The Vixens were proud to join Outdoor Chattanooga for the Interpretive Battlefield Ride in the Chickamauga Battlefield this past weekend for the 145^th anniversary celebration of the Battle of Chickamauga.  Bikes are provided by the Bicycle Task Force, and it is a great opportunity for people to explore the battlefield and learn. 

 

Attendance at these rides has been excellent.  The bikes from the Task Force, Outdoor Chattanooga staff and Vixens make for a memorable learning experience for park visitors.  Thanks to Phil Pugliese and Minya James for inviting us!

 

(pictured Vixens are Karen Rogers, Mary Kilbride and Lisa King)

The Vixens have been busy representing at several major events over the past couple weekends, and turned out  some fantastic results.

In road racing, Beth Travers raced the Oak Ridge Omnium (www.oakridgevelo.com) to defend her 2^nd place TBRA standing, and boy did she ever defend it by taking 1^st in the time trial, 2^nd in the road race and another 1^st in the criterium.  Awesome results, though none of us are surprised. Beth has been rocking it out on the road this year, and its been a true pleasure seeing her rise above the competition.  We are all proud to celebrate her achievement.

In adventure racing, Cathi Cannon, Carol Farmer and Jaclyn Greenhill teamed up for the Tsali Challange ( www.noc.com ), Cathi took 4^th in the open women’s category with a 6^th place master’s finish for Carol.  Then the Jaclyn came out and joined Cathi and Carol for the team effort on Sunday, where they took the 2^nd place women’s team finish!  Reports indicate that Jaclyn tore up the run and Cathi dominated the bike course, beating top racer Norma Rainwater and within seconds of the top place finisher.  Way to show them Vixen teamwork girls! 

Meanwhile, Dreama Campbell, Mindy Williford and Cat Thornton participated in the Frantic Frog Sprint Triathlon (www.scottsborotri.com ).  Mindy had strong 6^th place in her age group, Cat took 2^nd place in the Athena division and Dreama was 5^th overall woman and took 1^st in her age group!  Fantastic representation and finishes all around.

The previous weekend Chattanooga hosted its second mountain bike race of the year at Booker T State Park(www.sceniccitymultisport.com).  Karen Rogers  was the lone Vixen but finished off her first season of racing on the dirt with a second place finish.Â

5 Vixens competed in the toughest race in the TBRA season, the BMW River Gorge Ominum.  40 miles of relentless climbing including the Hwy 41 stairsteps and ending with a brutal climb up Raccoon Mountain.  Beth Travers continued to show why she holds the state jersey in Road Race and Time Trial with top three finishes in both!  New comer Robyn Wilham took 6th place in her first road race with Vixens Cecelia, Dreama and Carol all taking top 10 finishes!  One of the most technical timetrials all season saw Vixens Beth, Cecelia and Carol finishing in the top eight!
Sunday’s crit started off rainy and after seeing many crashes in the previous fields, Beth and Carol took it easy finishing 6th and 8th respectively, but keeping the rubber side down.
Just one race left in the TBRA season in Oak Ridge.  Beth, currently in 2nd place for the State, could move up to first if she puts the hammer down.
Good luck Vixens and what a great way to end the season!

This year the Vixens volunteered their time to lead rides for the Chattanooga Bike Club.  The rides occur on the first and third Wednesdays of the month and developed a loyal following.  The rides are co-ed, but advanced beginner friendly.  Come join the fun!

Sunday, August 17 saw Dreama Campbell, Cat Thornton and Michelle Meeks heading to Fall Creek Falls State Park for an Olympic length triathlon.  Michelle raced relay with Krystal Chicks Britta Rusk and Celeste Sneed and took 1st place.  Dreama Campbell took 2nd place in her age group and Cat Thornton took 2nd place Athena.

Fall Creek Falls is a beautiful place to race.  The lake was proclaimed wetsuit legal, but was a warm and cozy 77degrees.  The bike route had Dreama see a personal best split of 1:03 over a hilly course.  Watch out, Dreama’s riding better than the pro triathlete women now!  The run was on a paved trail through the woods, making for a beautiful and shaded route.   If you get the chance, try this one out next year.

It is one fantastic month for the Velo Vixens Cycling Club.

First off, congratulations to Cathi Cannon for her phenomenal performance on a grueling 100 mile course at the Leadville 100 MTB race. Lance Armstrong competed and finished 2nd to Dave Weins who has won 6 times. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the course, just imagine leaving one of the highest cities in North American (Leadville at 10,200 feet) and then pedaling on a combination of hardpack, service roads, trails and loads of obstacles including an ascent up to 12,620ft. ………..and that’s just the first 50 miles, you turn around at Columbine Mine and go back! Cathi rode the course and finished in grand style.

Congratulations to Cathi on her performance during the Leadville Race Across the sky.

The first two weeks of August have been quite action packed. Beth Travers won the Tennessee State Road Race Championship jersey up in Watertown August 2nd. Aimee Harvey and Carol Farmer rode into 3rd and 4th place.

The two race event in Cleveland drew some nice crowds that saw our Carol Farmer finish second in the Criterium on Saturday and then on Sunday the team lined up and took top honors in the time trial. Robyn Wilham joined Beth and Carol to dominate the Women’s Cat 4 field………….finishing 1st (Beth), 2nd (Carol) and 3rd (Robyn). Congratulations to all three.

In addition to these two events, the Sports Barn Sprint Triathlon was Sunday, August 10th.  Vixens competing in this event were Mindy Williford and Tracy Daverson, each making us proud of their strength and hard work.

The SERC series ended Sunday in North Carolina.  Vixens Amy Mace finished the season ranked 6th in the country in the 19-29 beginner age group and Karen Rogers 10th in the 40-49 group.  Great showing for the newbies on some tough courses.

Cathi Cannon will be heading to Leadville Colorado for one of the toughest endurance events, the Leadville 100 mtn bike race.    We wish her well!!!

BIG kudo’s to Beth Travers and Carol Farmer for taking first and second place for Senior Women’s Cat 4! All their hard work this season has come through with great results.

The VeloVixens were on fire at Waterfront this year, and I don’t mean from the heat. In a rain that started near the end of the swim and continued to about the end of the race day, Velovixens showed their stuff. We had a lot to be proud of in our ladies, from the newest member (signed up that day and raced for us. How exciting is that?!) Laurie Imes, to our most impressive first place relay team consisting of Carol Farmer, Cathi Cannon and Kelly Bullock. Cecelia Wigal surprised herself with a 3rd place overall women’s masters finish, but it wasn’t a surprise to the rest of us.

Many of the vixens enjoyed racing the Waterfront. Something about racing a triathlon in our hometown brings us out of the woodwork. Those not racing are still found working to make the event happen, putting down and picking up traffic cones for the bike portion, assisting in set-up and breakdown, and manning the Vixens booth the night before.  The race was fantastic, and we’re proud of all our Vixens.  Weather conditions for the sport were not easy to overcome, but overcome they did!

It has been a while since the last post, but we have not been sitting at home! This past year the Vixens have been cleaning up a stretch of highway we adopted, competing in triathlons, road races, adventure races and anything else that has gotten in our way.

Lets see…

Beth Travers and Carol Farmer have been competing in quite a few TBRA races this year with specatular results. Currently, Carol Farmer is in 3rd overall with Beth a close 4th. Don’t let that fool you about Beth though, she’s been using TBRA races to prep up for Master’s Nationals in Louisville, where she represented the Vixens for a 7th place finish against some of the top talent nationwide in her age group. Way to go Beth! Lest we forget though, Cecelia Wigal has also been competing in TBRA races. She’s been doing a fantastic job supporting Carol and Beth and looking good while doing it. These girls are a credit to us all.

Meanwhile, Cat Thornton tried her first triathlon this year and took 1st place Athena in the Scenic City triathlon. I think she’s hooked, she’s talking about testing her limits with a half iron man. She did a few Georgia Cup races prior to the Scenic City Tri and hasn’t been seen at a road race since. Dreama Campbell finished her second Iron Man, this one in Arizona and brought in an impressive finish, proving once again that she IS superwoman.

Kim Leasure went to Memphis for a rough race in May and reminded us all what good sportsmanship is by helping another competitor get through a tough race to finish. Its not the first time she’s sacrificed her own speed to help someone else that was having trouble, and we are all filled with pride in her willingness to do the right thing, no matter the cost.

Cecelia Wigal also competed in the Mach Tenn triathlon for a 3rd place overall finish.

On the Mountain bike side, Cathi Cannon, Amy Mace and Karen Rogers have been representing very well with top ten finishes all around.

I know I’m missing a lot, but there is just so much that’s gone on that I can’t possibly catch us all up. Next on the calendar is the Waterfront Triathlon, which has quite a few Vixens poised to compete.