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COLUMNS SPOKESWOMEN by MELANIE SWARTZ girloffroad@yahoo.com …a look at women’s cycling issues in the mid-Atlantic CONFESSIONS OF A LOCAL WOMAN BIKE RACER I am, therefore I race. Bike racing is a part of my being because I’ve been doing it for so long. I can’t imagine not racing. Where would I go? What would I eat? What would I do? Who would I be? I have been racing for 10 years. I’m beyond wanting to race. I need to race. It’s who I am. Although I don’t want my racing to define me, it’s definitely a part of who I am. Always the competitive kid, I sought out cycling in high school and started racing in college. I thought I’d be a natural at it, but after 10 years I’m still working at it and still have so much to learn - maybe I’m a slow learner, but the lure of the sport keeps me coming back for more. I’m not the fastest girl out there, I’m not getting my fix on winning, but there is something exhilarating about being exhausted. The lure of racing for me is in the whole adventure: the planning, the training, the race, the socializing, the exploring. It’s really a lot of fun. Oh, the places I’ve seen. Racing has allowed me to visit quaint towns and pretty park and recreation areas all over the Mid-Atlantic. I have seen most of PA, MD, NJ, and the DC suburbs because of passing through on the way or to do a race. I’ve been to several local parks to ride my bike. My mental map is full of directions based on where races are and good places to ride and where the best local diner or restaurant is in relation. I’ve been to the Eastern Shore, the mountains of MD and VA, suburbia of DC because of races. I’ve visited historic sites in Antietam and Gettysburg, enjoyed pretzels in Amish country, enjoyed vistas of rolling farm lands, and the cool shade of the MD parks. I’ve explored the cities of Baltimore, Wilmington, DC, Richmond, Charlottesville, and Philadelphia because of bike races. If it wasn’t for racing, would I know the name and recognize the layout of every rest stop along the I-95 Corridor and NJ Turnpike? Would I ever go out and visit some of the small towns in MD and PA, and parts of the DC metro area and eat in their local pizza parlor or diner and stop at their gas station for soda and twizzlers? If I didn’t race, what would I do on the weekends? Part of my weekend ritual is calculating how to get to the race, what time to leave, laying out my race gear, setting aside food for before/during/post race, filling water bottles, and packing the car. Thinking about the race, looking forward to who I’ll see, wondering where to eat and what to do afterwards, these are all part of the adventure of racing as well. Don’t be mistaken though, racing doesn’t consume my every thought or entire weekend, but it’s a pleasant diversion from the regular ordinary hustle bustle of life. It’s a sort of rejuvenation that I need at the end of the week. Inspiration Racing the local circuit, it’s hard not to feel the camaraderie among racers. We all have jobs, family, or kids and deal with the challenge of juggling life and making time to ride the bike during the week and race on the weekends. I race with women who are lawyers, teachers, scientists, moms, you name it. Some are only able to train a few days a week, some over 12 hours a week. They are all sort of ages and experience level. The average age of women that race the local DC scene is probably mid-30s, but vary from teens to 50+. Most of these women have only been racing a few years, some just started out, and some have been racing for more years than I’m old. We are all working women in one way or another and training and racing is just how we spend a quarter of our life. Most of my friends are women I’ve met by racing against them. These women with the varied experiences and backgrounds and how we all came to cycling is a source of inspiration in and of itself. My motto is “Be your own role model” but I do draw inspiration from others especially women such as Tracey Lea, Evelyn Egizi, and Sue Hefler who have had a huge impact on the local women’s road racing scene with the nurturing and development of women’s race series and developmental and elite teams. Road cycling isn’t exclusively a team sport, but team tactics do add an interesting dynamic to racing. There are a handful of clubs and teams in the DC region that have a women’s contingent and the number of women finding camaraderie and support with teams is growing with the work of teams like Artemis, CycleLife, C3-Sollay, HPC, Hub, Kenda, NCVC, and Squadra Coppi to name a few that regularly field women for the local races. The women on these teams are racers and advocates. They promote the sport through clinics, supporting events like bike to work day, promoting races, and activism to make the roads safer for all cyclists. The numbers of women racers in the DC metro area have doubled in the past few years in large part due to the work of Evelyn Egizi coordinating the MABRA women’s development series. I started road racing in the DC region because of Evelyn’s work with facilitating the MABRA women’s road race series “dedicated to the development of women of all skill levels to come out and experience bike racing where they can achieve success. And success is not necessarily about winning!” The success of the series is evident by the growth in the number of type of races offered and number of participants. The number of women racing in the DC region has doubled in the past few years and new women are coming out every race. New faces showing up at races all the times and it’s exciting to hear the stories of how they decided to race. The new racers share the enthusiasm and appreciation for cycling and racing. Some come to cycling by accident, by inspiration or encouragement from others, and some from other sporting disciplines looking for a new challenge. Many of these women are taking to competitive cycling as their first sport long after their peers have given up participating in sports for good. How to get started? If you feel you are ready for a challenge and are interested in racing, whether it be road, mountain, or cyclocross, seek out support from one of the local clubs or teams. Make sure your equipment works and is safe. Make sure you are comfortable and fit enough for the endeavor by training with a local club or team and participating in various group rides and practice races that take place throughout the metro DC area. Check out the local race series published online and in local sport magazines. Go watch a few races. Then when you have identified your first race, go do it. For some events, to participate, you will need a racing license which can be purchased at the race. What are you going to do this weekend? The days are long and warm. The weekends should be full of adventure. What new challenges and goals are you undertaking this year? Here’s one, try a race. There are plenty of races to choose from and are within an hour of the DC-Baltimore corridor. Whether you like to bicycle offroad, onroad, or even a triathlon, choose the adventure, and enjoy the new feelings of empowerment that a good challenge can bring. And bring the kids too, many of the races offer a juniors race as well. So you have decided you want to see what racing is all about? Come out and watch one. If the racing bug hasn’t bitten you yet, then come out and have fun watching some of the action. Local race info online at www.mabra.org, www.bikereg.com, www.active.com EDITOR’S NOTE: Melanie Swartz has been racing various cycling disciplines of road, mountain, and cyclocross for the past 10 years and is a member of Team CycleLife local women’s elite team. 26 August 2008
THE CYCLIST'S KITCHEN by NANCY CLARK, MS, RD DEPARTMENTS ALCOHOL, ATHLETES & PRESSURE TO DR<strong>IN</strong>K ASK ANY COACH OR COLLEGE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, and you’ll hear concern about alcohol and athletes. Rightfully so. Alcohol and athletics is a dangerous duo, associated with negative consequences including hangovers, nausea and vomiting, poor grades in school, fights, arguments, memory loss, driving under the influence, and trouble with the law—to say nothing of injuries. Yet, tailgating before football games, quenching thirst at the pub after a team workout, and celebrating victories with champaign is perceived as the norm. College athletes are more likely to drink than nonathletes. Serious recreational runners drink more than their sedentary counterparts. Unfortunately, alcohol is a highly addictive substance and is the most abused drug in the United States, more so than steroids. Prolonged drinking can damage the liver, heart, and brain, and result in cirrhosis, pancreatitis, irregular heart beats, stroke, and malnutrition. More oral cancer is seen among those who are just moderate drinkers as compared to abstainers. What can be done about this problem? To address the problem of alcohol abuse among student-athletes, many college campuses are educating students about social norms—the beliefs about what is normal and expected in social situations. For example, despite popular belief, “everyone” does not drink nor do “most students” get drunk all the time. A 1999 survey at Southern Methodist University asked these four questions to students on a Friday about alcohol use on the previous night: Did you drink last night? Did you get drunk last night? What percentage of SMU students do you think drank last night? What percentage of SMU students do you think got drunk last night? The answers showed major misconceptions about alcohol norms: • Only 20% of students surveyed reported drinking the previous night, yet they believed that over half drank. • Only 8% reported getting drunk, yet they believed at least one-third got drunk. • Of students who drank, most reported consuming only a few drinks per week. Yet they believed most students were drinking 10 to 15 drinks per week. • 35% reported abstaining from alcohol, but very few believed that many of their peers were non-drinkers. (http://smu.edu/healthcenter/alcoholeducation/ adp_socialnorms.asp.) With ongoing social norm education, students will actually change their drinking practices. For example, a three-year social-norm education program targeted Division III athletes in a NY State college. It contributed to a 30% drop in both excessive alcohol consumption and the negative consequences of drinking. Among student-athletes with the highest exposure to the program, personal alcohol misuse dropped 50%. (1) Given that athletes are often role models, this change can have a positive impact on the entire campus and potentially (eventually) our entire sports society. Minimizing negative consequences If you are among the athletes who chooses to drink large amounts of alcohol, take note: • Alcohol is a depressant. Apart from killing pain, it offers no edge for athletes. You can’t be sharp, quick, and drunk. Pre-competition alcohol has a deleterious effect on reaction time, accuracy, balance, eye-hand coordination and endurance. It will not help you exercise faster, stronger, longer. • Late night partying that contributes to sleep deprivation before the next morning’s event hurts performance. • Alcohol is a poor source of carbohydrates. You can get loaded with beer, but your muscles will not get carbo-loaded. A 12-ounce can of beer has only 14 grams of carbs, as compared to 40 grams in a can of soft drink. Eat pretzels, thick-crust pizza or other carbs along with the beer. • Alcohol on an empty stomach can quickly lead to a drunken stupor. Be wise; enjoy the natural high of exercise rather than get brought down by a few post-exercise beers. • Alcohol has a diuretic effect--the more you drink, the more fluids you lose. This is bad for recovery and the next exercise bout. While low-alcohol beer allows for proper rehydration, regular beer sends athletes running to the bathroom. One study showed that athletes who drank beer eliminated We have always been focused on trying to make your cycling experience as enjoyable as possible. Striving to provide the highest quality of service plays a big part in reaching that goal. Whether you ride only a few times each year or cycle every day, have a basic bike or the latest racing machine, we make a point of treating every cyclist as an important customer. We want you to have fun riding! Regardless of what and how much you ride, we are here to help. We have a small but talented staff of older and extremely experienced people, dedicated to making your visit to our store a great one. They are truly motivated to help people, and really care about you, not just how much you spend. We know how to work on bikes old and new, and our advice and guidance for purchasing a new bike is simply the best. We are proud to have been here to serve this community for over 50 years, and intend to be here for many more. —The Sawtelle Family and staff of Laurel Bicycle Center about 16 ounces more urine (over the course of 4 hours) than those who drink low-alcohol (2%) beer or alcohol-free beer. (2) • Your liver breaks down alcohol at a fixed rate (~1 can beer or 4 ounces wine per hour). Exercise does not hasten the process, nor does coffee. Caffeine just makes you a wide-awake drunk. • Drinks that contain congeners—whiskey, cognac, and red wine—are more likely to cause hangovers than other alcoholic beverages. The best hangover remedy is to not drink excessively in the first place. But if you have a hangover, drink a salted beverage with carbs, such as Gatorade or brothy chicken noodle soup. • The calories in alcohol are easily fattening. People who drink moderately tend to consume alcohol calories on top of their regular caloric intake. These excess calories promote body fat accumulation. • Alcohol stimulates the appetite, making it harder to feel full. If you are trying to maintain a lean machine, abstaining is preferable to imbibing. The good news Alcohol in moderation can have health benefits. Red wine, for example, contains health-protective phytochemicals that may reduce the risk of heart disease. What’s “moderation”?—two drinks per day for men, and one for women. And have at least one glass of non-alcoholic beverage for every drink... Laurel Bicycle Center Laurel Bicycle Center 14805 Baltimore Ave. US Rt.1 across from Laurel Mall www.bicyclefun.com 301-953-1223/301-490-7744 Monday-Friday 10 am-7 pm Saturday 9-6/Closed Sunday August 2008 27
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