Amanda Miller

Tulsa Tough Day

Tulsa Tough has come and gone this year. I actually love these races. It’s my second year doing them. Fun, fast courses and huge fields. Not to mention, some awesome prize money! Kate, Toni and I met up in St. Louis Thursday morning. We went for a short spin and then hopped in Black Betty for the drive to Tulsa. It’s a blast traveling with these girls. We had some good times, and some sleepy times. Arrived in Tulsa at a good time and got settled into our host housing.

Kate and Toni all smiles while spinning out the legs in Tulsa.

The team spinning before Day 1 of Tulsa Tough.

Day 1’s crit was in the evening so we went for a team spin in the morning. Found a pretty awesome road outside of Tulsa. Nice and scenic. The crit course for day 1 looked like this:

It was pancake flat, and fast. The weather was sunny and a bit warm, but not humid (which is pretty unusual for Tulsa). There were a ton of crashes. None of the LipSmacker girls went down. As a team, we went for some primes and did some attacking. Anne was our top finisher in 10th place, Kacey was 12th, I was 22nd, Toni was 30th, and Kate was 60th. Not too shabby for over 90 starters!

Day 2 was an afternoon race so we went out for another spin to loosen up the legs. Today was quite a bit hotter. The weather was still beautiful though. Here’s the course:

There was a slight uphill on the backside of the course, leading into a tight left hand corner. There were a few times where the outside curb came pretty close to my front wheel. After the top straight-away there was a pretty fast downhill leading into another wide left hand turn into a long sprint finish. As a team, again, we attacked and went for primes. Since we aren’t a crit team, this is pretty much all we can do in crits. Try to get a break going and take some primes. There was a huge crash 10minutes into the race. My coach, Meredith Miller, went down after some riders moved into her. This crash happened about 30 riders back and took place in the first corner after the start/finish. Needless to say, about 2/3’s of the field went down or got stuck behind it. So they neutralized the race for 10minutes. Then the race was shortened to 40minutes to go. It was fast, but maintainable. I took a flier with 2 to go to try and string things out a bit. Then I got caught, and shuffled towards the back. It was hard moving up the last lap because I was already tired. Anne was the top finisher for the team in 18th place, Toni was 23rd, I was 32nd, Kacey was 49th, and Kate was stuck behind the crashing and wasn’t able to finish. She is ok though.

Day 3 was a great course for me. It was super hot out. Definitely a race of attrition. There was a pretty steep hill that kept things hard. Here’s the course:

The field shattered and eventually there were only 31 people who finished the race of the starting 90+ riders. There were lots of attacks. Alison Powers was off the front for quite a few laps. I took a prime one of the laps. Coming into the last lap, I tried to hold position in the top 5, but got swarmed coming into the 2nd to last corner heading down the hill. Was able to move up a few spots on the downhill, but not enough. I finished 12th, Toni was 23rd, Anne was 26th. We were one of the only teams to have more than 2 riders in the lead group. It was an awesome weekend for the team. I’m glad the weather stayed nice (minus the heat).

After Tulsa Tough, I headed back to St. Louis. The next day, I drove back to Fort Collins. That Tuesday, I rode in rain and 50 degree weather. Nothing like coming from 95degrees to 50degrees in a day. The rest of the week wasn’t that great either, but I managed to get some training in and some working. It’s going to be a busy month! Thanks for stopping in and I’ll try to be a better blogger
-A

Jim Ryan

Last year I was selected to be a member of the Ryan Collegiate All-Star composite team for the Nature Valley Grand Prix. This team is sponsored by Jim Ryan and his company. Jim, his wife Colleen, and the rest of their family were kind enough to open their house up to us for the entire week at Nature Valley. They were very supportive and enthusiastic towards the opportunity. I received news today that Jim passed away earlier this morning. Jim was a very kind man. He will be greatly missed. My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family. Rest in peace Jim!

Read more about Jim here —> http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jimrryan

Quad Cities Criterium

This race always makes me nervous. As many of you know, I haven’t had the best luck in the past with it. This year, it was raining off and on all day. It never really poured. Fortunately by the time we raced, it was dry. During the race it sprinkled some, but never enough to make the pavement slick. I chose to run my rain tires anyway. Better safe than sorry!

The race started off fast, as always. There were a lot of attacks. LipSmacker threw down a lot of attacks trying to split things up and make a break stick. After several attempts, a break finally stuck. It included Meredith Miller, Catherine Walberg, Kristen Meshberg, Jessica Prinner, Toni Bradshaw, and myself. We (LipSmacker) had two in the break, which was awesome. The break never got organized. We came close to lapping the field at some point during the race. But by the time the race was almost done, I thought we were going to get caught. It was frustrating, but we made it stick. With one lap to go, Jessica attacked after a prime lap. She got a gap that no one was going to cover. I think if I would have been patient, someone would have gone. I waited a few seconds and then went. I didn’t catch her and no one else would come to help. Toni came and took over and closed the gap even more. But still, no help. On the final straigh-away, Meredith jumped and passed Jessica. I latched on to Kristen and Catherine’s wheels. Between the final two corners, Kristen and Catherine almost crashed into each other. I hestitated and lost contact, crap. Meredith already had a huge gap and held onto it for the win. Kristen took 2nd and Catherine 3rd. I came in 4th, and Toni was 6th. Unfortunately Kate went down in a crash mid-race. She is ok, just some road rash. It was another fun race and I learned some more (such as positioning for a sprint ). Now some pictures.

Erick striking his LipSmacker GQ pose

Kate throwing down an early attack.

Following wheels.

The break.

It was an awesome weekend of racing. I’m sad it’s over. It was so great to see everyone again. That’s what I enjoy about coming back to the Midwest. You get to see lots of people you haven’t seen in a year . Next up is Tulsa Tough. I’m leaving early in the morning tomorrow to head down. From there it’s back to Colorado for a few days. I fly to Philly for the Liberty Classic next Saturday and won’t be “home” (Colorado or Iowa) for a month. Here’s to life on the road! Thanks for reading!
-A

Testing

Just seeing if this works.

Melon City Criterium

Another great day of racing. There were 31 finishers in the race (I’m assuming around that many started). Things were spread out from the gun. Meredith Miller (TIBCO) lead the first lap at a high pace. A few early prime laps got things moving too. Team LipSmacker did a good job attacking and chasing things down. With 3 laps to go, Meredith took off mid-way up the hill. She opened up a gap and no one followed. There was never really any organized chasing going on. With one to go, I found a wheel and stuck on it. Someone attacked at the base of the climb and I grabbed their wheel. Within the last 50meters of the hill, I came around them and gave it my all. I came into the last few corners first and maintained a gap to the finish for 2nd place. It was a fun race. Now, the pictures .

Pushing the pace up the hill.

Going for a prime.

Another attack on the hill.

Sprint for 2nd place.

My coach, Meredith Miller, winning the race out of a solo break.

Podium. Meredith 1st, me 2nd, Catherine Walberg 3rd.

Meredith, Toni, and I post-race.

That’s all for now. Thanks for checking in .
-A

Snake Alley Criterium

I finally did it. Finally conquered Snake Alley in the Women’s Pro/1/2/3 race. The rain stayed away for the women’s race, thankfully. Slippery cobbles are never fun to deal with. I contemplated changing my tires to some rain tires (Michelin Pro Grip), but decided to just keep my race tires (Specialized Mondo Open Tubulars). I ran them a bit too high though and found myself skipping around on the cobbles. Lesson learned. Not sure on the exact number of starters, but there were 33 finishers this year. My two teammates Toni Bradshaw and Kate Ross made the journey from Colorado to come to these races. Toni is from New Zealand so she has never been to Iowa. Kate is from Wisconsin, but this was her first time racing Snake Alley. I was able to sneak up to the front row for staging. Starting position is key for this race. It’s known to bottle neck at the base of the “snake”.

The announcer sent us on our way and I took off from the gun. I was the first up the Snake and didn’t look back at the top. I kept up the pace for the next few laps. Eventually I was joined by Meredith Miller (TIBCO) and Devon Haskell (Team BH). We worked alright together. I ended up setting pace up the snake and let the other two take pulls the rest of the course. With 5 laps to go (out of 12 total laps), I attacked at the base of the snake. We had started passing lapped riders, so I used that to my advantage on the cobbles. I got to the top with a decent gap. I had a little bit of help behind me from Meredith. But I was able to keep the gap steady, around 25-30 seconds for the rest of the race.

So there it was. I finally won Snake Alley. I owe a huge thanks to everyone who cheered for me throughout the course. It was amazing! I couldn’t have done it without the encouragement from everyone out there! So thanks to all who came out to watch!!!

Here are the top 3 results and Team LipSmacker results:
1. Me
2. Meredith Miller
3. Devon Haskell
7. Toni Bradshaw
17. Kate Ross

And now for the pictures (courtesy of my mom, Erick Carlson, and Jessi Braverman)

Leading up the cobbles.

The break-away.

More suffering.

Yay!

Podium.

That’s all for now. Hopefully you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by!
-A

North Boulder Park Criterium

Sunday I headed down for the North Boulder Park criterium. The weather was awesome – mid 80’s, sunny, and a slight breeze. I had heard rumors that the field was going to be pretty stacked for the Women’s Pro/1/2/3 race. Our race wasn’t until 5:40pm, so I was able to go for a spin earlier in the morning. It was a gorgeous day. The race was 45minutes long. The first three laps were hard. Prime lap after prime lap. Things shattered. Near 40 women started the race. By the end, there were only 12 women left in the lead group. Gina Grain and Amy Dombrowski of Webcor were there, throwing down attacks. Meredith Miller of Tibco and Tiffany Cromwell of Colavita were also there tearing people’s legs off. Mara Abbott was in the mix as well. She had done the Men’s cat 3 race prior to ours, so I am sure she was a little tired. Of course the rest of the Colorado strong riders were there. Needless to say, it was a very fast and active race. I threw down some attacks, won a few primes. Towards the end of the race, I decided it was smart for me to just sit in and save some energy. The last two laps came and I found myself at the back of the pack. It was hard to hold position. I was in a really bad spot on the last lap. Had to avoid some near carnage, but managed to make my way up to top 5 coming into the finish. I hopped on to Cari Higgins (Proman) wheel, knowing it was going to be a safe and fast feel. Managed to pull off 4th place behind Gina Grain (1st), Tiffany Cromwell (2nd), and Cari Higgins (3rd). I enjoyed the race. It was a good effort. Now I’m back in Iowa for a few weeks. I will be racing Snake Alley, Muscatine, and Quad Cities this weekend. Looking forward to seeing everyone out there! Here’s some pictures from the weekend taken by Erick. Enjoy and look for updates this weekend. Thanks!
-A

Collegiate Nationals

Collegiate Nationals is coming to town. The racing starts tomorrow. It’s going to be weird not racing. Be sure to check out the racing here —> bicycleracing.tv

Tour of the Gila Pictures

Tour of the Gila Stage 5

We survived! Today was the final stage of the 2009 Tour of the Gila. It was a tough one. Today’s route was the 2nd day’s race course backwards. It was 115.5km stage. Here’s the profile:16km into the race was the first bonus sprint. We had made a plan that we would start countering at this point. So the sprint came, and we attacked. I was barely holding on during these attacks because my legs were not warmed up, and well…of course they were extremely tired! Finally I decided I would counter attack. Once Toni was caught, off I went up the right hand shoulder. I didn’t give it my all, but gave it enough to break away from the group. Lucky for me, 3 other girls joined me. Rebecca Much of Webcor, Nicole Evans of ValueAct, and Rachel Heal of Colavita were in the group. We were able to get away around 30km into the race. With all the major teams represented in the break, no one was working. This left a few of the G.C. riders without teammates a little stressed. Our break worked well together. It was fun being able to fly through the country side in rotation. I really enjoyed it, even the pain . Our break had 6minutes on the field at one point. When we hit the final climb, Rebecca put the hurt on. I started to drop off and couldn’t hold their pace. Eventually Kristin Armstrong flew around me. Around 30 seconds later a group of 8 or so riders caught me. I latched on and dug deep knowing that I had to stay with them. Eventually my two teammates Carla and Anne caught up with our group. We all stayed their until the end. Kristin A. was way up the road, but one of the girls from my break (Nicole Evans) was still a few seconds up the road. So Anne and I went to the front and put down some major pulls. Carla sat in the group safely. With a little over 1km to go, the group surged and I was off the back. Anne and I rolled in with Rebecca Much and a Colavita girl. Carla sprinted for 5th place. I finished 15th, Anne 16th. It was a fun, hard race. My legs definitely surprised me by todays race. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to an easy week on the bike .

As a team, we finished 4th overall. Anne took 8th in the G.C., Carla was 11th, I was 20th, Toni was 24th, Hillary was 38th, and Kate was 60th. All of us finished! With around 80 original starters, this was an awesome showing for the team. I’m looking forward to racing with these gals again soon! Thanks for stopping in!
-A