LA Ladies Only Session #3
December 9, 2006
Thank you again to everyone who helped
make the December Ladies Only Track Session a record breaker! Roger,
Tim Ferierra, John Walsh, Kyle, Karla Bland and everyone who has
attended one or more Ladies sessions!
Back in October 2006, the first ever Ladies
Only Track Session at LA brought in over 40 Ladies to ride the
track. November’s session brought in over 60 Ladies. Undaunted by
the busy Holiday Season, over 50 Ladies came to December’s Session.
In the first 3 of the 4 Ladies Sessions over 150 Ladies have
attended! More than half of the Ladies, are brand new to track
cycling and had never ridden a track bike before!!
Thank you Sarah Hammer, OUCH and the
ATWCF! Sarah is one classy lady lending us her smile and her track
cycling skills. Everyone of us look forward to cheering for Sarah at
the LA World Cup in January at the LA Velodrome!! You Go Girl!!!
Thank you to Bonnie Bourque of the
Women’s Cycling Challenge! Your commitment to helping Ladies
throughout the Southland discover the joy of bike racing is awesome!
All of the women who have benefited from your program are a
testimony to your hard work and your love of the sport of cycling! I
look forward to working with you in 2007!
Pictures ~ Thank you Steve Weixel
for taking so many awesome pictures!! These are wonderful!
http://www.photoscene.com/sw/gallery/Cycling/20061209/
Several ladies have written of their experience
on the track during the December 9th Ladies Session. I
will let them share their experience with you!
Here is Anna Cummins’ story as she
blogged it…
http://bitchinspin.blogspot.com/
And from Pat Benson….I had been to the
LA Center to watch races a couple of years ago, so it wasn't a
shock when I saw the steep banking of the track. I was excited and a
little scared to think that I would have an opportunity to ride at a
world-class facility. I went to my first velodrome race when I was a
teenager, at Encino in the late 1960s. I had friends who raced, but
it never occurred to me to try it back then.
I recently joined the Pasadena Athletic
Association, which has a lot of master's racers as members. Renee
Zajac, who has only been riding track for a year but has become
quite accomplished in that time, told me about the special Ladies
Session and how great Roger and Julia are. She was right on.
Roger's class was comprehensive. I loved
hearing the history of the velodrome as a place where people learned
to ride bikes before there were asphalt roads to ride on. I loved
hearing how his mother raced and a little bit of the history of
women in cycling. I loved hearing how special this velodrome is,
designed by a family with a long history in the sport. Roger
explained the basics, but with a lot of depth and breadth, and in an
enthusiastic and down to earth style. It was very cool to have a
legendary rider and coach teach us the ropes.
The session was extremely well organized thanks
to Julia, who was also down on the track with encouragement and tips
to help get us going. Volunteers quickly got the bikes ready for us,
and my teammate Renee helped me practice starting and stopping.
After riding the apron for awhile, eventually I followed her up to
the blue line, adrenaline pumping. It was an E-ticket ride and I
look forward to coming back.
Here is Tara Unverzagt’s story….. I
ended up at Lady's Day at LA thanks to the invitation from my son's
track teacher (Connie Paraskevin) and a fellow SBW member who's
response to me is "So what?" whenever I say something like "I'm not
in good enough shape to do that.". "Just go for it," he
says, "What's the worse that can happen?". I was a little
intimidated not knowing who all these women were. When I walked in I
quickly discovered they were very nice and had the same questions I
did. Who cares if they might be faster or more experienced than
me? And who knows, maybe they aren't. As I was waiting for a bike
to come in for me to use, I over heard someone ask "who is the lady
on the balustrade? She was in the intro class wasn't she? " Clearly
impressed that a first timer would go up there, I was thinking,
"Aren't you suppose to go up there? That's where all the fun stuff
starts."
During my first two laps on the track, having
major trouble staying on the black line in the curves, I thought
"why in the heck did I want to do this!?!?!" Then I realized that I
was "slipping" because I thought I would slip. When I held the
black line, I didn't slip at all (although my bike handling skills
could be better). So now, I decided I was ready for the blue line.
A look over the right shoulder and up I go. With the knowledge that
I can hold the line and I really won't slip, I whirled around the
track for awhile. Then I found I was going slightly faster than the
lady in front of me. "Ok, I'll just pass", I thought, but we were
going into the curve as I went into the passing lane. Boy, you have
to go A LOT further when you're a little higher up. So I went back
down to the blue line behind her, but I was catching up to her wheel
again. I thought "Ok, go up and push through the curve and use the
added downhill going into the straight away to build some speed to
pass her." Hey, that worked! Ok, I've passed her and now I'm
thinking that the balustrade is calling my name. I've been dying to
do the bomb down to the black line at monsterous speed. But I'm a
beginner, I'm not suppose to want to do that. But hey, I may never
be on the track again, I can't miss this opportunity!
So up
to the balustrade I go. The top of the curves don't seem nearly as
scary from the inside as the outside, but I'm having that "slipping"
feeling again. I try to keep my speed up and hold the bike as
steady as I can. Ok, I do another lap up there and I hold it
better. Now's my chance, look over my left shoulder, no one in
sight... WOOSHHHH!!!! I hit the black line and bomb around the
curve. What a rush!!!!! I try to keep my speed up as long as I
can, but I can't. A couple of laps on the black line and I'm at my
normal speed. Boy am I thirsty! It didn't feel like I was working
that hard at the time, but now I realize I was. Ok, quick water
break and see if I can go one more time before the session is up. A
couple of laps around the black line, up to the blue line, up to the
balustrade for a couple of laps and WOOSHHH!!! Just as cool the
second time around! I want to work out more so I can do this better
and faster. Yes, I'll be back on the track again. See you next
month!
