KCM

Stolen Bicycle...

2010-02-18T13:21:00.000-08:00

ARGH!

I had my Bianchi Milano cruiser bike stolen today from the new 24 Hour Fitness
in Mtn View, CA. It was locked up between the 24 Hour Fitness and Kohl's building
between about 11am and 12pm.

Please keep an eye out for it on the street or for sale on craigslist.

The color is celeste green and it has a rack on back with a blue bungie cord. it
also has a "bell" (twist to get it to ring) on the left side of the handlebars.
Also has a Tacx waterbottle cage on the downtube.

Similar to the one seen here: http://www.bianchiusa.com/bikes/milano/milano-parco/.

Thanks.

A real post, really!!!

2009-03-01T21:37:00.001-08:00

Okay, no pictures to go with this post but here is my race report from today's Merco Road Race...

When I first joined Webcor back in 2005, all except one of the riders lived in the Bay Area, the exception was Felicia Greer (Gomez now) who lives in the Fresno area. As the team has grown and taken on an international presence, we have had riders from all over the country and world and this year we have 2 Canadians, 2 Australians and the other 3 Americans are from Boulder, CO, San Diego, CA and Chicago, IL. Unfortunately, I am the solo remaining Bay Area rider and this means things are a bit challenging for me at NorCal racing. There were two Bridge Team riders in the race - Lauren Hetch and Annie Malouin - and I did want to take this opportunity to help them out.

I lined up to the start of the Merco Road Race along with about 50 or so other racers and I knew that the teams to watch were Tibco (had about 7 riders), Columbia-High Road with 3, Colavita (~4 riders), and SugarCRM with maybe 5 (sorry for not knowing exact numbers!). We started out at a very pedestrian pace and about 1/3 of the way into the first lap, things started to get active with SugarCRM and Tibco riders attacking. I knew that no break would get away without a Columbia rider so I tried to keep an eye on Emilia, Ina and Kim (not necessarily an easy task). A bit later in the lap I found myself in a small break with Ina, Stacy Marple (Colavita), and Kat Carroll (Tibco). Unfortunately my legs were not feeling great and I was definitely suffering on the small rollers. Yet, the peloton did not like this mix of riders and we were quickly chased down.

Attacks continued through the start/finish line and on the back side of the course (at about km 57 - don't ask why I know this) I countered a series of attacks, hoping to draw out a few riders; no luck, I was on my own! Figuring that a few riders would probably try and bridge to me, I kept steady pressure on the pedals to not blow myself up too quickly. I was eventually joined by Lauren Tamayo (aka Franges) from Tibco, Ina, and Kelly Benjamin (Colavita). In a situation where I had teammates, this would not be a good break for me as all three of these women are very strong sprinters, yet considering my chances of a good result were much better out of a group of 4 than 50, and I rolled through with them.

We stayed off for several k before being chased down and reabsorbed by the hungry peloton. There was another series of attacks and a group of 6 riders got off. They gained a maximum of about 35", yet as with the other breaks, a few teams missed out and chased the escapees down. It was evident that the race would come down to a bunch kick and I did my best to help Lauren get up there for the finish yet my legs were a bit cooked and things got a bit dicey in the last 1k.

As I joked with Lauren Hecht, I had nose bleed seats for the finish and learned later that Ina won, followed by Brooke Miller (Tibco) and Laura Charameda (my coach!).

I am very much looking forward to Redlands when the Green Machine will be in full force.

-thanks for reading-

Event in San Jose...

2009-02-17T10:02:00.000-08:00

I know that many of my recent posts have been about events and not much content on how things are going with me. Sorry, been a bit busy and now am sick.

Webcor Builders Women's Team Benefit Screening
The Flying Sotman, A Special evening with Webcor Olympians In San Jose
The San Jose Cycling Classic in conjunction with Camera Cinemas will present a special free screening of The Flying Scotsman, 6 p.m., Wednesday, February 18, Camera 12 Downtown, 201 S. Second Street, in Downtown San Jose. A feature film based on the true story of Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree, The Flying Scotsman traces Obree's rise to breaking the world one-hour record on a bike of his own revolutionary design, which he constructed out of scrap metal and parts of a washing machine. The film stars Jonny Lee Miller, the title character of ABC's hit series, Eli Stone. Members of the Webcor Builders Women's Professional Cycling Team, including Canadian Olympians Gina Grain and Erinne Willock, will introduce the film, share their recent Olympics experiences and be on hand for any post screening questions

Produced in anticipation of the upcoming Amgen Tour of California, the San Jose Cycling Classic - held February 14-21, 2009 throughout San Jose - is a multi-pronged event encompassing professional, amateur and community cycling activities, including the King of the Mountain Time Trail Race and Ride sponsored by Mattson Technology, the CEO Challenge powered by SunPower and The Criterium built by WEBCOR. Other activities include a Cycling Film Night, a GET BACKON YOUR BIKE! presentation and BIKE SHOW: A Celebration Of Cycle Art & Culture art exhibition. It is expected to attract more than 1,000 cycling athletes, 20,000 spectators and cycling-related exhibitors.

Funds raised from the San Jose Cycling Classic events will support health, fitness and cycling. Beneficiaries include the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training, the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition and Fit for Learning, an initiative—provided by the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) in cooperation with Healthy Silicon Valley—that will increase physical activity and encourage healthy nutrition among elementary school students in Santa ClaraCounty. In addition, the San Jose Cycling Classic provides a platform to raise awareness about green mobility and the San Jose Green Vision.
For more information about the San Jose Cycling Classic, please visit, www.sanjosecyclingclassic.com

For Amy...

2009-01-31T21:21:00.000-08:00

I now have a new blog post.

'nuff said.

Ride the Route

2009-01-15T12:06:00.000-08:00

EVENT DATE: Saturday, January 17, 2009
Benefit for Women’s ATOC Criterium & All Sport-Team Swift

EVENT: Stage 1 Ride the Route - Calistoga to Santa Rosa
(Petrified Forest Road KOM)
On Saturday, January 17, 2009, join a group of Amgen Tour of California
(ATOC) Women’s Criterium competitors and the All Sport-Team Swift junior
riders for a ride up the final King of the Mountain climb of ATOC Stage 1.
After the ride, meet the BMC Professional Cycling Team at their Santa Rosa
training camp for photo and autograph opportunities.
This will be a fully supported ride including:
Pre-ride Bike Check – Provided by West County Revolution
Sports Drinks and Energy Bars – Provided by All Sport-Team Swift
Full Mechanical and SAG Support – Provided by West County Revolution
and FitnessJournal.com

ROUTE: Group A (Main Event) ~2 hour casual ride from Calistoga to Santa Rosa
with Pro Women and All Sport-Team Swift. Includes:
• Pre-ride bike check
• Shuttle to Calistoga with your bike
• Full ride support (mechanical/SAG)
• Route map & energy bars/drink
RSVP REQUIRED: Contact Laura at teamswift@aol.com by Thursday,
January 15th to confirm a seat on the bus and bike transportation.

Group B (Advanced/Unsupported): ~4 hour moderate ride to Calistoga
and back. Note: Group B from Santa Rosa to Calistoga will be unsupported.
You will be provided a pre-ride bike check and a route map. Cut off time to
join Group A in Calistoga for the supported ride is 1:00PM.

SCHEDULE: 9:00-10:15AM Group B -- Registration
10:30AM Group B -- Departure
10:00-11:15AM Group A -- Registration & Load Bus (RSVP Required)
11:30AM Group A -- Bus Departure
Noon Group A -- Arrive in Calistoga and unload
12:30PM Group B -- Arrive in Calistoga
1:00PM Groups A & B Depart Calistoga
3:00PM Groups A & B Arrive in Santa Rosa
3:00-4:00PM BMC Pro Racing Team Reception
4:30PM Riviera Dinner Special ($20 fixed-price menu)

LOGISTICS: Registration: Longs Drug - 2771 4th St Santa Rosa, CA 95405
Look for the All Sport-Team Swift Tent and Van.
Please bring a copy of the release form at
http://www.usacycling.org/forms/NonCompetitiveRelease.pdf

Parking: Free parking is available along the perimeter of the Longs Drug
and Safeway Parking lot or on the street. Registration will help provide
direction on available parking. PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN SPACES
DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF LONGS AND SAFEWAY. THESE ARE
RESERVED FOR CUSTOMERS.

Cost: Suggested donation - $20**
Proceeds benefit All Sport-Team Swift and primes for the ATOC only
official Pro Women’s Criterium to be held on, February 15, 2009 in
Downtown Santa Rosa.
Your donation will include one-day licensing and insurance fees,
transportation to Calistoga, ride support, and the BMC Pro Racing
Team Reception at the Flamingo Resort. Bring your USAC License if
applicable*
Dinner reservations must be made separately by calling Riviera
Restaurant at 707-579-2682. Mention that you are with the “Ride the
Route” group.
*$7 minimum required for license/insurance (included in $20 donation)
**Cash or Check only. No Credit Cards.

BMC TEAM RECEPTION:
After the ride, join the BMC Team at the Flamingo Conference Resort and
Spa for a meet and greet from 3-4PM. Refreshments will be served.
(Please feel free to join the reception even if you do not ride)
Flamingo Conference Resort and Spa
www.flamingoresort.com
2777 4th St, Santa Rosa, CA 95405
(707) 545-8530

Women Only Group Ride in Marin County

2009-01-11T09:25:00.000-08:00

Host:	Katheryn and Lisa Hunt

Time and Place
Date:	Sunday, January 18, 2009
Time:	9:30am - 2:00pm
Location:	Java Hut
Street:	760 Center Blvd
City/Town:	Fairfax, CA
	View Map Google MapQuest Microsoft Yahoo

Contact Info

Email:	katheryn.curi.mattis@gmail.com

Description

Please join us for another women only ride. Severe weather will cancel/postpone.

We will be visiting the lovely North Bay and Lisa Hunt - bike rider/racer extraordinaire and fabulous director of ValueAct - will be our tour guide.

Depending on weather we can opt for a 3hr 15m loop to Marshall, or a 4 hour loop to Tomales. Both rides include beautiful Marin county farmland, plus enjoying coastal views along Highway 1. Be sure to bring your camera!

Please pass this on to other women who may be interested in joining us.

This event is on Facebook and if you are not on FB and plan on attending, please email me so I know how to get in touch with you should we need to cancel due to weather.

Kodak Moment...

2009-01-08T20:32:00.000-08:00

I have come up with a new phrase, okay, it is not exactly "new", more like I have found a new use for the phrase.

Allow me to explain...

Here in Northern California we are blessed with beautiful weather, amazing terrain and a copious number of groups rides for cyclists of all abilities. The area in which I live, Mountain View, has the Specturm ride which has been going on for a long time. The route is always the same (although a slight modification has been made recently for safety reasons), and a great way for me to stay sharp on my pack skills and when needed, get some intensity. Right now though, I am still in my base building period and more focused on steady tempo riding than going too hard.

A few weeks ago, my husband, James, and I joined the Spectrum ride and after establishing ourselves in the group and saying hello to friends, we settled into a steady pace. The group has a tendency to go hard on the climbs, coast on descents and medium effort on flats. This variable riding often lead me to be "dropped" on any rise/climb and fly by people when the road goes down again. I do my best to pull as far right as possible on climbs as to not get in the way of other riders who want to go harder. Yet, on this particular group ride, I had my Kodak moment.

We had just made a left hand turn and were coming up on another group of cyclists. I was towards the front of the group and moved left to safely pass the group being overtaken on a slight rise in the road. Because the group was going harder than I wanted, I also started going "backwards". Riders went flying by me on the left and all of a sudden I hear from behind me, "Webcor, stop blocking!!!". Hmm... okay, sure, blocking is a tactic used in racing but this wasn't a race, it was a group ride. I kindly respond saying, "Sorry, I am just trying to ride my own steady pace." This response was not good enough for this guy, as he had some more words for me, something about me blocking for my teammates or something like that. My reply to this, "this is a group ride not a race".

I do recognize there are people who particpate in the local group rides (where ever they are) and it is a serious thing for them. Yet, none of us paid money to join the ride, we didn't pin on any numbers, or sign a release form that absolved the organizer of any responsibility if we break anything.

I did not take the other rider's response personal by any mean. I found it more amuzing and good writing for my blog. Also, a new use for the phrase Kodak moment. :-)

Happy riding and thanks for reading.

Moment of Silence.

2008-11-25T20:49:00.000-08:00

I never really know how to talk about tragedy. After having experience loss that has greatly affected me, I empathize greatly with the family and friends who have experience loss or tragedy.

All I know is there were two incidents this past weekend that left one cyclist dead and another in serious condition in the hospital.

My heart goes out to the friend and family of Mark Pendleton (C4 Racing) and Ileana Garcia-Parker (Alto Velo).

Mark was killed in unincorporated Contra Costa and Ileana collided with a car up on Skyline/35 and 84.

Here is a link to the article on Mark: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/25/BADV14C2V3.DTL

There has been no press on Ileana's accident, only information passed amongst friends.

Please keep both in your thoughts as you celebrate Thanksgiving this week with your family and friends.

Thanks for reading.

You know times are bad when...

2008-11-17T17:31:00.000-08:00

You can get a latte and a reverse morgage at Starbucks. What is this world coming to?!?

Back to Work...

2008-11-11T08:28:00.001-08:00

Yes folks, it is that time of year when the fun and games are over and it is back to work for me. November 3rd was the official start of my training and I kicked it off in grand style by going to the gym. Ouch. All those muscle groups that have been dormant for the last several weeks were abruptly awoken by the end of the lifting session. Hello muscles, you are no longer in vacation mode, I need you again! I keep reminding myself that I am not out of shape, I am in off-season shape. ;-)

But allow me to digress for a moment while I try and recap the past couple weeks of my off-season.

Visit with the family:

For the last several years my family has gathered on the East Coast in October for what we call O-giving (traveling during Thanksgiving out to the East Coast sucks so we celebrate a month early). No tradition is spared - lots of good food - and new ones were started - running in some local foot race.

James and I had an uneventful trip out save one note worthy story... I had to book James's and my itineraries separately as I was staying on the East Coast for a week longer and this resulted in us being on the same flights to Hartford, CT but not seated together. On the leg from SFO to Charlotte, NC we asked the woman who was seated next to James if she would kindly switch seats with me so that he and I could sit next to each other. She looked at us and flatly said, "No". I explained that I too had a window seat and she asked where it was, I told her (it was in the back of the plane but whatever) and this time she said, "No way". WTF!? I was flabbergasted, who is that rude? Fortunately the guy sitting next to me was kind enough to switch with James and she got to sit next to rude lady.

Our trip to CT was great. We went apple picking with my sister, Anne and her kids, Clara and Eric, hung out family and ran in the Kent, CT annual Pumpkin Run. My sister won the women's overall, her husband, Jim, got 1st in his age group, James and I finished 2nd in our age group, and my brother finished 5th in his age group. Yeah, we are not a competitive family at all, eh? hahaha

I'm in a New York state of mind:

As James had to fly back to CA for work, I made a trip down to NYC by myself to spend some time with friends from CA who were running in the NYC marathon. Instead of being stuck in a hotel for a week, my friend Allie managed to secure us an apartment in the Bedford/Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn. It was a great set up as there was plenty of room for Allie, her husband and their son, Allie's parents, Stacy, who was also running the marathon, and myself. We were also about 6 blocks away from the subway, which allowed us to get around the city very easily.

The first few days in NY I think we must have walked around the whole island of Manhattan. Stacy had never been to NYC and Allie had a very ambitious agenda for us. We started by taking the subway into Grand Central Station, then headed off to Metropolitan Museum of Art, then Rockefeller Center where they had set up the ice skating rink already. Then it was to the craziness of Time Square where we were overwhelmed by throngs of New Yorkers and tourists. And that was only day ONE!!!

We toned down the t0-do-list as the focus was on keeping Allie and Stacy as rested for the marathon as possible. There motivation to run the marathon was spurred on by the loss of Pat Caurant in 2006 in a tragic cyclist vs. car accident. They ran Boston together last year in memory of him as well.
Stacy, me and Allie

Watching the marathon was awesome. To see tens of thousands of participants and even more spectator was awe inspiring and I was so proud of both Allie and Stacy for being part of it. Their determination and strength also motivated me to want to get back to training and ready for the 2009 season!

Off season...

2008-10-22T22:37:00.001-07:00

By the time September rolls around, many cyclists who have been racing all year are ready for some time way from the bike, taking full advantage of being at home to visit with friends and family, do some cross training, and actually unpack their bags.

As I earned a spot on the Worlds team by winning the Geelong World Cup, my season was extended through the end of September. This was my third trip to Worlds with the US National Team and despite having a bad day on the bike, wearing the red, white and blue jersey was an honor.

My husband, James, and I spent some time in Italy afterward, visiting Madonna de Ghisallo to sprinkle some of my friends ashes, Florence, Cinque Terra, and many fine gelatarias around where we were staying in Lucca. Although we did do some riding, it was with the purpose of site seeing, not fitness.

I have now been back in CA for two weeks and already packed in a lot. Despite it being the "off season" the only thing I have been "off" is my road bike. I have aquajogged for 2 hours with my close friend Allie who is planning on running in the NYC marathon but is recovering from a stress fracture in her foot; been to a birthday party for a 3 year old, complete with a homemade Thomas the Train cake; taken a 2.5 hour walk/hike with a friend who is 9+months pregnant and a friend with a broken arm; done 3 mountain bike rides; held a PJ party where we served breakfast for dinner; gone to San Diego for one of James's teammate's wedding; attempted to run but it is more like shuffling; and am now planning a 10 day trip back East to visit with my family in CT and then watch my friends run in the NYC marathon. Whew, when does the training start?!?! Seriously, I have really done my best to embrace the off season and catch up with friends/family.

As I meantioned, I have dusted off my mountain bike as along with being a wonderful area to train on the road bike, where I live is also a great place to hit the dirt roads and trails. I find it mentally stimulating and peaceful at the same time - no way to allow the brain to drift as you careen downhill at breakneck speeds but the views of the Pacific Ocean that I am greated with at times is breathtaking. I started my racing career mountain bike racing back East in Vermont and although the trails out here are nothing like back East, I love not having to fight aggressive drivers (only the possible mountain lion!).

I get back to training on the 3rd of November after I return from NYC. I am hoping by then I will have the hunger to get back on the road bike and rest needed to get to work. 2009 looks to be a great season.

Thanks for reading.

Welcome..

2008-10-20T15:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, I don't know exactly what possessed me to start blogging. Maybe the impetus is due to laziness on my part to email people and it is a quick way for my family and friends to keep track of me and know what is going on in my crazy life. Whatever the case is, I am blogging!

This past weekend James and I traveled down to San Diego to attend the wedding of one of his teammates, Dirk Copeland. Traveling without a bicycle was a luxury and how nice it is to have only carry on luggage. Especially after doing two transoceanic trips with a broken collarbone (New Zealand to the States and Europe to the States), dealing with only a small rollerbag and my hand purse was awesome!

The trip south also provided us with an opportunity to visit with my friend Jon and his girlfriend, Nicole, who moved down to La Jolla in Septmember. I have known Jon for several year, we met in Vermont, and he lived with James and I for about 6 months. A little known secret about Jon is he is an amazing cook along with being a very good mechanic (a great combination in a roommate for a busy cycling couple, ha!). Our friend Dan, who recently moved to Pheonix, AZ, drove to SD to visit with us as well. We had a great time hanging out and catching up. (Unfortunately I have no photos of the great weekend - will work on being better about posting photos along with my blog.)

Well, thanks for reading and I hope that you find my postings somewhat entertaining so you come back and see what is new.

:)