The 2007 BMX World Championships wrapped up in Victoria, British Columbia yesterday.

Shanaze Reade of Great Britain (nickname Speady Ready) won the gold medal in the Women’s Elite competition with a time of 39.025 secs over a very tough course. New Zealander Sarah Walker came in second place, just about one second off of Reads’ time.

Reade is a true phenomenon in women’s cycling and stands to be a great inspiration for a lot of young girls getting into the sport. At only 18 years old she is already a three time world champion, eight time European champion and five time national champion in BMX. And, as if that wasn’t enough, Reade decided to see what she could do on the track this year and came away from the track world championships with a gold medal in the Women’s Team Sprint competition.

The young British rider is focused on doing everything she can to put forward a gold medal-winning ride at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and looking at the season she’s having so far she may as well plan for a gold on the track while she’s there.

In addition to having to pee for most of my ride the other day, I noticed that, after about 25 miles, the toes on my left foot were going numb. It was no fun and no matter how much I wiggled them around, I didn’t really get feeling back fully until after I was home.

I did a bit of research when I got home on numb toes while cycling and found that I wasn’t alone. Apparently it’s a pretty common problem.

These were some of the main causes that I discovered:

1. Incorrect seat placement - sometimes if your seat is too high it can restrict circulation through your legs and result in numb feet or toes. Try lowering your seat a tiny bit and see if that helps.

2. Temperature - sometimes numbness can be a symptom of being cold. And cold feet usually come from cold legs. Try extra socks or toe covers before you head out on cold days.

3. Pedaling technique - If you’re putting pressure on the wrong area of your foot you could be restricting blood flow with each pedal stroke. Make sure you are pushing down with your heels not pushing and pulling from your toes or the front of your foot.

4. Cleat position - If you’re using clipless pedal then the position of the cleat on your shoe could be a little off. Try moving your cleats 2 - 3 mm towards the rear of your shoe.

5. Too much climbing - This puts continuous pressure on the bottom of the foot. Try working some more flat terrain into your ride.

6. Tight shoes - if your shoes are too tight it can cause numbness or tingling in your toes. This ended up being my problem. I loosened my shoes a little bit for my next ride and the problem was solved.

I did a 31.5 mile ride on Sunday because Jessi said I could. My comfort zone is typically in around the 15 mile ride. It takes me about an hour and I can come home, take a shower, and get on with my day feeling good.

However, I’ve been trying to push myself a bit lately and get that mileage up. My goal is to get that Century ride under my belt and I’m not going to make that happen with 15 mile rides.

So, Jessi kept bugging me and telling me that I could do 30 miles, no problem, so last weekend I filled up both water bottles and was on my way.

It was a gorgeous day and I really had a great ride, but I couldn’t enjoy it as much as I would have liked because I realized that I needed to pee about 5 miles in. I kept riding – and kept drinking because it was hot and I needed to stay hydrated – and the feeling just kept getting worse. There was no where to stop and find a washroom, I was out in the middle of nowhere but I wasn’t far enough away from civilization to guarantee privacy, if you know what I mean.

In this situation, what is a girl to do? Now this is really one of those points in life where one’s personality type comes shining through. There are those who would risk bladder eruption looking for a gas station or restaurant with a washroom that they could use. Then there are those who wouldn’t think twice about pulling over, hopping off, and squatting down.

I fall somewhere in the middle, so while I searched and searched for a washroom the trees on the sides of the road became more and more inviting. And the worst part was that my great ride was overshadowed by the call of nature. I didn’t really get to enjoy the ride or the accomplishment because I was so distracted for most of it.

Eventually I did find a little diner where I was able to address the situation, but next time I’m bringing along toilet paper, just in case.

A few days ago I opened up a pandora’s box and wrote about the role that fear plays among female riders. Today I’d like to explore the topic a little further.

Why are women more afraid than men? Are women born afraid or is it taught? Is this a case of nature or nurture? And if women do find that fear is holding them back, what can they do to address it?

Danelle Kabush, who recently finished 2nd at the 2006 World Xterra Championships and has a Doctorate in Social Psychology with an emphasis in Sport Psychology, believes that the way young girls are raised plays a big part. “Girls aren’t socialized to be aggressive and competitive in the same way boys are. Little boys are encouraged to go out and rip around on their bikes, get dirty, get scraped up, and learn how to fix things. They are encouraged to always push their limits within their peer groups. Little girls are encouraged to play with their dolls, don’t get hurt, don’t play on the streets, don’t get dirty, be careful.”

Michelle Ward, founder and team manager of the Fly Gurlz women’s mountain biking team, points out that once those walls are built up in your mind over the years, it takes some work to bring them down. Fear can come simply from not knowing what you’re capable of. “Women almost always underestimate their abilities,” says Ward. “When we ask for their skill level at registration for our training camps, women will regularly list themselves as a beginner when they’re really an intermediate.”

Ward says that the fear factor is often easily surmounted with a gradual approach to teaching. “Some camps take riders right out onto the trails – we never do that. We spend the morning of the first day just working on basic skills such as shifting and braking. As the riders build up skill slowly, the fear falls away and sometimes by the afternoon that beginner group is riding right over the big log pile. They surprise themselves.”

Another source of confidence for female riders is seeing other women succeed. According to Kabush, female-only camps, rides, and training environments with female coaches are a great starting point to get past any initial fears and intimidation. Ward agrees. She believes that having female instructors teach the Fly Gurlz camps makes the riders more comfortable. “Our female instructors have felt the same feelings and can relate.”

I believe that fear does often present a bigger hurdle for women than it does for men. But, I think that with some time spent their honing skills and gaining confidence in their abilities, all fears can be overcome.

A few months ago I wrote an article for Pedal magazine here in Canada about the role that fear plays among female cyclists.

There are women who have ridden their way to the very top of the sport of cycling. They have broken records, won medals, and done things on a bike that many men would never dream of attempting. But generally speaking, fear plays a bigger role among female riders – especially beginners – than it does among their male counterparts.

I know that this is a controversial topic and that many women will argue that fear plays no bigger role for women than it does for men. But I disagree. I think this is an important topic area for women - especially those new to the sport - and I’d like to explore it over the next few days.

Danelle Kabush has competed professionally in cross-country mountain biking since 1999 and off-road triathlons since 2004. She recently finished 2nd at the 2006 World Xterra Championships. Kabush received a Doctorate in Social Psychology with an emphasis in Sport Psychology from the University of Ottawa and currently acts as a Mental Skills Coach with the Canadian Sports Centre. She says that, “There are always exceptions to the rule, but overcoming fear is usually one of the top issues that beginning female cyclists want to deal with.”

I interviewed Kabush while working on the article and she gave me some great tips for overcoming fear on the bike:

1. Face your fears head on. Ask yourself, “What is the worst thing that could happen if I followed through with this situation?” If you can live with the worst case scenario, you can go beyond the fear. If not, wait and spend some more time developing the skills you need until you feel ready to go forward.

2. Remember that fear can be helpful to you, alerting you to where you need to be careful and prepared. For example, if you’re fearful of riding in a race pack, gather as much information and simulated experience in training as you can. Too many unknowns only fuel fear. Taking responsibility for your preparation is key to replacing fears and building confidence.

3. Subdivide your skill progression. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the rider you aspire to be in the future, be patient with your present abilities and speed of progression. Try dividing your progress into small, manageable steps, and set realistic daily goals.

4. Seek out other riders who have had similar fears and ask them what they did to cope with them. Experience is a great teacher – so take advantage of the learning experiences of others.

5. Finally, don’t take yourself too seriously. Fears are created by feeling we have to live up to the very serious images we create of ourselves. Keep things light, learn to laugh at your mistakes and view them as learning opportunities, and keep focused on the fun aspects of why you ride your bike.

I need to start this post off by saying that when I say “ghetto”, I am by no means trying to insult anyone. Thestory I’m about to tell you is not being told in order to offend someone who lives in or near an actual ghetto. I use the term ghetto very loosely. So far I have yet to get my ass kicked for using this term. According to the internet, ghetto is defined as an area the Jewish residents were forced to live by the Nazis. I am not referring to this historical reference, though I think that the supplies in that area were probably about as good as the ones I had on hand to finish the job. In addition to using the term “ghetto”, my husband has asked me not to tell this story. TS big guy, it’s a great tale.

Picture this. Father’s Day. Husband and father of my children is hungry for breakfast. I really wanted to take him out to breakfast as I am not really good at preparing this particular meal, however, funding was slim on this particular Sunday. I decided to get on the Bontrager Race Light, total classic ride straight out of Santa Cruz, California. I almost hopped the local trail that takes me from my doorstep to the grocery store but I realized that I don’t have a trail pass. I know, odd, huh? I also saw one of the rangers checking for them, so I had to go through town instead. This isn’t a big deal. Really, it isn’t. Anyways, as I was swooping through town and feeling like a million bucks, I realized that my front wheel was not turning! I got through the ride doing motorcycle turns, the big lean.

I got home and made a perfectly horrible breakfast. Seriously, I would much rather cook dinner, though that is another post all together. After I cleaned up the inedible mess that I had concocted, we had a perfectly lovely day. Later that night I told Billy Biker Boy that I was having some issues with the bike. We took the headset apart and the ball bearings were rusted solid. SOL-ID. They weren’t moving. No game. Bill then starts trying to figure out how to get another headset. However, the prized Bontrager has a 1 1/8″ post, so it would probably have to be ordered. Damn. Bike would be out of commission, not to mention, we couldn’t budget going to breakfast that morning, how were we going to swing a new freaking special order headset?

The answer was there sitting boldly like a beacon of hope on the garage shelf. Bill tried to swear me to secrecy, but I couldn’t take that. I have to tell you what I did. I took the new can of WD-40 (Water Displacement Batch 40) and soaked the hell out of those ball bearings. Wipe and repeat. Wipe and repeat. Wipe and repeat times 15. I used a ton of that new bottle and guess what. It worked. It’s going to hold me over until I can score something new. I would love to test something out! Anyways, I know. Not such a great practice to get into, but a girl’s gotta ride, right?

Please don’t send me the emails about how “sacreligious” of me to use WD-40 on a bike part blah blah blah. Under any other circumstance, I would have run out immediately and ordered a new one. My weekend wasn’t going that way. That and it was 10:30 on a Sunday night. Our shops close at insanely early, especially on a Sunday. So, there you have it. Ghetto Fix Job of the Year. Good thing my husband doesn’t know how to read, huh?

If any of you are tuning into the Tour day France, check out either my site or Sara’s site for more commentary on that.

Peace Out
bk

Hi Folks! I hope you all had an enjoyable and safe 4th of July. In my hometown, there is an event called Rhythm & Booms that is not only the largest event in Wisconsin, but the largest fireworks display in the midwest. It actually takes place the weekend before the 4th of July in order to make it so darn big. The show is “choreographed” to popular and patriotic music which is broadcast over the local oldies station. The coolest part is that the fireworks display is over 35 minutes long and more 15,000 shells are fired. As you can imagine, with Madison being an isthmus and the fact that the roads are not built to deal with 300,000 people simultaneously, this can cause an issue. As you can imagine, the traffic is a real pain. I would guestimate that 99% of the people who avoid R & B do so because of the traffic. I don’t blame them. It’s a mess. This is where my husband’s master plan came into play.

We live outside Madison, in Verona. Getting into the event isn’t so bad as there are things going on all day, it’s the getting home that can drive you crazy. My husband, Billy Biker Boy had a fantastic idea. We would drive to the edge of downtown and ride into the event. A pretty easy ride, though BBB had the trailer with the kids, chairs, food, diapers, juice boxes etc weighing him down and I had the Velciopak with more clothes and the IDs. Since we drove down there earlier to set up or tarp and claim a spot, getting there turned into a real breeze. The hardest thing was dodging the crowds of people who were walking through the event like they were the only people there.

A vast majority of the spectators bring their radios and tune in to 94.9 when the fireworks start, so the stereo is awesome, regardless how crappy all the radios tend to be. We sat out on the lawn for hours goofing around and just hanging out, trying to avoid the portapotties as best we could. Finally the F-16 flyovers from Camp Douglas dropped by and then it was time to get the party started. The opener was awesome. I don’t think that the sky was without a shell for over 35 minutes. My youngest doesn’t like the noise (and lived inside ME for 34 weeks? Uncanny.) so she got to wear some sexy headwear. After the spectacular show, it was time to pack up and jet out. The cool part, was we had some friends come join us for the show and they drove and ended up taking a bunch of our gear home in their car. This made BBB’s ride a little smoother and packing up the car a lot faster.

Once we got on the road, the fly time home was nothing. Billy told me to stay on the light at the back of the trailer and the man flew. I kept up just fine and tried to forget that it was my kids in that trailer as some of his maneuvers were freaking me out. The cyclists were out in full force leaving the park. The time it took to get to the car was quick. Once we packed up and got on the road, the timing was even more impressive. We beat our friend in the car by at least 45 minutes. Sweet.

So when the going gets tough and you realize that an event is going to be nutty traffic wise, come up with a plan to go on two wheels, even if it means driving part of the way. Billy Biker Boy says that I’ve never have made the full trip. I think carting over 80 pounds on the bike is the part that freaks him out. Maybe next year we will do the route via all the bike trails. I believe we can go from our house to the park mostly on bike paths. Isn’t that the coolest?

So all in all, commuting is patriotic.

This year, the first ever Nissan Qashqai Urban Challenge brought together 15 of the world’s top urban freeriders to take on five European cities over five weekends to win 50,000 euros - the biggest prize money ever in this sport.

Five different events in five cities: North Shore in Newcastle, Dirt in Milan, Street in Madrid, Park in Cologne, and Big Air in Paris. Judges awarded points to the riders based on how well they did in each different event.

One of the largest crowds of the event series gathered in Paris, France on June 24 for the series finale. Darren Berrecloth (aka “Bearclaw”) of B.C. Canada and Paul Basagoitia of Nevada, USA, had been locked in a tight battle for first place throughout the competition.

After five events of back-and-forth, Darren Berrecloth was able to edge out Paul Basagoitia by one point in the overall standings. Paul placed fourth in Paris, which gave Bearclaw the overall win. The first-ever mountain bike freeride world series title and a check for 50,000 euros were handed over to Darren Berrecloth, along with a three liter bottle of champagne.

It was an incredibly cool event. Check out the website with great video clips from each of the five events.

This event really has nothing to do with women in cycling, but it was hot and chicks dig it.

I love cycling and I love yoga. I’ve always believed that one helps me be better at the other and there’s an interesting article over at the Housten Chronicle about how yoga can help your body better prepare for, and recover from, a long ride.

Check it out.

Skirtsports sent me a super fun little outfit to try out and I’m jonesing for a few more! They are that sweet. I wrote a few months back about being mistaken for a boy while riding and I promise you, that won’t be a problem with one of these. The company sent me a lovely Relaxed Fit BikeGirl Sleeveless Bike Jersey in white as shown above.

I got both the top and bottom in a medium and was really impressed with the accuracy of the cuts. The shirt is flattering and LONG enough. There’s nothing more agitating than a cycling jersey that is too short with that damn elastic on the bottom to creep up on you while you ride and even worse, when you’re not riding! This was not the case with Skirtsports. These ladies have it all figured out. Maybe we should put them on the Floyd Landis case.

The good times don’t stop there. I was instantly comfortable in the skirt. The chamois was didn’t feel like an adult diaper and was still enough to save the lady parts. I am also a season ticket holder for the pocket they put on the right leg of the built in shorts. It is a wonderful place for your phone or iPod while you’re riding. If you are sitting on the curb watching a parade, you may want to keep and eye on your electronics, as my pink razor phone tended to slip out. The only suggestion I have for the Skirtsport vixens is to make the cycling shorts shorter. Because the skirt is a generous length, the shorts can stand to be a bit shorter so they don’t peek out when you hit the grocery store, ice cream shop . . . ok. . . you caught me, the bar.

All in all I’m very pleased with the options Sportskirts has to offer. I”m really craving one of the Free Love Gym Girl Gym Girl Pink Camo Limited Edition.
Peace Out Ladies! Buy these suckers up like there is no tomorrow!
BK