Velo Girls' Vanessa Cairns and Lorri Lee Lown are both quoted in the Fit for Life column of this month's (May 2009) issue of Natural Health.

Check out the article here.

Our new 3-day weekend camp from June 19 to 21 this year is designed to help prepare participants for the rigors of endurance riding at high altitude. Based in Markleeville, CA, this camp is appropriate for Death Ride participants and others who wish to gain high altitude experience. The registration fee includes camping (Friday + Saturday), SAG on rides, cycling nutrition, Saturday breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Sunday breakfast and lots of fun with cool folks. Thursday and Sunday night camping options are available for a small extra fee.

Participants are responsible for their own transportation to and from Markleeville; however, all are encouraged to carpool. Sign up online here.

See information about this and our many other coaching programs at coaching.velogirls.com.

Whether you want to go fast and race your bicycle, or go long on a tour with your bicycle, Velo Girls Coaching Services has some great programs on the calendar for May.

Bike Skills 302 Racing Skills + Tactics (sessions for men and women): May 23

This four-hour clinic will teach you all the individual bike-handling and group riding skills you'll need to race your first (or your 10th) criterium or road race. In addition to skills & drills, you'll receive expert coaching on race preparation and logistics, and an introduction to tactics. We'll finish the day with a training race followed by a de-brief. Pre-requisite: Bike Skills 101 or equivalent experience.

→ REGISTER ONLINE FOR BIKE SKILLS 302

Bike Touring 101 (co-ed): May 30-31

Have you thought about touring on your bike but don't know where to begin? We'll unravel the mysteries of supported, fully-loaded, and semi-loaded touring for you. This new program includes a two-hour seminar on the topics of equipment, bicycle choice, what to bring, how to pack, camping, cooking, safety, and choosing your route. Then, we head out for a weekend of semi-loaded touring with a 50-mile hilly option or a 25-mile rolling option, both ending at Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel in Pescadero, where we'll have dinner, spend the evening, soak in the hot tub, and sleep. The next day, we pack up and return to the start. This is a fully-supported event and includes ride nutrition, dinner (Saturday) and breakfast (Sunday), SAG, and your accommodations at the hostel.

→ REGISTER ONLINE FOR BIKE TOURING 101

Dr. Kam Leung of Discover Chiropractic in San Francisco hosted Team Velo Girls last night for an educational and fun evening. Dr. Leung practices both chiropractic and Active Release Technique (ART), which targets the tissues of the body. Using these complementary techniques, he said that "as long as it's not broken or bleeding," there are things he can do to help. For example, he estimated that 85% of headaches originate in the neck, which can be addressed through adjustment and ART. Even pregnant women can benefit - he said that breech births can be caused by misalignment of the pelvis that prevents babies from turning properly in utero.

Continue reading...

Thea Stein wins the Sea Otter Cross Country race!

Here's a great race report from Loren Uscilowski, one of the members of the Tri-Flow women's development team racers who competed at the Bariani Road Race earlier this month:

(On March 22nd) I completed my first road race after about a year and 1/2 hiatus off the bike (hog). My last race prior was The Dallas TX, U.S. Open Triathlon October of 2007. I finished the triathlon, two-stepped at the after party, and let the bike collect dust in the corner of my room for about a year and a half.

I can't really explain the time I took off the bike because I love riding, and although racing can be nerve racking, I do love to get out there and mix it up with the best of them. Maybe I just wanted to see how the other half lives -- not going to bed early on a Friday and Saturday night, because I have a long ride or race in the morning.

Fast forward to Jan 2009, I'm now living in San Francisco, having recently relocated from Los Angeles . Everyone is out riding their bikes and I can't stand the fact that I'm not doing it with them. Now I just need to figure out where to ride. I google San Francisco bike clubs and Velo Girls pops up. I click on the link and I see a bunch of girls in my favorite color - PINK! The team color is pink! How fun!! Then the first paragraph reads, Join the Velo Girls Development team. Is this weird or what? This is exactly what I am looking for!

Read the whole story

This from Team TIBCO:

Los Altos, California - U.S. National Road and Criterium Champion Brooke Miller and Team TIBCO teammates Alison Rosenthal and Alison Starnes will again mix it up with the NorCal crowd at the Tri-Flow Menlo Park Grand Prix, Sunday, March 8 at 10:50 a.m. The women's pro/1/2 race will honor Kristy Gough this year.

"We're really lucky to have such quality races and strong fields on the local NorCal scene," Miller said. "Everyone on our team wants to make sure they're in top form for the early NRC races, such as Redlands at the end of the month. Races like Menlo definitely keep us in race shape."

The Grand Prix will also give friends, family and fans of Team TIBCO the opportunity to see double national champion Miller and her teammates up close and in person.

"Criteriums are always very spectator-friendly," Miller said. "We love it when the crowds come out and are loud! These races give people the unique opportunity to interact with the riders before and after the race, and also feel the electricity of racing. Once the national season kicks off, there won't be too many more local races like this that we're able to do."

The 2009 Bay Area Women's Cycling Series begins Sunday with the Tri-Flow Menlo Park Grand Prix presented by Hawk Relay!

The first of 9 Series races, the Tri-Flow Menlo Park Grand Prix p/b Hawk Relay is the place to be next Sunday! In addition to the Category 4 and Category 3 Series races, the MPGP will also offer a Women's 1/2/3 race this year. This is a rare opportunity for category 3 women to race twice in one day, and a great chance for women's teams to all race and support their teammates in all categories!

For the Category 4 and Category 3 Series races, BAWC will add to the already great prize lists:

• $50 "team primes" in each race, with Left Coast RacingTeam sponsoring the Category 4 primes and Team Roaring Mouse sponsoring the Category 3 primes
• Crocs gift certificate primes
• Zambrano Coffee primes and podium prizes
• Urban Oasis gift certificates
• additional cash for each podium place, sponsored by NCNCA

Pre-registration for the MPGP ends Wednesday evening. Register online now -- compete in the Series, and support the Menlo Park Grand Prix!

The 2009 Women's Racing Series, run by Bay Area Women's Cycling and sponsored by NCNCA, is a points series with individual and team competitions. Points are automatically awarded to women who enter the category 3 and 4 Series races. Team points are awarded when two or more women from the same team compete in the same Series race. To learn more, visit bawcycling.com.

All 10 Team Velo Girls racers headed to the Central Valley to compete in the Snelling Road Race. Most impressive was the fact that 100 CAT4 women raced in two separate fields -- a new record high for northern CA!

The promenade was about 2.5 miles, but the neutralizing referee pulled off early and boom! Off we went! The pace was fast, and there was a stealthy wind which made echeloning desirable but a little sketchy since we didn't know most of the 50 riders who were alongside us. At times we found ourselves at the back of the pack, as the full use of the road made it easy for riders to stream up the left side of the field and there was constant repositioning. Then I saw all my teammates begin to migrate through the pack, ninja-style, and appeared very comfortable and at-ease negotiating through the fluff, planting themselves towards the front, and avoiding the yo-yo effect of bringing up the rear. But with so much reshuffling, it was difficult to maintain one position through all the little hills and sandy corners.

There was a crash in the first lap involving a few riders, and thankfully Vanessa was unbroken, albeit with a few raspberries and an ouchy elbow-kiss. This split the field a bit, and all of us were somber for a while and winded around the course 2x2 for a while. Then we hit the jackhammer back section with acne-ridden asphalt, and I think all of us suffered every time we came around to that section. We rounded a turn and went past the finish for the first time, and then soldiered on for lap 2.

Read the whole post

Team Velo Girls scored two more wins this weekend -- Emily Weinert in a dramatic battle at the Pine Flat Road Race and Thea Stein in a wet and muddy mountain bike race at CCCX #1 -- along with multiple top-ten finishes at Cantua Creek Road Race.

Coach's note: I was driving support for the W4 race at Pine Flat, and I have never seen a more dramatic hilltop finish. I've still got chills thinking about the last 200 meters!

Here's Emily's race report for Pine Flat:

It was an awesome weekend of racing and I'm so proud of the whole team!!!

The morning of the Pine Flat Road Race started out so-so - it wasn't raining, but no one was super pumped to get back on their bikes again after working so hard at Cantua Creek the day before. There were only 6 racers in the W4 race - Dana, Jill, Vanessa, and I, representing Velo Girls, and two Christines, one from the Reno Wheelmen and the other was unattached (and doing her first race). Everyone but unattached Christine had raced Cantua Creek and was talking about using Pine Flat as a training ride.

The race started out with a promenade up a ridiculously steep hill, which pretty much killed your legs by the top. We then headed out on our out and back along the lake with some beautiful views. We were all pretty much together until after the turnaround (~12 mi), after which unattached Christine started picking up the pace. Reno Christine went with her, so I figured I'd try to hang with them and tucked in behind unattached Christine. After a few miles, we started a rotating paceline and rode along at a pretty good clip.

Read the whole post

Thea Stein and Jill Eyres took race wins in their respective categories last weekend. Thea writes:

On Sunday, Jill and I both competed in our first mountain bike races at the TBF Mountain Bike Challenge #1 at Granite Bay/Folsom Lake. We both had a great time at this race and I'd definitely recommend it for first-timers--it's a mellow, 7-mile course that includes single-track, wide double track, and cross-country with plenty of places to pass or be passed. There are only few technical parts--all in all it's a great winding, swoopy loop. First Timers do 1 lap, Novice 2, Sport/Single-Speed 3, & Expert 4.

This was the first MTB race for both of us and we both agreed that riding the course beforehand absolutely makes a difference. The start of the race is somewhat chaotic so getting to the front of the line in your group helps. In my case this meant rubbing elbows with a bunch of teenage 80 lb-ers from a high school race team so that was interesting...

Read the whole post

Registration for this year's Menlo Park Grand Prix is now open, and over 100 racers have signed up to race on the first day. Sign yourself up online via SportsBaseOnline.

More details here, including the race schedule and a description of a new race course.

Jill Eyres reports from the team's training camp/retreat at the picturesque Costanoa resort on the California coast. Team TIBCO's Linda Jackson was on hand as a guest coach for the race team, and offered the riders some invaluable advice after dishing out some pain on a training ride:

...the rest of us raced (almost literally) down Highway 1, trying to keep up with Linda Jackson. Linda led us on a fast-paced ride that ultimately led to the top of Bonny Doon Road. I know I had my doubts about whether I could make it to the top, but we all made it, and enjoyed the fruits of our labor -- a killer descent back down Bonny Doon to Highway 1. Our exhilarated smiles soon turned to gritted teeth, however, as we battled a killer headwind back to Costanoa -- a welcome sight after our 47.5 mile ride.

Read Jill's report, and see other photos she took.

The 2009 club jersey design entries are in! Enter a vote for your favorite design. The poll closes on Friday, January 30, and the winning design (and the identity of the designer) will be revealed shortly afterwards.

Click here to see the designs and to vote.

The Tri-Flow Development Racing Team at the Bariani Road Race
(L-R): coach Lorri Lee Lown, Alice Fawzi, Elizabeth Simmons, Erica Smith, Mary Magnani, and Michelle Diaz.

In the ten years I've been riding & coaching, I've met countless numbers of women who have expressed an interest in bicycle racing but just don't know where to start. These meetings led me to develop the Tri-Flow Women's Development Racing Program in 2006. This award-winning program is designed to help women learn how to bicycle race in a safe, team-oriented environment, without requiring a full-season commitment from them. Women who've participated in this program have then gone on to successfully race in the elite ranks of northern CA and national race calendars.

The Tri-Flow Women's Development Racing Program is designed to be a small, focused training program that teaches women how to road race and supports experienced racers who aren't part of a season-long team. Because of the small group size, each woman will receive very personalized attention. This six-week program will prepare women to race in the Bariani Road Race, providing both skills and fitness training. The entire group will race alongside members of Team Velo Girls, and will benefit from full logistical and strategic support on race day and the opportunity to continue racing with the team during the 2009 season.

Registration for this program includes a custom team kit (shorts and jersey), USA Cycling race license, race registration/entry fee, six weeks of coached group training (two sessions/week), a group training plan developed just for this program, and email coaching (and group) support.

If you'd like to learn more about racing in 2009 and the Tri-Flow Women's Development Racing Program in particular, we're hosting an informational meeting on Wednesday, January 21st at 7:00pm at the world headquarters of RoadBikeReview.com in Redwood City.

RSVP to coaching@velogirls.com if you'd like to participate. If you can't attend the informational meeting, feel free to contact me for more detailed information.

Registration for this program closes on January 30th. The Bariani Road Race program runs from February 2nd until March 22nd. Click here for registration and more details.

Jill Eyres reports on a soupy San Bruno Hill Climb race on new year's day:

The fog got thicker with each vertical foot -- visibility was so low that I lost track of where I was, despite having done this climb about a bajillion times before. I was starting to think that it would never end, but then (finally) I got to the hairpin turn and knew that it was almost over.

Read Jill's report, and see other photos shot by Norcal Cycling News.

2008 was a banner year for Velo Girls Coaching Services. We introduced a new series of clinics, the 4-hour Bike Skills modules, and sold out almost every single session. The program was a HUGE success. Altogether, we taught 27 clinics with more than 500 participants -- and 99.999% of you felt our clinics met or exceeded your expectations!

We're thrilled to introduce our 2009 schedule of bike skills and coaching clinics. I hope you'll join us in the coming year, tell a friend or two, and share the love with others in the cycling community.

Online registration is open now, so check out all our winter and spring offerings and sign up online. Almost all of our clinics sold out in 2008, so early registration is highly encouraged!

For the fourth time in five years, Velo Girls has been awarded by USA Cycling as the Women's Club of the Year. Velo Girls has also received this award in 2006 and 2003, and also bore the title of Division II Club of the Year in 2004.

This honor recognizes us for our contributions to the cycling community as a whole, and especially for our work with women. Many sincere thanks to everybody who has helped us achieve this distinction: our members, coaches, sponsors, friends, and fans. You all play an important role in helping us bring the best cycling to the women (and men) of Northern California and beyond.

For the third year, Velo Girls brought a team of 30 volunteers (women and men) to participate in the Turning Wheels for Kids Bike Build in San Jose. All told, 600 volunteers built over 2,000 bikes in about 6 hours, which were then given to local children in need.

Said one volunteer: "Thank you for inviting us to participate in the bike build. I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday during the holiday season. The looks on the girls' faces when they picked up their bikes was priceless -- a memory I will cherish forever, knowing I had a part in making their lives just a little better."

Velo Girls founder, Lorri Lee Lown, was elected to serve a two-year term on the Board of Directors of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. Here's her candidate's statement:

I began cycling as an adult ten years ago, and I've been active as a recreational cyclist, a commuter, a tourist, an advocate, and a racer. I'm a full-time cycling coach. I founded and am President of Velo Girls - the largest women's cycling organization in northern California. I'm active as a bicycle educator, coaching skills clinics and presenting lectures on a variety of topics related to health, fitness, and cycling, serving thousands of cyclists annually. I've served as Treasurer of the Northern California/Nevada Cycling Association for two years.

Prior to my cycling career, I spent 13 years as a staff member of not-for-profit theatres. During these years, I had direct interaction with the Boards and Finance Committees of these organizations. I'm well-versed in the daily and long-term workings of a not-for-profit organization and will bring that experience to the SVBC Board. I have a BFA in theatre management and an MBA in organizational management.

My goal in serving on the SVBC Board is to educate the recreational and competitive cycling communities about the value of the SVBC for all cyclists. This is an audience that is underrepresented in SVBC membership, and holds significant growth potential for the organization.

In addition to her seat on the SVBC Board of Directors. she was recently elected to a third term as Treasurer of the Northern California Nevada Cycling Association (NCNCA), the race-sanctioning body in this district.

For the past three years, Velo Girls has promoted one of the most popular bicycle races in Northern California. This year, we've got an all-new course and some all-new expenses from the City of Menlo Park and the Menlo Park Police Department. The future of this race is in jeopardy unless we can secure an additional $7,500 in funding.

If anyone is interested in saving this race with a sponsorship, please contact lorri@velogirls.com. Sponsorship is available for the full amount or for multiple sponsors at a lesser amount.

It's that time again: your chance to be immortalized as the designer of our 2009 club jersey. So get your fashion groove on and start drawing! We'll run the contest through December 15th 31st so you've got plenty of time to submit your entries.

Click here to see details of the contest: prizes, deadlines, design templates, etc.