About Team Uranga

Carlos and I are a husband and wife team chasing a dream! We are both Certified Personal Trainers and have been involved in health and fitness our whole lives. We are both very competitive in nature! Carlos rode bulls all through his teenage years up until his mid 30’s. (He is now 40.) He competed in the College, Open and Pro levels. I probably started to play sports straight out of my mother's womb! : ) I was involved in everything from Soccer, Ballet, Tap and Jazz, Softball, Basketball, Track and Field, and my old time favorite, Volleyball! In 2009 I had a hip and knee injury that didn't allow me to run anymore. This led us to purchase our first set of mountain bikes, not really planning to even ride off-road as my background in cycling was extremely limited. Carlos grew up riding a bike through out nearly his entire childhood so he had somewhat a bit of experience from his BMX bike. Now me on the other hand, I was fortunate enough to have a nine speed bike growing up, which at the time I had no idea who or why anyone would need that many gears on a bike! Maybe it had to do with the fact that I was only allowed to ride my bike from one stop sign to the other and our street was completely flat! : ) So now, 20 years later we find ourselves talking about nothing but bikes everyday. Those first set of mountain bikes that I mentioned earlier were the beginning of this amazing journey. After having the bikes for only three months, Solavaca Ranch owner, Mack Hargrave convinced us to enter our first race. We were skeptical because of our lack of experience, but then again, life's too short so what did we have to lose? This is what started it all, from V-Brakes to Disk Brakes, from Hardtails to Full-Suspension, from Aluminum to Carbon, from 26 inch wheels to 29, from baggies to spandex, from knee pads to skin suit, from Cat 3 to Cat 1, from Cat 1 to Pro...ok, you get the picture! We are part of an amazing and supportive team, Plano Athletic Cycling Club or "PACC," whom has helped us to grow as racers and riders. But most important without our faith in God along with the constant guidance and support of my amazing husband and coach, I never in a million years would have pictured myself living our lives the way that we do now. I can truly say that cycling has changed our lives forever! What started as a hobby has become a lifestyle. From being scared and skeptical on that first race, today I have set a goal for myself to become a Professional Mountain Biker! We gladly invite you to follow us on this quest as we update with race reports, pictures, training, recipes, and all the other fun stuff in between! "I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me" Philippians 4:13

Food, Sleep, and Love

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Team Uranga

Food, sleep, and love…this is what keeps the wheels going round. Ever since we finished up our road trip to Colorado we’ve really gone back to the basics. It’s way too easy to get caught up with work, cooking, eating, training, sleeping, work, cooking, eating, training, sleeping (you get the point) that eventually we lose sight of the present because we’re so focused on the future. Sooo, eating well, sleeping well, and loving well seems to be the perfect combo to ride really FAST, and who doesn’t want that?!?! 🙂

I’m so excited that the summer heat has FINALLY passed us by! In past years I felt like I could ride all day in 100+ degree temps, but for some reason this year my body just said NO! So while Carlos was dishing it out every Wednesday in the Irving Crit Series, I was his number one fan on the sidelines practicing my Instagram skills! In the summer, the trainer and I had become very close companions during the week. On the weekends I was super thankful for my body to be trained to wake up early, to get in some long rides before the temperatures hit triple digits. I wish the Fall Season would just last forever! I love everything about it, from the cool, brisk mornings, the energy in the air, and all the super fun races!

About three weeks ago, we kicked off the Fall TMBRA Series in Ruston, LA. That is BY FAR one of our favorite trails and race venues that we’ve ever been to! Not only is the terrain absolutely beautiful, but the trail is so fast and flowy that it feels like you’re riding a roller coaster! The women’s field was small, only three of us in the Pro Category, but it was a ton of fun. I had set a goal for myself to reach a certain average speed that I knew would be challenging and would hopefully keep me up towards the front. Coming out of my first lap and heading in for my second, I looked down to check my average and was shocked to see that I was WAY over what my goal was! I wasn’t too sure if that was REALLY good, or REALLY bad, especially since I had two more laps to go! I was feeling GREAT! I decided to back off just a little and save it all for the last lap, which ended up being a really good idea. 😉 I finished in 1st and it was an awesome first race of the season!

Since then, we’ve had a few more races, but those are going to have to wait till next time…food, sleep, and love…it’s time to SLEEP!!! 🙂 Let’s keep these wheels ah rollin’!

Road Trip

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Team Uranga

So here we are as promised, back from Colorado, and ready to tell you all about it! On Friday the 8th we loaded up the truck and started our journey to the half way point, Amarillo. We stayed the night there and then woke up the next morning to drive to our destination in Lakewood, CO. I cannot forget to mention that one of my AWESOME clients put together a little travel/munchie kit for us with all sorts of deliciousness along with a wonderful candle that came so much in handy! We won’t mention what chain hotel we stayed in, but that candle sure was a lifesaver more than once! Thank you Deborah!!! Carlos had never been to Colorado so it was really fun to watch and hear his excitement as the terrain began to change and the mountains started to appear. In the blink of an eye we were at Bear Creek Lake and suited up, ready to pre-ride for the Beti Bike Bash. The course was FAST with nothing really to it besides a few punchy climbs. It was the type of course where recovery was non-existent. It was going to be on the gas from the gun! After our ride I picked up my race number and a whole bunch of swag put together by the wonderful race promoters the Yeti Beti’s, and their generous sponsors. We then headed to our hotel in Denver where there was no candle needed, LOL! I had a great night’s sleep and got up early to have a yummy breakfast that the hotel provided. We arrived at the race venue pretty early and I was absolutely blown away with the number of ladies that this race had attracted! This is definitely something that we need to work on here in Texas because it was awesome! I warmed up on the road and a little bit on single track and I was feeling pretty good. The Pro field was pretty stacked with riders such as Heather Irmiger, Chloe Woodruff, Katie Compton, and Amy Dombroski just to name a few. Just as I had predicted it was on the gas the whole time! The trail went from jeep road down to narrow single-track quick and it felt just like I was racing a crit back home! Going into any race of course my goal is always to win, but part of growing as a racer is having realistic expectations. My goal at this race was to place top 10. As the race went on the only three climbs seemed to be killer and I knew that I had to push through it and not let up if I was going to do this. Heading into my final lap as I rode through the feed zone, I had just reached down and taken a drink when a little boy, maybe five years old, started walking across the trail. He was headed right toward me and he was not looking up! I tried so hard to scream with water in my mouth and swerve with one hand on my bars and the bottle still in my hand. I just couldn’t avoid him and next thing I knew I was down on the ground. I knew it wasn’t my fault, but I felt so bad for him that I wasn’t even thinking about racing any more. I kept asking if he was okay while his dad picked up my bike and kept telling me, “He’s fine! He’s fine! We’re SO SORRY! Keep going!” He practically put me back on my bike and then gave me a push. I was struggling to focus and was hoping the little boy wasn’t hurt. I started to feel a rider suddenly behind me and I was quickly in race mode again. I gave that last lap everything I had, held my position, and ended up crossing the line in 9th and in the money! We were stoked! Up on the podium the Top 10 women got to “cheers” with our super cute wine glasses that they gave us!

After the race I found the little boy to make sure he was ok. He was actually just fine and more than anything he was really embarrassed for “making one of the Pro Racers crash.” Poor little guy! I was just glad that we are both ok. 🙂

From here we headed back south to Colorado Springs where we were going to be staying for the rest of the week. We arrived at our hotel which had a little kitchen area that apparently the guest before us had utilized by cooking fish! Uhhh! I love me some fish, but I’m not very fond of the after smell…especially when it doesn’t go away! Once again Deborah knew what was up and the candle was coming really in handy, not to mention the incense, and fabreeze we had to buy! ; ) The smell went away and it was all good and dandy! We made a stop at Wally World and got ourselves stocked up on groceries for the week.

Ute Valley Park was only about five minutes away from the hotel. Nearly every morning we went out and pre-rode the course.

The weather was absolutely AMAZING! It was a great relief from the hot Texas heat! We even had to bust out with our arm and leg warmers one morning! Needless to say we had figured out the fastest lines and had the trail dialed in by the end of the week.

In the mornings we would pre-ride and in the afternoons we would venture off to local trails or to do a little sight-seeing.

A few days before the race we took the day completely off the bike and went to 7 Falls. It was totally worth it and Colorado is such a beautiful place! It’s amazing how beautiful things look when you’re not going full speed.

Even though I have a Pro License, this is the first time that I’ve had the opportunity to live what I would consider a Pro lifestyle. Sleep well. Eat well. Ride plenty. I’m not going to lie, it felt great to wake up when my body was ready, ride, rest, and then ride again…that surely is my goal. With one of my passions being nutrition, we eat really well. In fact we even brought along our rice maker and juicer to juice it up each day! Now if we could just sleep more and ride more that would be GOLDEN! ; )

I don’t know if I have mentioned this before, but I have exercise induced asthma so I have a prescription inhaler along with other medications that help me to breathe when I’m on the bike. The higher altitude didn’t seem to affect me too much, or maybe since I’m constantly struggling with this feeling of not being able to breathe it felt “normal” for me. Carlos on the other hand was really feeling the change in elevation. He and I are total opposites when it comes to breathing. Usually he can have a whole conversation on the bike and I end up telling him not to talk to me because I can’t breathe! LOL On race day Cat 1 40-49 men were taking off at 11am and my field wasn’t taking off till 1:30. After his warm up I could tell his breathing wasn’t getting any better and he knew this was really going to make this race tough.

At the top of the longest climb of the course about half way through his first lap he had what sounds like one of my asthma attacks. His throat closed up and he couldn’t stop coughing. He decided to pull out. He said it was the worst that he has ever felt on a bike before.

Since we had been at the venue since about 9am I was REALLY ready to get this party started! The day before we had found some single track off of the race course where we could warm up on and it was perfect! The process to get lined up in a UCI Race seems so long compared to a typical USAC race. Everyone is lined up by their UCI rank and called up to the line. Then they make us stand there for about five more minutes probably as a test to see who will pass out first from the intense nerves and adrenaline building up!

The start/finish area was on a dirt track. We took off fast, headed out the gates of the track, and up the first hill. There was a crash midway up and thankfully I was able to make my way around it. At the top of the hill I felt like I was in a dream. My breathing was calm and everyone else’s breathing seemed so loud around me. It was intense as everyone fought for position on the decent before reaching the first rock drop. After Carlos having trouble breathing and all the advice I had gotten from other riders that have raced at higher altitudes, they all agreed on one thing… for me to PACE MYSELF! The trail was generally really wide with lots of room for passing. I wasn’t willing to put the hammer down just yet so I let a few riders pass me as I got into a rhythm. The first lap was great and then by the middle of the second, it started raining. We had looked at the hourly forecast before the race started because the clouds over the mountain looked threatening. It had said 0% chance of precipitation til 5pm! ZERO!!! What?!? That weather guy should be fired! So here I was riding in the rain, which is basically illegal in Texas, and enjoying every minute of it…UNTIL I came out of the track gate heading up the hill for my third lap and not even 15 feet of riding through the wet, clay-like mud and the cranks just wouldn’t turn anymore! Literally. Stuck. The rest of the trail had been slippery at most with absolutely no mud sticking to my tires, and then in about two seconds I was at a complete stand still. Unfortunately, having no experience with this I hopped off my bike to push the mud out of my deraillur and tried one more time to give it another go….nope. Stuck again. Carlos and I looked at each other and knew that this was it. Being a self-supported racer there are also other factors. At this point we can’t really afford to ruin components on my bike just to finish a race. Could have. Should have. Would have. Carlos and I learned a lot that day as we watched the more experienced Pro’s and supported teams deal with the crazy conditions. We even took video of the Luna team manager splashing a whole bucket of water on Katerina Nash’s drive train and brush off as much of the sticky mud as they could. In awe, we looked at each other and said, “oh, that’s how you do it!” As a friendly reminder, Katerina was 3 1/2 minutes ahead of Pua Mata who was in second. At this point she wasn’t just going to finish the race, she was going to win the race.

For the riders here in DFW, the closest comparison would be like trying to climb at Big Cedar when it is wet. As we walked back to the truck the mud formed almost a two-inch thick layer on the soles of our shoes! It was like walking on platforms! My bike was so heavy and not even rollable because it kept getting stuck. Sad to not be able to finish, but happy that we were both safe, we headed to the car wash to jet spray the dried cement off.

Now that I have gotten a taste of few more races at the Pro level I am eager for what the future may hold for us! We thank God for a safe season and look forward to training hard the rest of the summer, fall and winter. I would LOVE, love, LOVE to go to Mt. Morris, WI in August for the final Pro XCT of the year! I have heard nothing but awesome things about this venue and my amazing, loving, and oh so wonderful husband even says he will drive me over there…all the way to Wisconsin!!! Wow! But unless we find a financial support system it doesn’t look like it’s in the cards. For now, we continue our journey and work on keeping these wheels rolling…LITERALLY! 😀

May Recap And Colorado Here We Come!!!!

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Team Uranga

Yikes! It’s been waaaay too long!!!! Bear with us and we promise to post up more often! Since the Big Cedar race we closed out the TMBRA Texas Sate Championship Series at Rocky Hill Ranch in Smithville. The Texas heat has kicked in and this race was another hot one! I got to race on a four mile loop to give it a feel of a UCI style race and Carlos raced on one ginormous 16 mile loop. My four mile race course was pretty AWESOME! It had a little bit of everything and offered a great challenge with somewhere around 1000′ of climbing per lap! I can’t say for sure the exact numbers on that because I don’t have anything fancy enough to measure the elevation change, but this was what I heard from others and my legs can probably back that guestimation up! : ) The week before this race my allergies hit me hard. I was off the bike, out of work, and tired of blowing my nose. Carlos got some crit training in that week and I got to spectate from the side lines. Slowly, but surely, we’re both getting the hang of this roady Crit racing thing! We’ll talk about the skinny tires in a little bit!

Once again our field was pretty small with their only being four of us at the starting line. We had a new face, or at least new to Jessica and I, at the line and this was Alex Robinette. We took off hard at the start with Jessica reaching single track first and Alex and I battling it out for second position. I closed in behind Jessica, but on the first wide open climb Alex punched it and passed us both. Jess and I rode together the entire first lap and tried to just keep the pace steady. Going through the feed zone Carlos gave us the time split. Alex had put 45 seconds on us! Not good. I attacked for the first mile or so and put about a 30 second gap on Jessica. Heading into my third lap Alex was now over a minute in front of me. To my surprise a little bit into that third lap, Alex was on the side of the trail with a mechanical. I was now racing for first! I was feeling good and steady until exactly one mile short of that third lap I timed a turn poorly and slid out as I headed toward a creek crossing. There was a male rider not far behind me. I knew this was a blind turn and he would be coming at it fast, so I yelled as loud as I could for him to stop because there was no way I would be able to move in time. I caught him just in time for him to slam on his brakes and not run right over me. We both ran across the creek and as I spun my pedal to get my chain on the right cog Jessica turned that blind corner. She squeezed by and as she did her shoe accidentally hit my rear derailleur. She quickly stopped to see if everything was ok and continued on. I yanked on my derailleur a little bit and thankfully I was able to keep riding! No damage was done but after my little doopdy do I struggled to get my head back in it and now I was really feeling the aftermath of being sick that week. I pulled myself together and finished strong in second. Overall, despite the turn of events near the end, I was really happy with my performance!

Carlos finished off the series in a solid 11th place! He placed 14th at Rocky Hill out of 24 guys and I’m so proud of him! I know I’ll probably sound biased to say this, but he has really raised the bar for himself since we started racing a few years ago. He has catted up just as fast as I have in a field of men AT LEAST FIVE TIMES bigger than the number of ladies that compete in my field! Not to mention the age group and category that he races in is literally one of the most competitive brackets in Texas racing. He is constantly challenging himself by surrounding himself by faster and more experienced riders. I know for a fact that if it weren’t for him pushing himself out of his comfort zone not even I would be racing at the level that I am today. His improvement is my improvement and we reflect each others achievements!

So as we said goodbye to the spring series we quickly said HELLO to crit racing!!! Over Memorial Weekend we raced three days in a row! That Friday night we started out with the newly famous Bike The Bricks located in Historic Downtown McKinney Square. This was the first crit that I’ve ever raced with only women and all I can say is, that sure was different! I ended up in 6th. Because of this race being so big and us not completely sure we were going to do it ahead of time, Carlos missed the pre-registration for the Cat 4/5 race that he wanted to do. His only option was to enter the 40+ Cat 1-4…yikes! This is a super tough field and those guys took off like a speeding bullet! There were well over 100 guys at the line and it got broken up super fast. I think next time we won’t wait to register! ; )

The next day was the local classic, Gary Glickman Memorial Criterium. This was a pretty cool course with rolling terrain and a 180 turn back to the slightly uphill start/finish. Oh, and it was WINDY…ALL weekend!!! Ahhhh! I learned my lesson from the day before not to do so much work at the front, so this time I sat patiently in the pack for a little bit longer, ten minutes to be exact. LOL After that I took off and charged the hills as hard as I could. I tried my darndest to ride off the front and I was able to break the group of about 14 into 4. We all worked together, but every time we were heading up the hill toward the finish I charged as hard as I could. By the last lap it was down to two of us. It came down to the sprint to the finish on the hill, oh yeah, and INTO the wind! I gave it everything I had and she passed me at the line! I won two cool primes and second place! Yay! Carlos rode really strong in the 35+ Cat 4/5 race. He went off the front for a while, bridged a few attacks, and ended up in 11th!

Sunday was the GS Tenzing Criterium. This one was HARD, mainly because of the crazy wind! Kelly and I worked together in the front to try to break away but we just couldn’t get a break to stick. Everyone was fighting to get cover from the wind and not get dropped. The girls rode strong. On the second to the last lap an unexpected prime was called for Oakley’s! I was having an inner battle with myself if I wanted to go all out for the Oakley’s, or use it for a lead out for the last lap. Haha! So I tried to get the best of both worlds by jumping on the wheel of the girl going for the prime and then trying to out sprint her at the last-minute! Carlos thought I barely got it, but apparently the officials said otherwise : ( Good thing I saved a little juice for the last lap! I took off hard and gassed it the entire lap. Of course I thought I was going to die by the end, but I ended up in first while Kelly almost got me by about half a bike length! Phew, close one! She’s strong! Carlos’ goal for the day was to win the most valuable prime. He NAILED it!!! He won a Cateye Bike Computer worth about $140! Not bad for a $35 entry fee! : D

So our next ten days will consist of COLORADO SINGLE TRACK HEAVEN!!!! I will be competing at the Beti Bike Bash this Sunday and right after that we will be heading back down to Colorado Springs to prepare for the UTE Valley Pro XCT on Saturday June 16th! A HUGE THANK YOU to Comedy Defensive Driving for all your support and making this trip possible for us! If you’re not already following us on Twitter or Facebook make sure you are now for details and race results!

Happy Trails!

Roller coaster

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Team Uranga

What a roller coaster this spring series has been! Yesterday we raced the Bicycles Plus Blowout at Big Cedar Wilderness Trails. With that trail being in our back yard, we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to ride it often leading into this race. Even though we’ve practically been living out there on Prayer Mountain it seemed that no matter how often we would ride it we never managed to get in a full race loop at a hard effort, whether it was a mechanical, being tired, or you name it! It just seemed like it wasn’t in the cards. One thing was for sure though, we DEFINITELY knew the trail! This race was crucial in order for me to stay in contention for the State Champion Jersey. I had to get no less than first here and at the last race of the season in Smithville, TX. Well, yesterday I finished in second, so even before the last race, the series is wrapped up and a huge CONGRATULATIONS goes out to Jessica Rawlins the 2012 Pro/Open Women State Champ! These past few months have been bitter-sweet, or as Carlos would say, “chicken one day and feathers the next.” It has been such a roller coaster from having one of the best racing experiences of my life at the Mellow Johnny’s Pro XCT to crashing the next day and getting my first DNF, to watching our fitness grow at the Wednesday Night Crits, to our bodies not cooperating on race day, like yesterday. This season has been filled with ups and downs, but definitely more ups…that for sure!! Now here’s a little recap from the race this weekend!

Big Cedar is a trail that requires A LOT of two things, fitness and skill. There is no faking it till you make it here. You either have it or you don’t. Our training has been pretty on “Q” lately and I know my fitness is improving and we intend for it to continue in that direction. As for skill, I know since last year I have also improved quite a bit but there is ALWAYS room for improvement with the skillz!! ; ) My goal in this race was obviously to win, but also to go out and ride the absolute best that I could and to keep the rubber side down. As we took off on the start I went into single track in second behind Jessica. I felt pretty good and knew that I just needed to keep riding at my pace. There is so much climbing mixed with tight switchbacks that it’s easy to burn too many matches too quickly. We had a long race ahead of us. Coming out of my first lap on a pretty long jeep road climb I started to feel the heat. By lap three I could really feel the sun beating down. This was one of the hottest days I would have to say that we have faced so far this year, and race day isn’t really the best to make yourself all of a sudden acclimate. There was a pretty bad thunderstorm near the area the night before and the humidity seemed a bit higher. All I really remember from that point on was a headache, mixed with dizziness, mixed with my heart rate through the roof one minute to it dropping down suddenly the next, and then continuously trying to convince myself that falling over in the middle of the trail would do me no good…just fall over crossing the finish line. Ahhhh! The heat just really got me and it took me a few hours after the race to start to feel back to normal again. On the positive side of things I was very happy to accomplish at least one of my goals by having a clean ride and keeping the rubber side down. Despite feeling poorly from the heat I have to say THANK YOU to our sponsor Elete Electrolytes for a cramp free race!! Elete is such a life saver in the tough Texas heat!!!!

As for Carlos’ race he finally had the opportunity to get near the front of the pack and had a clean good start! YAY!!!!! He went into the woods in about sixth. He held his position for about six miles or so. He said the pace was fast from the get go which is something he is definitely not used to. In the past he has usually had an opposite experience by starting in the back and making his way through the race toward the front. It was almost like the dog that has been chasing his tail and the day he finally catches it he doesn’t know what to do with it! : ) With the combination of surprise and the new pressure of being at the front of the pack it led to little mistakes here and there. The final blow was when his heart rate spiked up to 188! This may not sound unusual to most (especially not for me) but his HR threshold is typically somewhere around the low 170’s. At this point he felt so bad that he had to get off his bike and walk up a climb. When he got to the top he felt physically ill. Riders kept passing by and asking if he was ok and he told them, “No,” as he considered the option of DNFing. He waited a couple of minutes to let his heart rate come back down and had a gel while he watched just about everyone in his group go by. Once his HR dropped down to an acceptable range he told himself, “this is my backyard and I’m going to finish this race even if it’s just for fun.” He got back on his bike and somehow managed to take a few spots back. This put him a little bit higher than middle of the pack in 13th. Now, was this the result he was looking for? Not really, but all in all, he didn’t DNF, and had a clean race just like mine with the rubber side down!

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. We’re not ungrateful, we just expect a lot from ourselves, and at the end of the day, just like everyday, we thank God for every time we are able to ride or race and walk away from it! Now it’s time to get ready for Colorado in June! Pro XCT here we come and remember ALWAYS,keep the rubber side down…it’s much more fun that way! ; )

A BIG THANKS To….

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Team Uranga

Great things going on!!! We’re super excited to announce two of our newest sponsors, Comedy Defensive Driving and Honey Stinger!! Not only can Comedy Defensive Driving help raise awareness of cyclists on the road and common distractions for drivers in our crazy world, but it can also help lower your insurance!!! It’s an affordable (only $25) way to keep your driving record clean and you can do it all with a little humor involved from the comfort of your own home! So if you’re driving record is a little shy of being clean or you’re just in it for the discount, take this class NOW and send your certificate to your insurance…no need to pay extra to them when that money could be going to extra bike parts! ; ) So with all that being said we’d like to express our gratitude to them for believing in our dream and supporting us on our journey to the top!

On another note, being a new addition to the Honey Stinger Hive is perfect for delicious on the bike fuel! We have been using their tasty and ORGANIC, Energy Chews and Stinger Waffles (can we say addicting?!?) for sometime now. On those long rides and hard effort days, they always seem to make riding that much better!!! So next time you’re at your local bike shop or even at the gym, pick one up when you need a pick me up!

Ok, we’re keeping this short but sweet today so we can start getting things ready to crit it up tonight! If you’re in the area, come check us out and cheer us on! Directions and info at The Irving Criterium Series. Hope you’re temps are as good as ours wherever you’re at…GO RIDE!!!!!

Crits + XC = Fun Times!!!

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Team Uranga

Busy! Busy! Busy! Between training others, training ourselves, and all the other fun stuff in between we’ve got a heck of a lot going on! So we apologize for the delay in race reports. Over three weeks ago we kicked off The Irving Criterium Series. So for the next six or seven months our Wednesdays will be set aside to hammer it as hard as we can for some awesome high intensity training! It’s been really cool to see such an improvement in our fitness from last year to this year. Last year was the first time we had raced a crit and I have such awful memories of just holding on for dear life, grasping for air, all in horror of getting dropped…which OF COURSE I did (and more than once)!!! : / Last year the “C”Race was my challenge, so of course I had to start with that again this year. When the race was over my body said, “OK, I’m ready to race now!” I felt like such a wimp for watching even the junior kids do the “C” Race AND THEN the “B” Race! LOL So the next week I stepped it up and did just the “B.” Again, I felt great and was so proud that I could hang on with their 25+mph speeds in a group of 70! This was a major stepping stone for both of us this season to be on the road in such a large group. Talk about different from racing solo in single track! Carlos has been doing awesome by racing both “B” and “A!” I decided last week to bring on the suffering and follow his lead, so I entered the “A” Race also and hung on as long as I could. Last week my computer clocked both races at over 26 mph avg! So far so good with the Wednesday night crits. We’re ready for another good one this week and temperatures have been awesome!

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A few weeks ago we raced in Coldsprings, TX at Double Lake Resort. We’ve done this race in the past so we knew what to expect out of the trail. There’s not much to it besides being on the gas the entire 12+ miles. I still can’t think of a single spot where you can let up. Not to mention a section of single track was taken out this year due to some major muddy spots and in place of it was a little over a mile of jeep road, besides the other sections of jeep road that were already in the course…hence the “being on the gas” part! Rumor is that some don’t like this race because it’s not technical enough. I personally think they don’t like this race because it is a true test of fitness. With that being said, the turn out was really small, not to mention there was also the famous Ouachita Challenge this same weekend out in Arkansas. I’ve never raced it before, but I heard it’s pretty awesome! Anyway, in my race there were only two of us. Kim was having trouble getting a new tire she had recently mounted to seal so she knew that this might cut her race short. Unfortunately it did so I was left racing solo. I didn’t know this so I kept trying to push my own pace so I could at least compare my time to the guys that were also doing three laps. I went into this race trying to turn in a solid time. At the end I was really happy about my performance and my time and how great our training is coming along.

Carlos’ race was a smaller race as well. He had sixteen guys in his field and nine out of the top ten in the TMBRA standings were in the line up. It was a very fast, fun race and Carlos took 11th place. He was disappointed because he’s been struggling with his starts and this race was no exception. It really cost him not to get a front position before going into the trees. All in all, his time was really solid and his fitness is definitely there! He knows he still has areas he needs to work on but ultimately it was a great day of racing! We both thank God for every race or ride that we can walk away and tell you guys about!

Solavaca

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Team Uranga

The weather is starting to finally feel like spring and the temperatures couldn’t be better! Despite all the rain that has kept our trails closed, there is plenty of road to be ridden! Last weekend was the fourth race of the TMBRA State Championship Series, the Cat Claw Classic at Solavaca Ranch in Glen Rose, TX. Now does that name sound familiar?!? If you’ve read our “About Us” page then you know that happens to be the place that started it all! With all the rain that we mentioned above, the race was up in the air with a high chance of getting rained out and possibly being cancelled. Not only that, but Carlos and I got some sort of stomach bug in the middle of last week. He got it MUCH worse than I did with almost 103 degree fever, hot sweats, body aches and just all around crappiness. It was TERRIBLE! He even lost 5 lbs from his average 165 lbs weight! I was well enough to go to work the next day and when I came home he had the nerve to tell me he was going to race the local Wednesday Night Irving Crit! I told him he had lost his mind and the only reason he could say that was because he was lying on the couch not having to use an ounce of energy! LOL The second he stood up to walk around he quickly said, “You’re right. I don’t think I’m racing tonight.” But from now on you can expect mid-week race reports because the local crit series has begun! I didn’t pre-register for Solavaca because despite the stomach bug, I also didn’t know how my elbow was going to feel since I hadn’t been on my mountain bike since my crash at Mellow Johnny’s. We went ahead and drove out there Saturday to check out the trail conditions since we are pretty familiar with the trail and know that the several creek crossings were going to make things pretty slippery. They had about 8 inches of water in them. Considering the circumstances the trail was in tip-top shape thanks to all the work that Mack put into it. My elbow felt pretty good for most of the ride. It was only towards the end that my stitches felt like they were going to rip apart, but I knew a little bit of Aleve would help. For this one we decided not to camp since Glen Rose is practically a local race. (It’s only about 90 miles away.) We had an 8:30am start time which meant we had to wake up at around 4:30am. Compared to our normal Monday-Friday this is actually sleeping in an extra hour for us! : )

Sunday morning we got to the ranch right before the sun came up and we had plenty of time to get ready and get a good warm up in. Carlos had told me to go ahead and let whoever wanted to lead get out in front of me and really focus on just riding my own race. I wasn’t sure how my legs were going to feel since my riding time had been drastically cut down since after the Comfort Race which was at the end of February. Despite my asthma giving me a little bit of trouble, my legs felt great! Jessica set the pace and we pretty much rode together the entire first lap. Going into the second lap I got stuck behind a few riders in one of the few technical spots on the trail and she was able to open up a gap on me. I kept my focus on staying steady and not blowing up. Later, my chain dropped as I was climbing up out of one of the deeper creek crossings. I put my chain back on, got back on my bike, and right away knew I needed to get off again and spin my wheel because my chain was in the wrong gear. Not sure how long this all took, but it felt like FOREVER! The trail was so much fun that morning and it was really cool to hear your tires roll as you would rail a corner. I was really enjoying being back on my mountain bike! It was a fun steady ride and I ended up a little over two minutes behind Jessica, coming in second place.

Carlos broke the golden rule which is not to make any changes to your bike right before a race. The Specialized Demo Truck was at the ranch on Saturday and he hopped on one of their bikes and really liked the way the stem was set up on it. That night he made some changes on his own bike and said, “tomorrow’s race is a test.” He positioned himself all the way in the back on the starting line. As I was standing behind him I even thought to myself, “why in the world is he all the way in the back?” But I knew he would have his reasons. His group had 28 total and he ended up in 16th place. He absolutely loved the way the bike handled and said to me that this race was the confidence booster that he needed. He felt great both physically and mentally during the race. Accomplishing both of these things in a race isn’t always easy. We have definitely realized that this is where experience shines over fitness. We both understand that it is going to just take time for us to catch up in this way to some of those that have been racing for several years. The one thing that we really want to focus on is to have fun and learn to ride like we train! Riding and racing is supposed to be fun, and every once in a while you have to take a step back from being so serious about your training and racing and just give yourself a break. We both definitely used this race as a break for some breathing room just to see how it would all turn out to JUST HAVE FUN! There were no time-splits, no hard passes, and no added pressure! Just what we needed!

Wherever you are, we hope you are having a great week! Pictures will be posted soon!

New Sponsors!

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Team Uranga

Just a quick THANK YOU to our two newest sponsors, Schwalbe North America and elete Electrolyte Add-In, for all your support! We’ll be rollin’ fast and stayin’ hydrated in the Texas heat!