3 months of fun.

So...has been a very busy, tiring but fun 3 months of racing across America. When I last updated I'd just finished up the Sea Otter Classic in Northern California and it seems like so long ago now!

My fellow 'foreign' team mates and I have now been traveling from race to race since early May...not gonna lie, definitely over living out of the old suitcase ! Just a quick recap on what's been happening...

We started our big excursion with a flight in to St Louis, Missouri where team mate Maura Kinsella was born and raised...it was definitely an eye opener as to why miss MK is such a 'gangster' ;-)
Here we raced the Tour de Grove crit series; 3 days with a National Crit Calendar event on the Saturday. We had some good results and Captain Jenn X Reither finished it up superbly taking the big WIN on the final day after a very gustsy late race get-away. Go gurl

 * Jenn and I @ Tulsa...pool party? She pushed me ! So she came too...

From Missouri we flew into Connecticut where we stayed in Norwalk with our East Coast teamie KB - Kathleen Billington and her hubby Mr Greg Wolf (aka. Wormy). Here we spent a week or so training it up on some pretty sweet ground before heading off to Gatineau, Canada for a UCI road race. This was my first time crossing the border and was quite the experience. We got queried a fair bit and almost - but not quite had the car raided...too many foreign people present!

Canada was a pretty cool time, even though we only had a few days there. The biggest highlight of the trip was most definitely all you can eat Sushi...this will never be forgotten by those who were lucky enough to be there. 72 rolls later and we were all carbo loaded for the race the next day...just great.'

The race ended up being really tough but a great day for Vanderkitten. Greg Wolf was taking on the roll of team director while Jono was busy in California. It was a new experience as he was very set on each rider's committment at different points in the race. My job was to be aggressive throughout the first half of the race and try and get something going. All up, everyone did what was asked and it ended up working out well for us. Coming into the final 3km after 120km of racing we had 3 riders in a split of 15 - a very chaotic finish with multiple crashes...I was in perfect position and was being well protected by team mates Jazzy and Kate but ended up crashing on the final corner. - The worst feeling ever is knowing how close you were and what might have been !! Frustrating to say the least but was happy to have Jaz and Kate both in the top ten. Part of the cycling game I guess!!

Post Gatineau we were back to Norwalk...for some training but mainly just healing up for me after banging up my hip.

Next big event on the cards was Philadelphia's, Liberty Classic, also a big UCI ranked event.
This race is definitely a favourite of mine, mainly due to the exciting crowds that come out to get in the action. The course is around 25km and we were set to do 4 laps. Each lap we go up 'the Manyunk wall' and whoa what a b***h of a wee climb! It may be short but it sure does make you hurt...
The wall is lined up with fun; party goers, lots of beer drinkers and general fans...this makes it even more of a blur !
The hardest part of the race is probably the fight for position each lap coming up to the wall. It was crazy! but lots of fun all in all. I managed to get through and was in a pretty great position coming into the final km sitting on Ina Teutenberg's (cycling legend) wheel fairly comfortably. The sprint was just total chaos though and unforuntaly got caught up in the Tibco lead out train on the inside. Managed to finish in 11th so wasn't too bad but was pretty bummed!

* Phily support crew

*Phily site seeing...Rocky (The gun show)

Post Phily we faced the glorious drive in our new team van 'Sharon' aka Shaz or Shazza...from Phily to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sharon became part of the team in Phily and yes she is babein'.

20 or so hours later and an overnight stop off at the Kinsella household we made it...

Tulsa was a blast. We stayed with super cool host 'sister' Hill Taylor and had a tonne of Double shot coffee (the best coffee I've had in Amurica),
 Tulsa Tough is a 3 day crit series. I ended up coming in 4th overall and was 1st young rider so wasn't a bad effort. Good fun and good people. Tulsa is def up there on the top places of the year list.

* Tulsa Tough - final day (CRY BABY hill)...literally! Photo by Tony Khalaf

 * Super cool VK supporters on CBH, Tulsa

Following Tulsa we were straight off to Minnesota for the National calendar event; Nature Valley grandprix - a 5 day stage race. We had a pretty good week minus a crazy storm - a stage being cancelled and a few crashes...! I came away with a podium finish in the 130k Menomonie road race. It was a pretty brutal race and some great riders were present so was stoked to get a good result.
We ended the Tour with a sweet night out in downtown Minneapolis...cyclists can get rowdy!?

* Roger Sitterly - NVGP Menomonie Road race Podium

 * With Captain Jenn X and Aussie's Loren Lozza Rowney and Bec Werner post race. (Roger Sitterly)

Post NVGP I was pretty smoked but after a few days off and a cruisy drive over to Wisconsin we were ready for our next big one; the Tour of America's Dairylands...11 days of racing - 9 one hour criteriums and two 100km road races.
We had a good squad of riders present so all up went pretty well. With some great team work and support I came away with 2nd overall in the general classification and 2nd in the final National Crit Calendar series. After 11 days of solid racing was pretty mentally cracked! Definitely learnt a lot along the way though...was great to be able to race against top American sprinter Laura Van Gilder. What a tank! Very cool to be able to learn from her and pick up some tips for future ref..;-)
All up, we had a great few weeks staying with the Larson's who were awesome hosts to the Vanderkittens. Good times.

* Team photo by Roger Sitterly. Kate, KB, me, Jazzy, Bridie and Starla

* Dairylands dinner - with Miss Liza Rachetto. Great night but unfortunately took a dip in the lake and lost my favourite sunnies...total bummer

Finally, post Wisconsin most of the team headed back to Cali. Jaz and I decided to use our spare 10 days to go somewhere new. We opted for Boulder, Colorado as it's at high altitude and very mountainous...so thought it could be good prep for our next big stage race Cascade Cycling Classic in Oregon, also at altitude.
We stayed with top dogs Jon Husk and Jamie Emerson just out of downtown Boulder. The first few days were definitely a struggle with the altitude - really was like breathing through a straw! The second day we went out riding with the lads up one of the big climbs was puffin' the whole way and Jon was kind enough to label me the tomato. Great ride...

* Jamie, Jon and I @ 10,000 ft ...no worries.

The altitude did get easier after a few days of settling in which was good. Other than some good riding we did a bit of cheeky shopping...- let's call it browsing, and catching up with friends. Was a good, chilled ten days and was pretty nice to not have to think about racing for a bit....we all need a breather at some point!

* Catching up with little Charlie, Brian and Carolyn Dallas downtown.

The boys took us out downtown on our last night to a bar called 'The Downer' - very appealing?!
Was good fun; a few drinks, good company and even semii learn't how to play darts.

Now, feeling refreshed and ready to go. We're currently in Boisee, Idaho for the NRC twilight criterium this evening...very cool as it's equal prize payout for men and women - so very encouraging! Tomorrow we will hit the road to Bend, Oregon to start the 6 day Cascade Cycling classic. Hopefully some good ones to come...!

Update

So, has been a while since last update!

First few races up in the US were pretty disappointing, just kept getting sick and sick again... Has been a pretty frustrating few months but after speaking with a great doctor from back home got some answers straight away and the past month I've been feeling much like my old self. Turns out the virus I had back in  mid december was a gastro virus that tends to 'linger' for months and buggers up your immune system. So explains why I'd been sick so many times since then. Good to get some answers for sure, and after some recommendations on how to deal with it am feeling pretty much  back to 100 :-)

I was pretty nervous coming into Sea Otter (a four day stage race in California) due to my previous races in Socal and also really wanting to do well. Last year at this race I broke my wrist on the final stage/final km to knock me out of 3rd GC. Bummer!

Over the four days Vanderkitten had some good results and I ended up getting up on the podium on day 1 (a tough hairpin criterium) behind NOW and Novatis' Alison Powers and Specialized Lululemon's Loren Rowney.

In the circuit race I came in 5th, pretty bummed as we really wanted to win this one. Alison Powers proved too strong for all riders, winning all four stages!!
All up, I was just stoked to be B.I.A and feeling fit and healthy - am now hungry for more ;-)
The team rode well together which was cool, we still have a lot to learn about each other (bike wise) and what we can do but we're getting there.


Next up on the schedule we have Catshill Classic ( - a criterium with a very tough wee climb each lap), that will be on Saturday the 5th followed by Dana Point Criterium in Socal on the 6th (if we have the energy to roady 6 hours after Catshill to get there)!! Think we will though, as it's in Orange County - e.g. The O.C! yehuu. May have to stop by Laguna and check out L.C's pad...

Then our big 'Amurican' trip begins on the 10th of May when we will fly out to Missouri to kick off things at the Tour de Grove, an NCC (National Crit calendar) event. From there the list goes on....we'll hit New York, Canada, Philadelphia, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado,Idaho, Oregon and then roll back to Cali late July. Going to be a big 3 months of race and travel. Can't wait!

Other than all this cycling biz, we've still been managing to have some fun along the way.
In the area I'm staying in there's a bunch of pretty alright Australians as well as Kate Chill from NZ so there's always people to hang with.
Last week we had an ANZAC day bbq at Bec's and even got a bita 'shrimp on the barbie mate'. Crikey dick... Bec (an Auccie) made a pretty hard to beat Pavlova so give her credit for that. But she did try to claim that pav's are Australian. What a joke!

Post Sea Otter we also managed to have a bit of fun in downtown Monterey with the Vanderkitten's and other teams that were racing at a local pub. Even got into some pretty serious karaoke...Queen, Abba and a bit of miss Miley.


On Wednesday, the team of Aussies, and a bunch of Amuricans all cruised in for the Stahl ride (a decent endurance ride that changes routes every week). All of us were only planning on heading out for 3 - 4hours max. Little did we know we'd be gone 6!
We ended up being led all the way out to the coast near San Francisco on what they call the 'Planet of the Apes' ride as we head over a 3mile dirt mountain. Was pretty epic! Several punctures later and a few bails here and there (not naming names)...;-) we got to Half moon bay where we had a wee break, refuelled on coke, coffee and snacks before heading home over Tenetis creek mountain...no worries climbing 40minutes after 4 hours of riding. Phew, it was definitely a tough day but a lot of fun!

This past weekend Jazzy, Kate, Maura, Jenn X and Court - all Vanderkitten girls hit up the Bicycle trip in Santa Cruz for a team car wash to fundraise a little for the team and our upcoming travel. Lucky for us it was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine so we had plenty of customers but woah what hard work!! Our arms were dead by the end of the day. We finished up on a good note with Sushi downtown. Thanks Jenn and Court, top dogs for organising a good day.

Lastly, we had Aussie team mate's Bridie (whom we call miss 'Birdie Shivorn' as she loves to speak like a Southener) Birthday bash last night at KCM's. Good food, good people and fun chats. I've now been made the team baker after a few successful dishes. Don't think it'll last long...

Post Catshill this weekend we are all off to the city (San Fran) to see the Jezabels (an Aussie band). Looking forward to that and stoked we are now all 21 in the USA! (was Kate's 21st Birthday a few weeks back). Fun times ahead ...!

SETTLING IN - USA

Just a quick wee update on how team camp went and what's new.

A few days after arrival was straight to it to meet the gang. We started off with a very frosty ride over highway 9 (about 30minutes). It wasn't too good a sign when we began FREEZING climbing up. Safe to say, the descent was hell! So cold was close to tears/pretty sure the rain pouring down our faces could've been a mixture of both! Fun times chattering with Ruth, Jazz, Court and Kathleen.
Thankfully we were saved by toppie team manager Jono Coulter. Legend he was took us the rest of the way to get warm and fed. !

Throughout the week we were very lucky to stay with Courtney VAN (makes her sound fast/Euro) Dimpel (VK), her family and neighbours Don and Nancy in Aptos, on their farm. (8 horses)! They were great and made us feel right at home.

All up was a great week of meeting, team bonding and getting excited for the upcoming season + lots of photo taking thanks to Jason PEZZA Perry aka Ledg. and Chris See, especially at the VK team launch in Los Altos where the team/VK sponsors were announced. Thanks to Bruce from Cyclingnews for being there to interview the team!

Big ups to team mate Maura Kinsella for providing the group with 24/7 'cray cray' entertainment. Yeah gurl...And of course Miss Jenn X 'captain' Reither, KCM, Jono and Dave  for their top organisation of the VK's. Reow. (check Maura's blog here for a lol http://maurakinsella.wordpress.com/ - serious entertainment)

Thanks also to Courtney Dimpel for making sure Ruth and I weren't eaten by the roaming Mountain Lions throughout the week.!
 We get off pretty light in NZ.

Only bummer about camp was still wasn't a hundred after NZ tour's chest cold so had to take it fairly easy on the bike - pretty hard when your team mates are out riding longer - at least I had the joy of getting a bit of study done to kill time.

This week Kate (Chilly Chilcott of NZ) and I have been back in the Bay area at the Vanacht's settling in and cruising round/training! on our very cool Focus bikes. Feeling heaps better and enjoying some nice Bay group rides + some Ameerican coffee. (not a patch on NZ)! but drinkable... Apart from riding us 'kiwis' have been hanging out with Jono and the other VK girls in the area, Jazzy Hurikino from Aussie (enjoys the company of dingo's) and Kathleen (KB) Billington from the east coast. (likes an m&m or three and calls Tuesday Toos-dee ) plus catching up with the crew from last year and meeting new people along the way.

A trip to the city is still on the to do list: fortunately for me, Kate is also a keen shopper and enjoys a good spend up on 'essential'  items. We're still both patiently waiting to visit Urban Outfitters - a trip to San Fran is definitely on the cards after Redlands!

This Wednesday we head to SoCal to kick off the US season with San Dimas stage race on Friday. Following this we'll hit the big Redlands Classic stage race (a national calendar event) which will be brutal! The fields for both events are pretty classy with pro teams, Lululemon, Exergy and TIBCO + more all present. The big guns will be out there making it tough for sure...hopefully VK can stick it to them !!

Big THANKS to Core Builders Composites (NZ)

and Vankerkitten Focus Sponsors:

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HEY

So, as am now back in the USA have been under a bit of pressure to start up one of these blogs so fam and friends back home can keep up to date with any news! Not overly organised so may not be very regular updates but will give it a wee go


I've just arrived back to the big old US of A. I flew into San Fran yesterday morning after spending only a few days home after NZ Tour last week.
I was there, lucky enough to get the opportunity to race for the New Zealand team which was a fantastic experience. The team was managed by Cath Cheatley and Andy Reid. I really enjoyed working with them and was especially cool to learn from Cath; being such a top rider and hearing what she had to say.

It was super fun racing with top riders Rosara Joseph, Kaytee Boyd, Sequoia Cooper, Kate Chilcott and Reta Trotman - congrats to the girls on some great riding. Reta managed to come in a super impressive 5th - such a top ride for someone I'd consider a 'newby' to the sport. She's awesome. and big ups to miss Kaytee Boyd - is she a trackie?? Nah, she's a queen of the mountains! So cool for her to pull off the KOM jersey, no sweat ;-)

I had an a average start to the tour which was really disappointing as 2011's NZ tour has been one of my best results to date, where I scored the U23 jersey and was 5th GC so came into the tour hoping to perform well!! Immune system has been pretty shocker lately and had the joy of waking up with a lovely chest cold on Sunday morn pre tuesday's tour. It was no fun and for the first few days was not much of a help at all. Once the chest had settled down a bit came better on the bike and was able to play more of a role in team so felt better and actually of use! Managed to play a more aggressive role thoughout which was good. Was still pretty frustrating not being a hundred - you always want to be performing at your best but was especially keen to be riding my best when racing for NZ.
Day 3 had a wee crash and managed to come out lucky with only some bruised ribs, thanks to the team car and co and mechanic Adams words of wisdom/cheering for dragging me back up to the chase cars to get back into the race. phew!
Did it again day 4 with a bliman puncture - lucky top teammie Sequoia headed on back to get me back in the action.


All up, was a good result for the team. we were really hoping to get Reta up on the last day and take the win. She was only 27 seconds down from leading lady of the tour Evelyn Stevens (USA) after a really impressive ride on day 4 where she made the winning break of the day where all top teams were represented. This gave us the opportunity to sit up and allow Reta to gain as much time on the field as possible. She ended up getting 7minutes with other breakaway companions so was perfect putting her up from 12th to 5th on GC. Go girl!


So final day - we had a pretty crafty plan Cath came up with but unfortunately it didn't pan out as we'd hoped. The US and Greenedge teams did a top job of nailing any rider anywhere up there on GC and Reta was heavily marked. I was super impressed with the USA team who held yellow from day 1; some really smart/strong riding from them. I definitely learnt a lot throughout the week and even though I could not be at my best it was still a good experience. I really enjoyed the team environment and had some good fun and a few laughs with the girls and crew along the way. Now for getting well - have been o'd-ing on the old Vitamin C - will hopefully do the trick!

To say am buggered now or at least was is an understatement! After 15 sweet hours of sweet sleep though am now feeling slightly less smashed..getting my very cool new Focus bike this afternoon and going for a nice cruisy spin with old teammie Jaz Hurikino and new team mates Ruth Winder and Kathleen Billington has also made me a much happier camper.
I am currently staying with the Vanacht family (in the Bay Area, just South of SF city)  temporarily pre and post team camp which begins tomorrow. They're awesome, really lovely and have been very welcoming and helpful with getting me set in. They have two wee kids Noe and Charlie who are super cute and entertaining ! Who would've thought that Pokemon was still so cool.


Tomorrow am off to the Bicycle Outfitter (shop) in the a.m to get my new ride fitted and then we'll ride over the hill to Scotts Valley to begin team camp. For those who don't know this area a hill is not an average Auckland, NZ hill. Most hills - woops, climbs are 30-40minutes long. Guh! Looking forward to getting amongst them again...but maybe not for long! Hope to be feeling a hundy soon.
 Pretty excited to see all the VK girls and catch up on all the goss! - also, can't wait to check out the new VK kits. Know Dave Verrechia (Vanderkitten owner) will have russled up something very BADASS.

Will try and update next week how all goes plus some pics of the new kits! (Not sure just yet how to upload photos - hence the very plain but bright blog page - but will get on it)! Our team website is www.vanderkittenracing.com and it's best to follow the team's facebook or twitter for regular updates; https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Vanderkitten-Racing/181361851888768


Cheers,
Emily