NZ wrap up

I have been back in the states for one whole week. It feels like months since I have been in NZ. Finally, over the last couple of days it really sunk in as to what a great experience it was for me to race with fastest girls in the World.

I want to wrap up the rest of my trip for you. The World Cup race was on Sundy, March 5th. Over 125 girls were on the start list. The course was hard, riding the course a couple of times was hard but the World Cup was 20 laps long, the longest a world cup race is allowed to be. World Cups are races of attrittion and maybe I wasn't exactly fit enough to be in the top 20 for one of these. If NZ was trying to prove that they can come up with a nasty and daunting course, well they win the award. The race started on the steps of Parliment. All 126 racers lined up and headed off into the cobbles. It kind of felt like we were really tough. We went diving into the first turn and you are faced with a tight city street with a head wind you really don't want to even imagine. The street narrows right before the first climb, so everyone is pulling their best bike handling moves to push the other girl out of the way. Once you get through that you make a SHARP right hand turn into the climb. If you have ever been in a big pack before where there is any type of sharp turn, then you know if you are anywhere in back half of the group, you will almost come to a dead stop and then have to sprint at max effort just to catch back on. At this point you hear all kinds of yelling and curse words in every language as to why the girl in front is slamming on her brakes and causing a HUGE gap. Of course I would never yell, that wastes way too much energy. After this little hair pin turn you climb and then you make another turn and climb some more until you reach the top where half the crowd is yelling and watching you suffer up this steep pitch. Once you reach the top, you get NO recovery b/c there is a massive head wind that makes you work all the way down the decent to where you start the other climb on the back side of the course. This is where the feed zone was located but you really can't slow down and the chances of you getting a feed were slim. So the pace is being pushed through the feed zone the top of the 2nd climb and then you get another small rolling flat into guess what ANOTHER full on head wind that about blows you off your bike. You think i am kidding, look up the city of Wellington, NZ on google and what comes up "WINDY WELLINGTON". You get the point. The pace was blazing. All the teams expected a break to happen in the first or second lap, just like last year. It didn't go until the 7th lap. For the first 7 laps of 20, the fastest girls in the world were on the rivot. When they are on the rivot for that long, racers like myself are sucking their dust...So i got popped and found myself chasing with other large groups. Sounds familiar doesn't it. I got to finish 16 laps out of 20 before they pulled me. I still consider it a great experience. At the end of the day only 40 girls out of 125 finished. That is a very small number and I think it shows just how hard the course was. I am not making excuses. I knew going into this week it would be tough. I was hoping some of the Europeans wouldn't have their best legs yet but it didn't matter b/c the New Zealanders and the Aussies were in peak form. The winner was Sarah Ulmer, she is New Zealand's golden girl. She broke away by herself on lap 7 and some how kept it, it was considered a suicide mission. She is a TRACK gold medalist who is giving a run at road racing. I would say she can just about have her way on any bike...

After the race, I had a day to relax, walk around Wellington and pack up for my long trip home. Besides the racing, I was really lucky to have such a great host family. Charlie, the Wholly Bagles owner and sponsor of the team i raced on, has a wonderful family. They treated my like i had lived there for years. They had 3 small children and I spent lots of time with them and even read them bed time stories, I know it's crazy! I got to learn so much about New Zealand and their culture. It is a wonderful and beautiful place. The riding was fantastic, the traffic is minimal and everyone i came in contact with was super friendly. If you get the chance or just need a vacation, VISIT NZ.

As for me now that i am back, last weekend i raced the Greenville training series. I placed 2nd in the RR after several attempts to make a break stick. On that course you really need several people in a break but it never happened so I had to sprint it out. I was pleasantly suprised since i though for sure my legs would be dead from all the traveling.

This weekend, I am taking off from racing and doing a block of killer climbing. Brooks in ATL was tempting but there is plenty of racing in the near future. Speaking of, can't wait till next weekend's training races, wwwtbra.org, around Nashville. I look forward to riding with my favorite group of Nashvillians. Feels like I haven't seen you guys in forever! Take it easy on me, I will be in the "A" races sucking your wheel! Don't forget to check out www.robinfarina.com for my weekly blogs, updates on my season and other important STUFF!

On the Road Again...

One would think that you recover from jet lag in a couple of days, I am walking proof that it lasts more like a week. It's been exactly a week since I left NZ and I have already been over to Greenville, SC to race, Boone for a training ride and back to Nashville to rejoin the Juris, Inc. workforce. I slept for a full day on Friday and some how felt like a million bucks in the race on Saturday morning.

Hincapie Sports put on a 3 weekend series and this past weekend was the final weekend. This particular course didn't seem to be in my favor for the first four laps. A Cheerwine rider and myself kept trying desperately to break away on the 2 small climbs but the pack kept chasing hard to bring us back each time. Finally, I decided on the last lap to give it one more try but still no break. I decided to take a rest and sit in for the last couple of miles so I could be ready for the bunch sprint. I got lucky and the sprint worked out the way, I planned. With about 500 meters to go the group got restless. I let girls jump but just stayed patient on a wheel. Finally, the one girl who sat in the pack the entire time came from nowhere and pulled away. I jumped with her but she had a little more to give at the line. I took 2nd. It was pretty satisfying since I thought for sure I would be completely worthless after coming off the long trip.

Sunday was spent in Blowing Rock, NC. The riding in this area is some of the best I have ever experienced. The roads are rolling and flowing and the traffic is amazingly light. If you have never been up here, take a weekend and bring your bike. There are so many scenic rides that will leave you wanting to ride longer and climb better. I will go ahead and warn you, don't plan to come out here for a flat ride. They don't call it the high country for nothing. Let's just say if you want to find your climbing legs, there is no doubt you will find them here. Sunday I only did a 50 mile ride. The route was part of the Blood, Sweat Gears course, a killer century in June with over 13,000 feet of climbing in one day.

After a great day in the mountains, I drove back early Monday morning to Nashville. My first day back in the office since mid Feb. Let me just tell you how hard it is to come back to work after being gone for a month. Back to the office and my first responsibility is to complete the Race Bible for the Edagar Soto Memorial Stage Race, www.sotomemorial.org. Life could be worse, I did get to take a 2 hour break for lunch to ride with my boss and a co-worker.

Stay tuned for more race action and cycling news in the upcoming week. This weekend MAY be an off weekend from racing but after that it's pretty much every weekend till October, or so it seems!

Good to be Back!

Finally after about 24 hours of airports via 3 different airlines and at least stops in 6 different cities I arrived back in good ole Nashville. I don't think I have ever been this happy to come back home. Of course I miss NZ already, who couldn't? It's one of the most beautiful places on earth but it's definitely not home. It's funny how different 2 countries can be. I guess that's what happens when there is a huge ocean and an international date line separating the two.

I have officially been off the bike 2.5 days but I feel like I have raced just yesterday. I can honestly say I have never experienced jet lag until now. It basically feels like you got hit by a semi truck! Last night I was so tired but couldn't fall asleep. My body clock was telling me it was breakfast time and it was only midnight. This madness has to STOP soon! I have decided to race this weekend in Greenville, SC at the training races that Hincapie Sports puts on, the site is www.teamhincapie.com if you are interested. The women's fields are 40-50 in size which is small compared to last week's World Cup but still competitive. I am really looking forward to testing my fitness against the regional competition instead of World Champions this weekend. Next weekend there are races in Nashville that I am looking forward to doing to, www.tbra.org.

Today I have a long ride ahead of me. Sleep would be nice but that isn't going to make me any fitter. I am really looking forward to getting back into a regular routine. My season is off to a good start even though New Zealand was tough. I expected that and kept into mind many of those girls are in the peak of their season. I am just coming off of winter and my peaks are still to come.

Off to ride, then to sleep and then time to work!

Last Day in NZ

Just got done with my last ride around the bays of Wellington. My plan was to ride for about 2.5 hours and get the legs worked out before I get on the plane for 20 hours. It didn't go according to schedule because the winds in the city are the worst I have encountered. As a matter of fact I literally got blown off my bike. I headed out to the TT course for the Tour and had to stop because I could go any further into the head wind. When I turned my bike around I was actually frightened as to how fast I would take off in the tail wind. I made it half way around one of the bays and got blown into a ditch. Luckily I didn't wreck but had to walk the bike about 200 meters until I could get back on and ride again.

I called it a day on the bike and went for a bagel and "long black" coffee at my favorite hang out, Wholly Bagels, aka my sponsor here in for the races. I met up with Charlie, the owner and person I am staying with, and he got a huge laugh out of my story. He's the one who told me I really should get out and enjoy my last ride in Wellington. He also knew how bad the winds were today. I was getting some rather crazy looks while out today.

Going back to the house to get packed up and I fly out of here at 5:30 p.m. and arrive in LA at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday as well, so I get that day back that day i missed when i first got here. Want to make sure I don't miss anything.

Looking forward to getting back to Nashville and training a lot more where the wind isn't so bad. Also can't wait to come home and test my legs against the US girls. We'll see if they are as fast or as fit as the girls in the World Cup...

World Cup

World Cup is over and all I have to say is that was one of the hardest and fastest races I have ever done. Maybe it's beginning to be a trend. Every race I enter is the hardest and fastest but I am pretty sure they can't get much harder or faster than yesterday's World Cup.
All the team directors were predicting a break after a lap or two. The one-woman break didn't happen until 7 laps had passed. That is a huge amount of time at MAX heart rate. If the break would have gone when it was expected then the pace would have been manageable and maybe more than 40 racers out of 120 would have finished. The hills were daunting and the wind was relentless. No time to recover. The whole course was tiring but I guess that is what makes it a World Cup. I finished 15 of the 20 laps and then was pulled. A trainer who looked at my knee the day before told me I had strained my ligament in the back of my knee. I knew something wasn't right with me when I starting feeling a lot of pain in the Thursday night crit. I am taking the next few days off the bike and giving the knee a rest and some icing.

Today has been a great day in Wellington. It is picture perfect and I am getting the opportunity to walk around the city and do some window shopping and drink some very yummy strong coffee. This afternoon I have rugby and cricket practice with the 2 young boys I have been staying with. The family I have been staying with has been taking great care of me. The 2 boys who are 4 and 6 years old have thought that I am a whimp for not playing yet. It's hard to explain to them that I just don't want to play Rugby and Cricket after the racing a 3.5 hour World Cup but today I have to give in. Apparently President Bush was giving Cricket a try the other day. Surely I will be better than him!

More tomorrow on how it goes. Thanks for reading. Picture of the race and pictures of my trip will be posted in the upcoming days!

Bad day at the office...

Since the last time you heard from me, so many things have happened on my visit to New Zealand. First off let me start by saying this is a beautiful country with very friendly people. I would recommend coming here for a vacation to hang out by the ocean, take a hiking trip, take a bike tour, or anything your heart desires. You will see from the pictures I have sent, the city of Wellington, where we are racing, sits in the heart of several bays and the wind never stops. The nickname is Windy Wellington, how original…It is a city of roughly 300,000 with a big city feel but traffic free and everybody here is doing something active.

My first few days were spent riding and walking around the city. I was lucky enough to be staying with the Wholly Bagel sponsor, Charlie and his family. Charlie is an American bloke who has a lovely wife Justine and three very lively kids. They have been wonderful to me. Fed me non-stop and gave me this wonderful king size bed. I am very lucky to be staying with them and they made the transition to New Zealand very easy.

A week ago today, was my first time to really open up my legs. The Wellington Criterium Championships were taking place and I decided it would be a good way to get a few of the Wholly Bagels team together and see how we race. About 15 local girls showed up and WB had 3 riders. The odds were in our favor. Early into the race, I got into a break with a girl from another NZ team. She and I worked hard and kept the break alive and I out sprinted her for the win. It was a great way to start my year off.

Coming off my cloud into reality, the real racing started Wednesday night. 126 of the world’s best riders flooded the streets of Lower Hutt to start the New Zealand Tour. The first stage was a one hour + 3 laps criterium. This race started out very fast from the gun. There was no slowing and everyone was trying to get into the corners first. After several near crashes the peleton settled in. I raced a very smart crit by staying near the front and behind safe riders. There was an 8 man break that got away and stayed away. The wind was the worst I have ridden in and riders were getting blown everywhere. I continued to ride smart and ended up top 20 in the pack. In a small course there isn’t a lot of opportunity to make break and it is very difficult to move to the front. You have to fight and concentrate to keep your position the entire time. I was pleased with that finish and 3 of my other team members finished in the pack as well. It was a very successful 1st stage for the Wholly Bagels team.


Thursday would be a very challenging day that contained 2 stages, a 99km RR and another 1hour + 3 laps criterium. Stage 2 was the 99km stage race from Martinborough to Masterson. This would be a very difficult stage with a climb similar to the Munyiak Wall in US Pro, except this one is longer. I even changed my cassette from a 25 to a 27 after pre-riding this climb. I felt really good at the beginning of this race. The pace was fast and the peleton was full of nervous energy. The speed picked up and I found myself in very good position on the right hand side of the peleton. With 12km under our belt the first wreck occurred a couple riders in front of me. I slammed on the brakes to avoid the girl in front of me and sure enough a second later, I get nailed from the back of the bike and go flying into a ditch with another rider who happens to be my teammate. This wreck happened very quickly and all I could see from the ditch was the peleton flying by. I pick myself up off my teammate along with both of our bikes and try to help her. She is screaming that her hand won’t move and it’s broken. I scream into my radio, OLI GET UP HERE NOW. I AM DOWN AND SO IS PERNELL. After a quick body check, 2.5 minutes and a wheel change I jump on the bike to chase down the peleton. There was only one other girl that was able to continue besides me and she was still way behind me. Luckily this nice car in the convoy gave me a ride for about half a mile and then had to leave me. So here I am about 14km into a 99km race and I am all alone. My team car finally reaches me and tells me to hop in the Wholly Bagels van and to save myself for the World Cup on Sunday. I give my team manager the look of death and say forget it I am going to finish this race. Several team cars pass and they tell me to slow up and let the girl catch on and we can work together. I agree and she and I work are tails off and catch up with one of my teammates that had been popped off the peleton. So she jumps on and then we catch about 4 others. So everything is working well until I get a message on my radio telling me that during my wheel change they gave me a BLOODY 21 gearing, mind you I had put a 27 cog set on to get up the climbs. My team car then tells me I have to change the wheel or I will not make it up the climb, so I pull off. My group leaves me and continues on never looking back. I scream, “WAIT UP” but nothing. So here I am again at 20km all by myself at the very back of the race. With only 79km to go, I decide to bury myself and catch. With 2 climbs leading up to the MOTHER Climb, I pass each rider that left me. They all decide to take the sag van but not me. I catch this one chick at the top of the 2nd climb and we work together for 10km until we reach the base of Kiaruria. I tell her that the decent is brutal and after we reach the top we only have 30km left and we should work together to make the time cut. I tell her to wait for me at the top. I was being nice. I start the climb and never look back. On the way up, I pass the biggest Chinese girl I have ever seen walking her bike up the climb. When I reach the top, I look down and both riders have decided to join the sag wagon. The feed zone was supposed to be at the top of the climb but of course when you are the last racer on the course, there is no feed zone for you. With a _ of a bottle of water left and no food, I decide to put my head down and go hard for the last 30 km, hoping this is just some kind of bad dream I will wake from.

With about 15km left I start gaining some friends. The Wellington Motorcycles Police Force decided to surround me and give me a little parade to the finish. The first sign I see that lets me know I am somewhere near the finish is the 8km to go mark. Being a US rider, we really have no idea what 8 km is, so I put my head down and start burying myself to the finish fighting the biggest head wind I have ever encountered. Finally I cross the line and hear cheering. Apparently all the Commissioners had never seen anything like this before. I was told they were shocked that someone would continue on with that much to go in a race and being left so far behind. The race directors told my team director I would be allowed to start the 1 hour + 3 laps crit that was supposed to start in 1 hour, because I inspired them with my lonely 87km race. I’ll take it how I can get it was my response. There was no way I was coming all the way to NZ and going to end up in the Sweep Van. Once I got to my team camp, I cried a little, more out of sheer pain than anything and then hit the closest café for as much food as I could shove down my throat, probably not a wise decision when I look back on it but I thought I deserved it.
The crit started just like the night before, fast and furious. I found myself feeling remarkably well considering the race I just finished. Half the race goes by and all of the sudden my legs went dead. I couldn’t move them. They felt like bricks and I quickly moved from a very good place in the peleton to the worst place, off the back. At this point I could do no more. I went and sat down on the side of the road. Upset b/c my legs had failed me but more upset b/c I had stopped pedaling.

I got word later that night that I wasn’t allowed to start the TT the next morning and it really made me angry. It is now Fri night and I have had a whole day to let it soak in. I am still a little upset but in retrospect I had a really “BAD DAY AT THE OFFICE” on Thursday but a bad day on the bike is still better than a day at the office! I have an extra day of recovery for the World Cup and a lot of anger built up that needs some channeling. I am hoping/wishing Sunday goes a lot better for me. I know, I know, it’s just racing but I didn’t come all the way to NZ to watch the race go by. Stay tuned and find out how the World Cup race goes on Sunday and how the rest of my trip unfolds.

New Zealand here I come!

New Zealand here I come. Here I am sitting on the first flight of my epic journey across the world and of course I get stuck next to the biggest 16 year old boy I have ever seen and he happens to be a very heavy breather. I keep telling myself this part is only 5 hours and if I can just keep my head buried in my laptop long enough maybe he won't lean over here and breathe on me. So here it goes along with a little background on me.
Last night, I waited till 11pm to pack my bike and gear for the trip. If any of you know me, I am sure this comes as no surprise. Normally, I would wait till the morning of my trip but I thought I would get a head start on it. It's midnight and it occurs to me that this monstrosity of a bike box might cost me a small fortune on the LA to Auckland leg of the trip. I call Qantas Air at least 10 times waiting for a live person to pick up. Finally, a guy answers and in his best auzzie accent gives me a number but turns out it was to a fax machine. GO FIGURE...I give up and decide it might be a good idea to get a couple of hours of sleep. I hit the hay with way too many thoughts running through my head, but the main concern was OH PLEASE GOD let Nashville airport be up and running tomorrow. We all know Nashville isn't know for it accessibility in the snow and "black ice" plus I just can't stand one more day in these Arctic temperature. It's just not good for the racing legs!
I wake up ready to go, finish packing and head for the door when i realize I can't find my wallet which has my passport, cash, VISA card and most importantly UCI license which allows me to race. I have a major freak out, tearing through my bags, car and every bag I was taking. After 10 minutes of pulling all my hair out, I find it neatly stashed away in a side pocket of my ever-so-huge piece of luggage. During my late night packing I had put it away to make sure i wouldn't forget it. Instead I hide it from myself. I get in the car with my mom and drive in silence as I decompress from my meltdown. All is well now and I am ready to be there. Too bad I am only an hour into my first flight of three and 18 more hours of flying to go.
The reason for this trip around the world is that I have the wonderful and quite possibly the chance of a lifetime to race in the 2006 New Zealand Tour and Women's World Cup race March 1-5th. The last week in Jan, may team director from Kenda Tire got word that a NZ based team, Wholly Bagles, was looking for a guest rider from the US. I sent the director an email along with my race resume and the next thing i knew I was planning the trip for the race. Once the Wholly Bagels director and I started discussing the race and the caliber of riders that would be present, I knew this would be a fantastic way to break in the legs and lungs for the 2006 season. I say that now but in a week when i report back and tell you how my legs are being ripped off from numerous attacks on the climb of stage 2 of the tour. Oh by the way, if any of you are familiar with the US PRO's Munyiak Wall they say this climb on stage 2 is very similar. OH JOY! It's a good thing I have spent some time in the mountains of NC working on climbing. Hopefully that will pay off.
I have realistic goals for this race. I am not kidding myself about getting big results as a 3rd year racer. I am looking to learn as much as possible and tune up before I come back to the states and race the NRC's. Some of the best riders in the world will be here and this is one way to test yourself against them.
For those of you who don't know me, I am 28 years old and live in Middle TN for most of my life. I have played just about every sport and went on to play volleyball and tennis in college. That didn't last too long and I decided to pursue the business side of sports. Out of college I moved to Atlanta to work with the Braves and then came back and worked for the Nashville Sports Council. This past month I have taken a position at Juris, Inc. otherwise known as the TriStar Cycling family. This opportunity came at a very good time. This job is allowing me flexibility to train on the bike, travel when there are races and keep my foot in the corporate door.
I started riding in 2004. Cumberland Transit, the very popular outdoor store and greatly improved bike shop, took me in as their lone female rider and were kind enough to let me train with the guys. Cumberland Transit Cycling has been very instrumental in allowing me to pursue bike racing at the highest level. I started out as a Cat 4 racer and Expert mountain biker in 2004, and with some local success in 2005 i was picked up by the DeFeet, a southeastern women's based team. I soon learned that road racing was my strength and it is very difficult to be highly competitive at both disciplines. I progresses quickly last year by starting as a cat 3 and making my way up to cat 1 by the end of the season. 2005 was a good year for me but with moving up quickly comes a much higher level of cycling. When you ride with the best racers you find that everyone in the peleton has a killer instinct. For the 2006 season, my racing schedule is much more demanding and will require me to be in the best shape of my life. I have worked hard this past winter and believe I have what it takes to be highly competitive in the NRC's this year.
With that being said, I am going to quit yapping and start riding. Now i am sitting here at LAX International and have about 6 more hours before heading to Auckland. I will get there around 6:30 am and then catch a flight to Wellington where a teammate and team director will pick me up. It will be Wednesday when I arrive and it's monday now. I have never skipped a whole day of my life before.
My next diary will be during the stage race. I hope to have several pictures for you to see NZ. Quick thanks to everyone who helped make this possible! The party/fundraiser that was thrown for me was great and the support from everyone who came was overwhelming. I am so excited to represent the US and Nashville in this tour and World Cup race. If you get a chance, you can check out my website at www.robinfarina.com