’ve ventured out to a road race and it felt great. You’ll be seeing more of me soon!

Thanks to the race promoters for both Wintergreen and the Jefferson Cup Road Race. You did an outstanding job!

BJ aka Podium Cat

Jim"DIESEL" Dunham

It’s been 2 days since Jim “Diesel” Dunham was struck by a hit and run driver in Va Beach. Efforts are being made to find the driver who took down one of the most well known and well liked riders in the area. The Virginian Pilot, Channel 13 News and 106.9 have spread the news. Facebook has blown up with the story. His adoring friends are praying for a quick recovery.

Jim, you are in everyone’s thoughts and prayers.

I just stopped by to check on Jim at the hospital and when I went to the reception area, the volunteer said he was a very popular guy with visitors lining up to see him. The nurses on the 3rd floor are keeping busy monitoring the traffic. Arlene, the dietician, is meeting Jim’s request for good food. This morning he enjoyed 6 hardboiled eggs (yolks removed). Lunch and dinner will be salad with a bit of chicken to aid in his recovery.

Jim is in good spirits considering what he has gone through. His family is by his side and Barb is making sure he gets his sponge baths! Jim is always the leader of the pack and without him, we are lost. Heal quickly.