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Written by Caryn Giarratano
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It was 32 degrees and snowing. I knew I was crazy to RIDE in this weather much less race in it. But there I was at Three Mile Prairie Elementary on March 1 wearing my new team colors for my first race of 1998. I wasn't the only nut. CBC Cat IV teammates Kimi Chinn, Joy Flood, Michelle Hawks, Julie Pautler, Cammy Ronchetto, Julie Snell and Cindy Woodcock stood shivering over their bikes next to me.
I had done my best - between working full time, decorating our new house and writing my dissertation in pursuit of my PhD - to get ready to race. After the time change in October, I had put in 1183 miles, 645 with my new team, to train for the ?98 season.
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Written by Caryn Giarratano
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I am not a sprinter. When the big dogs from my local bike club go for a city limit sign in a rush of male testoserone, I am always left behind. At the end of a race when the participants stand and push a big gear in the sprint for the finish, I go with them but I hurt. As I said, I am not a sprinter.
In June it came time to register for the next race, the Lakota Cup in Columbia, and I was given a choice of three types of races: road race, street sprint and criterium. I have participated in road races and criteriums in the past and checked those boxes...but a street sprint? I?m not good at sprinting, but what the heck!
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Bicycling Captured My Soul |
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Written by Caryn Giarratano
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 The quest begins in 1990. I awoke one morning, looked in the mirror and realized that I felt old, ugly and fat. I was 36, ten pounds over weight and had to stop at the top of each flight of stairs just to breathe. My energy level was low and I felt that my life had lost direction.
Yes, I knew that proper diet, rest, relaxation and exercise were the keys to a happy, productive life. I held a blue belt in taekwondo, an advanced open water certification in scuba diving, had kayaked Class III rapids and had jumped out of an airplane. I had tried walking, aerobic dance and running. None of those interested me for long. So, my friend Stephanie and I decided that we were going to change our lives...
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