Rachel's Photo essay! (about Nationals)

Greetings world!

Before I begin my infamous nationals photo essay, I wanted to relay a few joys that I’ve experienced during my stay on the Whitman Cycling team. First, being a part of this team has fostered a love of exercising that I never could quite grasp. I have always been very enthusiastic about horses and competitive showing, but actually working out was not something that I enjoyed nor was consistent with. But after graduating, I can tell you with all honesty that I now LOVE to workout. It’s addicting - being outside on my bike in a community of like-minded people, pushing myself up a hill, feeling the endorphins and serotonin, and sometimes going so hard you throw up your breakfast.

The team has also been my niche at Whitman. As a freshman, I wasn’t comfortable drinking and partying, so bike races became my fun weekend adventures. During those races I got to experience life with my teammates, swimming in hot springs in Montana, mooning the Men’s A field, riding fixies in a sumo suit, crying my eyes out with Molly after crashing in crits, and consoling friends when the pressures of life and school felt insurmountable. Racing builds uniquely strong bonds when you sacrifice yourselves for each other - all of the women I time trialed with have profoundly impacted my life.

Cycling has shown me that even if you feel uncomfortable, and everything feels way too hard, it doesn’t mean it’s bad. I often struggle perceiving long term goals in the shadow of short term desires. Cycling has constantly challenged me to push, suffer and take hold of long term goals in the midst of fear. Racing is hard. I don’t always enjoy it, and every second isn’t always fun. But when you cross that finish line, having given a huge part of yourself to be there; a warm feeling of accomplishment-disbelief-satisfaction washes over you, and everything was worth it. Thank you Whitman Cycling, you’ve given me life in full these past four years.


And now I’m pleased to finally provide you with a detailed, visual journey of Collegiate Nationals 2014.

This year we traveled to Richmond, Virginia, and I had no idea what to expect. We took four men: Alberto, Luke, Kevin, and Zander, and four women: Mackinzie, Fiona, Dessie, and myself (and a truckload of support: Debi, the Tuppers, and LOTS of parents). Our journey began at 3 am when we set off for a large, buzzing metropolis - the Pasco airport.

Here is our feelings upon arriving in the wee hours of the morning:



And here begins the one of many Rachel-Dessie selfies, taken in the San Francisco airport shuttle after scouting out delicious snacks, after which Dessie informed me that I think about food more than any person she’s ever met - I’ll take that as a compliment.



(We’re beautiful). The next photo explains the personalities of my fellow teammates well...



They’re all cutie pies. Here’s one of the awesome chairs that Dessie and I sat on in the San Francisco airport! Let me tell you, that place is ridiculously classy. They even had a secluded yoga room available for use.



She’s a speed goddess. Later that evening we got stuck in Newark, and it appeared that our plane was never prepared for actually flying, and thus we had no plane until the next day. However, the first thing you should know is that Alberto is magical. He got us a private jet.



Boom!! Thus, our team, Debi and two other people were the passengers on a little jet to Richmond.



We felt like high rollers. And then, when we got to Richmond at 2:30 in the morning, the Tuppers had a spread of food that involved granola, hummus and carrots, pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and pre-cream cheesed bagels. The Tuppers are also magical. Here is Dave unloading all the gear Zander’s parents found for us when we got to the hotel. Zander’s parents found us a bunch of trainers, rollers, a pump, cooler, table, and even a bike stand. They are also magical.








We got to our hotel! They even give you cookies when you check in. The Leanne Tupper left us a pound of chocolate in each of our rooms, which was a particularly lovely surprise especially for a few choice individuals on our team ...



The next day the big to-do item on the agenda was the team time trial course recon ride. It involved lots of riding down one ways the wrong way (apparently this is called “salmoning”), lots of Fiona and Rachel not making it through lights and then having everyone else wait for them, and Alberto exclaiming “I just LOVE city riding!” Before the ride Kevin spit-shined Fiona’s brand new white cleats. She was tickled.



We also discovered before the ride that half the team has fancy Shimano shoes!



I also took a moment to snap a photo of Kevin’s super impressive legs. Cause I’m a creep.



Debi and Whitney were very excited to ride behind us as support for the ride in a convertible. We are spoiled.

After the recon ride we went to get registered - and I found friends! Check out Sam Waples from WWU in his matching ensemble of Audi kit and red watch. Sam killed it in the road race on Sunday! His watch is probably magical.



Check out this racer from Virginia’s calf tattoos!



(I did ask for consent first!) Whitman then proceeded to explore the town for grub and enjoy beautiful Richmond, which is actually a fantastic city and you should totally visit.



The city is full of really neat buildings that have a lengthy history. Everything’s older than in Oregon/Washington.



We then ran into friends from the University of Idaho! Check out Alexis’ attempt at also doing TTT recon with fellow teammate Nick.



It didn’t work very well. Now dear reader, you shall experience a jump ahead to the next day, after the TTT. This is how we all felt.



But some of us did homework instead ... That night the women’s team got pretty bronze medals for the TTT and thus we dressed up nice. I was wanting to go as the colors of the rainbow but Fiona and Dessie vetoed that idea.



That night Zander and I played with grapes.



It was fun. On saturday we got to race in the crit, which I had a blast in. This year I’ve been riding a lot more, so I felt pretty fit and comfortable, physically and emotionally. Here’s how Nick from U of I felt after the crit.



In the men’s division II race there were some guys that were just ANIMALS. It was fun to watch, but also sad cause every lap a few more guys would get popped off the back and get pulled that lap (Dessie and I were cheering on the hill were said popping-off occured). Check out this sexy Duke fan that I happened to spy during the crit - he had fantastic chest hair.



Here’s a shout out to an awesome big brother, Thaddaeus. The guy came up for the weekend to support Dessie! He’s pretty funny too. And has a great beard. It’s probably magical.



That night we got driven to the awards ceremony (cause you aren’t supposed to use your legs unless you’re racing), and Alberto got his hands on the convertible Saab. Dessie was fine with it:



She got 3rd in the crit her first year racing for the team! I’m so proud of her, and I teared up at the ceremony partly due to all the dramatic olympic music they were playing. And now here’s Whitney’s reaction to Alberto driving the convertible.



Afterwards we went and ate a lovely dinner made for us by my parents, Dave and Eileen, and Luke’s parents, Herbie and Sheila. It was amazing. They are probably magical.



The next day was the road race, and I actually really enjoyed myself. The laps, loads of corners, and cobbles made it feel like a cyclocross course. Here’s another Dessie-Rachel selfie after our race while watching our boys suffer in the sun. Alberto had his best road race of the season which was fantastic as he’s been plagued with knee problems all year.

When we got back to the hotel we were pretty tired. In comes lots of Kevin photos - first Kevin making a funny face:



Kevin wearing my clothes:



Kevin getting really into wearing my clothes:



Kevin making the final selection of my orange shorts for the evening.



Zander wanted to wear my clothes too.



He looked pretty good, and retained his nickname “cutie pie”. After dinner Luke and I found a coconut water truck! Luke used to be obsessed with the stuff, he’d drink one after every bike race.



And just to keep the theme going, a final Dessie-Rachel selfie after all the racing had been done.



The next morning at 4 am, I got to hang out with the lovely Mark from Oregon State University at the airport! We were pretty tired ... but wearing the same awesome nationals shirts!



That was pretty long. Hopefully my array of somewhat tasteful and somewhat funny photos was entertaining and you were able to taste a bit of nationals in every shot. It was such a pleasure and privilege to go. My warmest thanks goes out to all of the individuals that made this happen!


THE END.

Nationals Recap

            Whitman was lucky enough to have returning riders to the national championships this season.  Nationals this year were a bit different from previous years as the collegiate nationals served as a test event for the world championships that will be happening in Richmond in 2015.  This meant that we got a crack at the same roads the pros will ride on in a year’s time.  We were able to take 8 riders total; 4 on the men’s side and 4 on the women’s side allowing for each of our team time trial teams to have full numbers.  We would like to give a big thank you to all our team supporters and fans that showed their support to the team by providing donations as well as cycling equipment.  Additional thanks to Dave and LeAnn Tupper, Debi Toews, Whitney Griggs, the Ogden Family, the Weigel Family, and the Geiter family who made the journey out to Richmond to help support our riders by providing assistance with preparation before races as well as meals.  Additionally a big thank you to the Guzy-Sprague family for their help in providing trainers and coolers for our team.  Without the incredible support we had, this event would not have been possible.

Here is a brief recap of what went down while in Richmond:

            We left on Wednesday morning bright and early around 3:30am.  Since Nationals happened in Richmond, VA this year, it was necessary to fly our bikes, something riders usually cringe at the thought of with TSA and whatnot.  Flying from Pasco to San Francisco went smoothly.  However in San Francisco, we hit a bit of a speed bump since our flight out of San Fran was delayed due to weather in Newark, NJ.  Flying into Newark was a bit of an experience as Newark was reporting heavy flooding in areas.  Arriving in Newark, we missed our connecting flight to Richmond however luckily because of issues with finding a captain; another flight was delayed flying into Richmond.  We ended up able to talk our way onto that flight!  We ended up basically having a chartered plane-we we 8 out of maybe 10 passengers.  Great way to start our trip!  We arrived in Richmond around 1 am after almost 24 hours of traveling.  Once discovering our bikes had not made it (again flying bikes is never fun) we went to the hotel to sleep and prepare for Thursday.

            Thursday morning we collected our bikes at the airport and went to work on rebuilding the bikes.  Luckily we didn’t find anything wrong with them and we decided to roll out and go do some scouting of the courses.  Oh boy, scouting turned in to getting lost and trying to figure out where we were supposed to go.  Luckily we made our way around downtown Richmond riding the time trial course and the road racecourse.  For the road racecourse, we had the opportunity to ride cobblestone sections, something many of us had never done and a portion of the course that would create some memorable experiences.  Overall it was an excellent day of riding and it was incredible to see how many people were so excited about having the races.  People kept asking us if we were racing and wishing us good luck in the races.  People in Richmond are so friendly!  We enjoyed a nice meal and prepared for out TTT on Friday morning.

            The time trial course was a very fast-paced, yet technical course winding through the city streets of Richmond.  Our men’s team did very well competing against stiff competition, although finishing 11^th, the team shows promise in future years as only one member of the team is graduating this May.  Our women’s team yet again pulled out an impressive performance finishing 3^rd overall.  Again the women’s side has a bright future ahead as there will only be one rider from that group graduating as well.  Finishing the time trial early in the day allowed for some nice relaxation time in the afternoon as we prepared for our criterium races the next day.

            Saturday presented our riders with a fast technical mile long course again weaving through downtown Richmond.  The women again showed dominance staying well protected in the peloton until the final lap where freshman Dessie Weigel sprinted herself into 3^rd place!  Not bad for a first-timer at nationals.  The men’s side was a slightly different story.  With about 90 riders on the start line, the pace was all out from the start as both of Whitman’s riders were shelled off within the first half hour.  Ultimately the field was cut down from 90 to about 25 riders who actually completed the 75-minute race.  Although slightly disappointed, no Whitman riders crashed or were injured.  Again there was relaxation time as the team prepared for the final event, the road race, which would be taking place early on Sunday morning.

            The women’s race took off bright and early at 7am as riders weaved through the 9.6-mile downtown course.  Included in the course was the infamous cobbled-climb up Libby Hill and ultimately one of the coolest portions of the race.  A flat tired reduced the Whitman field to a single rider in the main group.  Senior Rachel Geiter looked strong to the end taking 18^th place overall in the DII field.  On the men’s side, again the pace was high from the start.  Riders were shelled off the back as the 100+ rider field was again reduced to a size of 35 by the finish.  Our racers finished in the mid-pack again with a strong effort against stiff competition.

            After a long weekend of racing, we headed back to Whitman early on Monday morning.  Unlike our flights out, the trip home went smoothly with no major issues.  Now all that was left was to survive through the rest of the semester.

            Coming off of a strong performance last year, Whitman continued to do well finishing 7^th overall as a team against the 54 other schools represented in division II.  Again Whitman showed that they could contend with some of the larger schools like MIT, Duke, and Colorado Mesa.  The team has a lot to be proud of after another strong season and the future looks bright as 6 out of the 8 riders represented at Nationals will be returning riders next year.  We appreciate everyone’s continued support of the Whitman Cycling Team!  We are truly blessed to have such incredibly devoted fans.  Stay posted for next year and as Whitman will again be in strong form!     

Luke Ogden     

2014 Collegiate Nationals: Women's Team Time Trial

written by Fiona Bennitt

Nationals was incredible. It was absolutely worth the excited-yet-concerned looks on professors’ faces when I told them that I was going to miss four days of classes to go ride bikes on the other side of the country. It was worth the lost sleep, the hours of training, the logistical meetings, and the work that everyone put in to get us there. Completely worth it. It was an adventure that only made me want to ride bikes more, get faster, and crush it next year in Asheville, NC.

I was going to Nationals solely for the Team Time Trial, as I only got the last of my upgrade to the Women’s A during the last races of the season (which would have allowed me to race the Road Race and Criterium). I had, however, been riding the Women’s A Team Time Trial all season. My experience was initially one of trepidation as throughout the season, as our team pushed harder and harder each week. Though we ended up the conference champions winning both Women’s A and B Overall and the Women’s A TTT at Conference Championships, most of those time trials involved me slipping off the back at some point halfway through, feeling unsatisfied by the fact that my legs just could not go faster, and rolling in a few minutes or so after my teammates crossed the line. Of course, I knew that my contribution was a valuablepart of that, but I just wished that I could finish with them. In our conference, the clock stops when the 2nd rider crosses the finish line, meaning that dropping a rider is an acceptable, even sometimes desired tactic. All the same, we could have done more if I were able to stay on, sharing the load more evenly and theoretically allowing everyone to go just a little bit faster overall.

So when we got to Nationals after a harrowing 21 hours of traveling, I was still unsure of whether it was worth it for me to have come along. What I would find out, quite unexpectedly, that was for the team and myself, it was worth it. We got to Richmond a day early to pre-ride the course and check out the famous Libby Hill, and though it was an charming city with so many deciduous trees and outpouring of Southern hospitality, I felt quite out of place. My teammates belonged, but I did not. I was only there for one event, and I was afraid of disappointing everyone. The things about the Team Time Trial at Nationals is that it is almost twice as long as a normal conference Time Trial, this one measuring about 19.2 miles. That combined with the fact that this time the clock stopped with the 3rd rider’s wheel crossing the line, was quite daunting. But I was there, and I was going to try to do my best.

As it turned out, everyone on the team did just about as spectacular of a job as I could have imagined. The Women’s Team was lucky because we went later the men, meaning that we got to pre-ride the whole course. Not only did this give Mackinzie, who had flown in late the night just before, to scope out the course, but we were also able to talk a little bit of strategy and get our feet under ourselves. The course was a a kind of clover-leaf, with none of the tight two-lane turn arounds that we had practiced so much, but instead with lots and lots of corners and a hill. As the team had gotten 2nd place last year, we we slated to go second-to-last, with only MIT behind us. That became my goal. Don’t let MIT catch us. 

And they didn’t. We lined up on the ramp, started smoothly, and settled down into a steady pace. I wasn’t feeling great and knowing that I needed to stay on at all costs, began to “slide” (sitting at the back of the train while the others rotate through) after only one pull. This was far less than ideal, but everything was about the team as a whole, not the individuals. Rachel, Dessie, and Mackinzie were taking us faster than we had ever gone before, and before I knew it, we were out of town, across Robert E. Lee bridge for the first time, and heading back into the city. I was still sliding and telling myself just to hold on until the climb just a few blocks from the finish, but then Mackinzie started to gap off of the other’s wheels. Jet-lagged and coming off a season unfortunately dotted with illnesses, she was feeling worse than I was, and yet she was still taking pulls! We got to Governor street, passing King University as we started the climb, and then suddenly Mackinzie was off the back. As I struggled to latch on to Rachel and Dessie, we realized that we would need to leave her behind, as she has given it her absolute all, a heroic effort in my eyes. That is when I realized that I was now the one who would need to cross the finish line, would need Dessie and Rachel to get me there to stop the clock, an option that I hadn’t really ever considered. So I held on as we began the second lap, just keeping up as Dessie and Rachel worked ridiculously hard, two people doing the effort of four. As we came back across the bridge the second time, I started to take some pulls again, realizing that I was feeling better and they were about at their maximum effort. It was a risky balance: if I worked too much, I might fall off and need them to slow down, which was not really an option, but if I didn’t do enough, we would be slower than we could have been. Heading down towards Governor street again, Rachel was giving it her all and if I remember correctly, we passed another team, this one having started 2 minutes ahead of us. Then it was up the climb again to get to the last left-hand corner on the the false-flat straight to the finish. As we climbed, I surprised everyone with what I had left in my legs by outpacing Dessie and Rachel (granted, they had worked far hared the whole time). As we rounded the last corner, back in our correct order, Dessie began to ride away from Rachel who was a head of me, leaving a gap. Realizing that we needed to get Rachel to the line, I moved around her and pulled her up to Dessie. We crossed the finish line to the roar of the crowd and somehow found out that we had gotten 3rd, and the MIT had been defeated in a surprise showing from Colorado Mesa. Afterwards, trying to breathe, I started crying and could not stop for about half an hour. As people tried to comfort me, nobody, including myself knew what emotion I was experiencing, but looking back I think it was some kind of awe in what I had just done achieved, a better ride than I ever imagined I had in me, and awe of my teammates as every one of them had ridden absolutely spectacularly.After that, I felt like I belonged at Nationals, and finally for the first time all season, that I truly deserved that spot on the Women’s A TTT all season. 

I cannot express how grateful I am for having had the amazing teammates that I did, Rachel Geiter, Mackinzie Stanley, and Dessie Weigel, as well as the support of the team as a whole. Everyone was so excited for us and so encouraging to me and to each other all season, and I truly think that is what sets Whitman’s program apart. I always have an amazing arsenal of support, not only from teammates and our fearless leaders who always show us that the sky is the limit, Luke Ogden, Alberto Santos-Davidson, and Rachel Geiter, but from alums, parents, team sponsors, and generous donors like all of the amazing individuals who made it possible for us to get to Richmond in the first place. I cannot express my gratitude for being allowed to have a chance to prove what I, what our TTT, what Whitman could do on the big stage, and I will always remember that none of us could have done it alone. Thank you, and here’s to amazing years to come!

The following is a link to a picture of the team during their warm-up lap.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/skynoir/14089886925/in/photostream/