dc bike racing

Shawn "bega" Blumenfeld
a quest to win a championship...

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Archives

blueberry_soup_is_coming - February 18 2010
blueberry_circuit_race - April 12 2010
im-in-points - November 19 2009
on-lead-lap - November 25 2009
bike_to_work_day - May 24 2010
getting-ready-for-cross - September 14 2009
urban-cross-is-coming - November 14 2009
officiating_the_crits - May 17 2010
indoor-training - January 10 2010
officials-renewal-clinic - February 6 2010
waba_vasa_ride - March 11 2010
44th - December 2 2009
outdoors - January 27 2010
tacchino-ciclocross - November 8 2009
usa-cycling-radio-ban - February 3 2010
no-rain-for-me - March 29 2010
ten-nine-radio - February 8 2010
and-so-now-im-addicted - September 22 2009
kelley-acres-next-up - September 24 2009
hyattesville-cross - October 12 2009
re-urban-cross-is-coming - November 15 2009
photo-from-hyattsville - October 13 2009
another-cross - October 6 2009
off-to-the-races - February 25 2010
towc_part_2 - June 23 2010
re-tacchino-ciclocross - November 9 2009
kelley-acres-cross - October 5 2009
tour_of_washington_county - June 12 2010
south_jersey_training_series - March 22 2010

Over the years, I've dedicated a good deal of my life to helping other people race bikes. Whether from my early years of racing with the likes of Team Aggress, my own messenger racing Team Bega, and more recently the Hub Racing Women's Pro Team, I've received most of my glory from other people's victories. Don't get me wrong, I've played my part and I've recieved proper admiration for my job as a manager, a soigner, a domestique. But it's not the same as winning a race on the bike. And I've won a couple. But I want my own Championship. At the Cycle Messenger World Championships, I've qualified on the front line, placed top 20 twice, been in 6 finals. So now I really want to try to win my own championship in Guatemala at the 2010 CMWC... (im already thinking about 2011 also: the usa national championship timetrial in the mixed tandem masters classes)

indoor-training

January 10 2010

so we've had some snow and im not really a cold weather person. so its mostly indoors on the trainer for me. its a mixed blessing. the training is consistent and hard, and theres no lazy coasting down the hills. but the boredom starts to take over and i find myself putting in old race vids and taking on merx and anquetil. should be into the 40's later this week and we might actually get a thursday night ride... one way or the other, i gotta be putting in miles now if i want the form in september for the cmwc. mesengers are on the road right now so summer can seem like a picnic to them in comparison and their bodies will feel great in guatemala with even a few days of not riding against cars, like a vacation almost. im an ex messenger, and need to duplicate that long term form and constant sprinting if i want to hold up over a 3 to 5 hour finals of contast stop and go and go again at the cmwc.

the other evening i got to "watch" (that is "read the live text commentary") josie and her new zealand national title road race. even from half way around the world i wanted to shout at her in the radio to tell her to go with the counter. at least once according to the commentary she trid to counter attack. but no one was reaching rushlee. wish i could have been there for josie, but this is a new season for me. almost 15 years since i thought about my own racing first and everyone else's 2nd. the doctors say my shoulder is good. i can do upper body work. i can train consistently. i made it through the cross season. can a 40 year old ex messenger take the cmwc? this might be my best shot...