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janetrlafleur
VB Team Member
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Posted: Thu Feb 21st, 2008 01:20 am |
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My name is Janet and I live in Mountain View, California. I’m waaay overdue for an introduction since I’ve already made public appearances as a Velo Bella by racing CCCX in Monterey and again attending the Prologue for the Tour of California.
First thing to know is that I LOVE bikes. Bikes for dirt, bikes for road, bikes for racing, bikes for tooling around town. Bikes make me feel like a kid again. They go fast and have always taken me places far away from home.
I started racing in 2003 with the Wildflower triathlon, which got me hooked on cycling. After that it was lots of century rides and in the last two years racing in the dirt with cross and mtb. Cross is my favorite—where else can you hop off and on a bike in a Batgirl costume? This year I’ll continue racing the dirt disciplines and may finally get up enough nerve for a road race (don’t hold your breath).
I’m really excited to be a Velo Bella ‘cause they’ve always had such style.
-Janet
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jpainter
VB Team Member
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Posted: Thu Feb 21st, 2008 04:23 am |
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Hey Janet - I think that I've seen you around this area. Actually, I think that I was staring at you this weekend when we were at a stoplight - you in your Bella gear and me stuck inthe SportVelo car driving sag. 
Where do you generally ride MTB around Mountain View? I am always looking for suggestions since I am in school and don't always have time to drive far for a ride.
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janetrlafleur
VB Team Member
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Posted: Thu Feb 21st, 2008 08:55 pm |
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I actually saw the SportVelo car go by. Didn't know there was a Bella at the wheel.
As far as places to ride MTB near Mountain View, there are a few parks that don't require long drives into the hills: Arastradero in Palo Alto and Fremont Older in Cupertino.
They're not the the largest parks or the most technically challenging, but they have respectable amounts of singletrack and we've figured out routes that maximize the fun. Both are about 15 minutes from downtown MV. They're my favorite places to ride after work when there's only so much daylight and you don't want to waste it driving.
As soon as daylight savings starts I'll be riding regularly after work again with some friends at Arastradero. Send me a private message and I'll let you know when and where we meet.
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velobella
Administrator
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Posted: Fri Feb 22nd, 2008 02:35 am |
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| love the picture!
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janetrlafleur
VB Team Member
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Posted: Fri Feb 22nd, 2008 02:54 am |
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Thanks! It's from the Cinderella Century 2007. That's me in the captain seat and my former housemate stoking. It was her first ride longer than 35 miles and man was she strong.
If I could only convince her to try racing...
Photo credit to Jackie Link
Last edited on Fri Feb 22nd, 2008 06:11 am by janetrlafleur
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erein
Member
| Joined: | Wed Jan 17th, 2007 |
| Location: | Santa Clara |
| Posts: | 16 |
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Offline
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| Frizzle-frazzle: |    |
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Posted: Fri Mar 14th, 2008 01:39 am |
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I think Jill might owe me a ride.  I'm just waiting for a wee bit more of daylight before I try to talk Janet and all into after work rides at Fremont Older. It really isn't such a bad place to ride, if you can ignore the horse poop. :/
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jpainter
VB Team Member
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Posted: Fri Mar 14th, 2008 01:58 am |
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Is it true?!?! Has the coolest mtb chick in the world who taught me how to ride my bike switched over to be a Velo Bella??
Since the only evening I am NOT in class is Tuesdays (except I played hookey tonight since I have a brand new niece!), I hope that we can ride as it gets a little bit lighter. The only time I have gone to Fremont Older was when my darling husband took me up the fire road that is "just a quick climb at the beginning". Liar.
I am still at the beg/int level so I am a little wary of jumping in with some more advanced riders. I need some miracle to help get me over my fear of switchbacks. 
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janetrlafleur
VB Team Member
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Posted: Fri Mar 14th, 2008 02:13 am |
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Well, if you don't like switchbacks, Fremont Older is not a bad place. There are only a couple of them there.
If you want to work on them, my favorite switchbacks for confidence building are the ones on the Peter's Creek Trail in Long Ridge. They're definite switchbacks but they're not so steep or so tight. If those are too easy, the next step up are the ones on the Wood Rat trail at Arastradero. Once you get those down, try the ones at Water Dog (Finch, Berry or bottom of Chaparral).
I could be convinced to go out on a Tuesday night. What's your schedule like Elizabeth?
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jpainter
VB Team Member
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Posted: Fri Mar 14th, 2008 02:19 am |
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Last spring I stalled on a switchback at Arastradero, I fell off my bike and hit my head on a big tree branch that had fallen on the side of the trail. A few hours later I had a terrible headache and was having trouble forming sentences. Long story short - switchback = minor concussion = lack of confidence! However, my husband bragged to everyone the next day that I got a concussion but still finished the ride. 
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erein
Member
| Joined: | Wed Jan 17th, 2007 |
| Location: | Santa Clara |
| Posts: | 16 |
| Status: |
Offline
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| Frizzle-frazzle: | |
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Posted: Fri Mar 14th, 2008 05:17 pm |
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Concussion while riding? Sweet! That's hardcore. I only get bruises.
Coolest? Um...*blush*. Spazziest maybe? As Brian still says "I can't beleive you knocked over that nice girl Jill at the race." Sigh.
Fremont Older has a few switchback but it's more about the climbing really. It's more of a "I'm close by, so I guess I'll ride it" kind of place. I only go because I work nearby and I can hit it up after work.
And since i haven't said officially hi yet; I'll tell you my Fremont Older story by way of introduction: A few months after I got my first mountain bike; a lovely little hardtail from specialized, I got a group of girls to go riding at Fremont Older. I had never been to Fremont Older and I didn't know there were two entrances to it. There was the Stevens Canyon Creek side, and there was the other side by the golf course. Or as I referred to them long after the ride "the bad side, and the other side."
Stevens Canyon Creek is one long huge hill climb up to the top but I didn't know that at the time, and so that's where I had everyone meet for the ride. So i was with a group of girls I didn't know, reassuring them that I was a beginner, this was actually my first real mountain bike ride, and this was going to be an easy ride. Being a runner, I had never owned a mountain bike before then and I didn't ride a road bike at all. I still remember that ride in great excrutiating detail. I had to walk my stupid bike all the way up to the top of that hill that went on forever, and then I had to walk most of the way down. I had no clue at all how hard mountain biking was!
I was so upset after that ride, and I was complaining to my friend Brian about how hard mountain biking was and how I couldn't do it, and I was going to sell my bike. So he took pity on me and told me we would go for a ride together. So for my second real mountain bike ride he ended up taking me to Rocky Ridge in Santa Teresa. After that it's no wonder I didn't sell my bike and take up water aerobics.
So that's me. I have a road bike that I ride when I do triathlons. But I love mountain biking above all (except I really enjoy a good run, strange but true). My favorite places to ride; Arastradero, Saratoga Gap, Waterdog, some unmentionable trails in Santa Cruz that are by a certain university, Fort Ord, De Lavega park and anywhere in Tahoe. I like to go to Carlmont, and Shells and Pleasanton BMX park.
Let's see, what else might be interesting to know? I prefer flat pedals over clipped in, my gravity dropper was the best thing I've ever bought for my bike, I've taken a skills class with Lee McCormack (who is so cool), and once met Marla Streb (I tried not to act like a total fan girl, but it was hard). I don't ride fast at all, and I like to race on my mountain bike but I'm not very good at it.
And oh yeah, and my name is Elizabeth.
Last edited on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 05:18 pm by erein
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