Jen has made her way down to Oklahoma to race in the Tulsa Tough. Three days of racing that has brought in some of the nation's premier women's teams. Best of luck Jen! Rawk it, don't hawk it.

Check the Tulsa Tough website HERE.

Two websites posted articles about the bikes we're using. First, Ana was featured on True Sport discussing anthropometrics and the design of a women's specific bike. Second, Kelli has an article on Bike Iowa going through every component on her bike in some pretty great detail. Check'm out.

An awesome couple of races to finish out the Memorial Day Weekend! Following Snake Alley we moved north along the river to Muscatine to rock the Melo City Criterium where Kelli took another second place, followed by Chris, Ana, and Emily all in the front groups. Jen showed some strength in the P123 Category landing 13th, just outside of the money.



The next day at the Quad Cities Criterium (Rage In The Cage) Kelli and Emily worked very well together to put Kelli in third while the days may have seemed to take their toll on Jen and Jane in both of their Monday races.

In all, we had a fabulous showing, landed on the podium quite a bit, and everyone came home safe. Big thanks to all the people that make that weekend of racing happen! HERE are our photos from the entire weekend!

We had our run at Snake Alley today... and we're very pleased with the outcome. In the Women's Cat-123 race Jane placed a solid 16th while Jen was just behind finishing 20th.

In the Women's Cat-4 race Kelli took second in a very tight sprint while Ana had her greatest race of the year, finishing fourth. All the girls are on a high from the day of racing and looking forward to the next two days criteriums in Muscatine and Rock Island.

Photos are HERE. Video of Jane climbing the Snake is HERE.

For the first time in many years there is a women's race on Friday at the Memorial Day Weekend Bike Races in Eastern Iowa. The road race from Wapello to Mediapolis was only 23 miles, and the showing for the Category 4 women wasn't as great as it could have been, but PRC was proud to represent and show our thanks for giving the women four days of racing.

In the final five miles Kelli and Chris launched an attack that would give them 1st and 2nd respectively. In the chase, Kristin Gallagher, took fourth behind All 9er Dee Mable in a heated 2-woman sprint. Congratulations ladies!

See photos from the Wapello-Mediapolis Road Race HERE.

The entire team will be racing this weekend in Burlington, Iowa for the Snake Alley Criterium. Snake Alley is one of the most popular streets in the world, it has it's own website, it has a Wiki, and this weekend it will have it's way with us. Snake Alley consists of five half-curves and two quarter-curves over a distance of 275 feet, rising 58.3 feet in one very short block (and with our Iowa river-town math skills, that tells us an average gradient of 21%).

Here's the race flier. We're racing at 10:15am & 2:15pm. Please join us this Saturday in Burlington for an absolutely great time!

We will have regular posting, photos, videos, and results from Snake Alley and all of our races throughout Memorial Day Weekend here on this website. Check back.

The team has been featured in the May 21st issue of Juice magazine, a publication aimed at young professionals in Des Moines. The article is titled "Break A Nail" by Brianne Sanchez and covers three groups of local women in tough sports. There are hundreds of stands scattered all over the city loaded with free issues of Juice so be sure to grab yourself a copy. In the meantime, check out all the photos from the Juice photo shoot HERE or read the article on the Juice website HERE.

I am sitting here trying to figure out what to write about, my little world, the PRC world, or some “insiders” knowledge about bike racing? Well, I guess really those three things can be summed up in talking about my Sunday. So here it goes the life of a PRC chick, student, partner, Iowa transplant, CNA, and home-maker.

Sunday, 6 a.m. I wake up to a text message. Before I look, I know it’s Donny, the only person to send me messages so darn early. He wants to meet for our ride at 7.40 instead of 8: OK that works DQ but maybe next time you can wait till 7 to send the text. I barely get out the door in time to sprint down Grand Ave. and meet Donny at the Ritual Café (which is closed that early for future reference). We head to Waterworks where we chat with some tri kids before taking off to do the first half of the Hy-vee triathlon bike course. We took it easy, rode through town, and chatted with some fellow riders for a bit before splitting off to do a longer route.

After riding for a while, Donny informs me he has some ideas of things we could work on. We covered getting out of the saddle and sprinting (which includes swinging one’s bike all over the place), riding without hands (shouldn’t I have learned this when I was like 7?), and making bodily contact with another rider out on the roads (last time I attempted this it ended up in a crash). It turned out to be a fabulous ride and I learned TONS.

Once I got home it was time to shower, eat, and get to school work. Ha! What was I thinking? I was so wiped out I couldn’t focus, so after about two pages of lecture notes I took a nap. After waking up, I attempted once again to get back to work. Well that only lasted so long before I remembered I desperately needed to do errands. So off to the Laundromat I went, followed by a quick trip to the car wash. Once home it was out the door for a walk with a boyfriend, who I take every opportunity possible to hang out with as school has taken over most of his life. The rest of the night was spent putting away laundry, making granola, attempting to do some studying and then worrying if I am going to survive the 3, instead of 2, night shifts at work this week.

It was a full day but nothing unusual around here and unfortunately it did not include enough school work, again not unusual. So here I go starting another day after a late night at work (home by 12a) by running off to the library before class to print some hand outs, go to class all day (8-4:30), jump on my bike for about an hour, meet with a friend in need, hopefully get some school work done, and then get to bed at a decent time. But at the end of the day, I would not give any of it up. Being a member of the PRC crew has kept me sane, most the time, and each week I have a blast seeing all you on the Wednesday night rides. So till then . . . let’s all remember to breath.

-Ana

Nearly all bike racing in the US is governed by USA Cycling, a Colorado-based company that provides insurance, training for race officials, training for coaches, club membership programs, junior-women-master-whatever cycling funds, and the rules and regulations that come along with it. To do a bike race in Iowa you will likely have to buy a $10 one-day license or the annual license for $60. Then you'll have to join a club and that club has paid their fee of $100-$150 in order to be called a club (you don't have to, unless you want to be allowed to win at state championship events). If the club wants to be a "team" they'll have to shell out some more cash to USAC and host a race which involves hiring an official and paying all the needed fees.

Once you're at the race and you've purchased your license, then you'll be paying the entry fee. Within that entry fee the promoter will be paying money to USAC for the hiring of the race official and provide insurance should you have a crash during the event (but read that waiver closely... it allows the governing bodies and their insurance provider the privilege of not paying for your injuries).

You'll get a race number, pin it on your jersey, and step up to the line to find a a race official who will tell you that you don't have the right kind of bike, or that your jersey must have sleeves, or that particular helmet is not approved. There are a number of reasons why, at your first race, you may not be racing. While USAC does a great job taking money from first time racers, they do a poor job explaining to them all the things they'll need to have in place in order to do one race.

This is why PRC has decided to host as many events as possible without the help from USAC or USAT (the T stands for Triathlon). By skipping the middle man and officiating our events we save a ton of money and can set the rules for all the beginner bike racers. Wanna race with a flat bar road bike? No problem. No sleeves on your jersey? No problem. Wearing jeans? No problem. Our race are truly... beginner friendly.

But what about the insurance? Well that's easy. Real easy. Just call Jed over at Holmes Murphy and he will get you set up with the EXACT insurance program that USAC and USAT provide except for one slight hitch- IT'S CHEAPER!

We're sure for national events and much larger races the governing bodies for our sports are needed, but at smaller local events like the PRC Race Like A Girl this Thursday or our Duathlon next week... we prefer to pull a DIY tactic and make our sport truly beginner friendly.

The PRC crew made their way to Madison, Wisconsin this past weekend to race Wheels On Willy. Jane and Kelli landed some impressive top ten finishes in Saturday's Road Race while PRC Asylum member Kristin took the women's cat-4 victory. And in the Sunday criteriums Kelli stormed to first place in the women's cat-4 race and then competed again in the women's open with Jane. A great weekend of racing, a great course, a great time. Thanks to everyone who made the trip happen and to Lou for the car-share.

We could chat about the 10 things you should be doing at a bike race, like cheering on juniors, or volunteering, or doing hand-ups for your team, or paying entry fee for a PRC rider... but simply, that type of list isn’t as fun. You can call these acts a faux pas or unwritten rules but no matter what, do your best to avoid these common mistakes when you’re at a bike race.

(This list applies to guys and gals alike)

10. Do Not Wear All White
An often seen Cat-3 mistake. Enjoying European panache is one thing, but you’re not Paolo Bettini. Rocking the all white uniform does not make you look tougher, it makes you look like an anorexic Pillsbury Doughboy. Poke the tummy and watch the biscuits rise!

9. Do Not Say, “I’m Just Here For Training”
Training does not require an annual license. Training does not pin on a number. You don’t drive 2.5 hours to train. This is called a bike race and you should try treating it like such. Telling us that you’re here for the training is the same as telling us you’re about to get it handed to you.

8. Do Not Hang Out Post-Race In Your Chammois
Now this is just gross. You’ve just spent two hours crotch flooding the basement and now you’re casually drinking a brew on the sidelines. Meanwhile, what’s happening downstairs? You really want to know? It rhymes with Beast Rejection. Strip it off kids and clean it up before it becomes another Area 51.

7. Do Not Wear Make-Up While Racing
Sweetie. You look absolutely adorable at the start line with all that eye-liner but 5 miles in - you look like a morning after, two-wheeled walk of shame. This is a bike race and it is perfectly okay to sweat, stink, spit, snot, and have massively matted helmet hair. Really, it’s ok.

6. Do Not Wear Underwear Under Your Cycling Shorts
Looks like we got ourselves a Johnny Underpants! Do we really need to expand on this one? Cycling shorts are designed to be seamless, soft, stretchy, and they wick away moisture. But wait! What if I added a layer of cotton seams to rub up between me and this saddle? That’ll feel incredible.

5. Do Not Apply Baby Oil to Your Shaven Arms
Shaving your legs is a safety thing. Applying baby oil to your legs is an image thing that almost made this list. But shaving and oiling your arms is just too far. You are not about to be shot for the cover of Muscle Stud USA, there are no judges ranking your looks, and you’ve likely just stained your white arm warmers.

4. Do Not Give Us Your Excuses
Out of 100 people racing 99 of them are going to lose. And there is nothing worse than hearing 99 whiny excuses for why you should of, could of, and would of… had that one thing not happened. Own your loss, learn from it, and move on.

3. Do Not Go Trolling Bike Races Looking For Girls
A common mistake amongst the Cat 4-5 rookies… they just can’t seem to notice the obvious. There is one single woman for every 35 single guys at a bike race, and it’s very likely that 30 of those guys are better looking, 15 of those guys have already dated her, and the sixteenth is taking her out after today’s crit. Give it up young buck.

2. Do Not Talk Trash About Your Teammates
Talking trash about your teammates says only one thing about you. That you think too much of yourself and have no respect for the scene. You’re the same type of guy we’d find saying something like, “Don’t hate the playa, hate the game”. Try on some humility. Respect and encouragement go a long way.

1. Do Not Wear The Livestrong Anklet
This is the all time fashion crime. It is absolutely unacceptable. Are you seriously wearing that? It’s like you’re promoting cancer research, but with a bit of middle-school-hippie flair. Don’t talk to me. In fact, just go over there. Over there by the porta-potty. And stay there.

Next Thursday, the 22nd, will be the second running of PRC's Race Like A Girl series. This event is three short bike races that are perfect for beginners to learn the ropes and a great chance for the faster cats to knock out some intervals.

The event will start at 5:30pm
Registration opens at 4:45pm
$10 for guys, $5 for girls
Events are insured, no USAC license needed.
Three categories: Women, Men A, and Men B



UNION PARK IS LOCATED 1 MILE NORTH OF I-235 ON PENNSYLVANIA (PENN) AVE. From I-235 take the Pennsylvania (E.6th or Penn) Exit. Head north on Pennsylvania Ave 1 mile, and the park will be on your right hand side. Here's a map.

The course is a 1km loop with only soft turns and just one slight incline. Everyone will do at least 3 shorter races, giving you triple the opportunity to develop pack riding skills and take home a podium spot.

If you're cool, then tonight you'll find yourself on the Ritual Ride. This is a weekly ride that we're hosting. All abilities are expected to attend. We've been averaging 30-50 people each week, and have had nothing but absolute fun. So bring a friend and have them bring a friend as well.

MEET US AT: Ritual Cafe. On 13th St between Grand & Locust. Downtown Des Moines. We will leave at 5:30pm.

DISTANCE: Roughly 22 miles once you make it back to the start point.

PACE: Very social. Casual. Cool. Calm. Fun. Recovery. Whatever you need to tell yourself so that you understand attacks, break aways, and sprints have no place on this ride.

BRING: All bikes welcome, road bikes recommended. Pack the needed tools to change a flat tire. Check the weather and dress appropriately.

AFTERWARD: Join us at Ritual Cafe for smoothies, coffees, and pastries. Ritual Cafe extends their hours on Wednesdays for this ride AND offers a discount to all the cyclists who attend.

PRC Women will have riders at the back of the pack. That way no one gets lost or suffers a mechanical alone. We can't wait to see you!!

Jen has recently mentioned what she refers to as her "Cat 1 Attitude" and what has since been dubbed, "CATTITUDE". Your race category is one thing: you can be a beginner category 4 rider, a mid-level category 3 rider, or you're in the upper tier as a category 2 or 1. But no matter what category you're racing if you don't have the right CATTITUDE then your racing experiences are likely to be a bit miserable.

What makes a good CATTITUDE? Focus mostly. Focus on the balances between family, work, school, and training. Focus on the proper regimen mentally, physically, and physiologically. If your goal is to race at the best possible then you have to ask yourself if you have the proper CATTITUDE.

How am I balancing my family/work/school life with my cycling? What are my stress levels when I think about racing? What are my goals and are the steps I'm taking towards my goals appropriate? Am I getting enough rest? Am I eating as well as I could? Am I thinking positively about myself and my ability? And on and on.... you get the idea. The old saying goes, whether you think you can or think you can't; you're probably right. For every time you say you are unable to achieve something there are hundreds of people proving you wrong. We'd like to hear from any of you... how do you develop a good CATTITUDE?

For the remainder of the season we're going to have Chris Maravelas joining PRC in a number of road races and criteriums. Chris is known as Christina to the IRS, the student loan collectors, and the guy from Columbia Record House. Chris will be flying the PRC flag at all remaining Iowa Cup events, the state championship road race and criterium, as well as the Downers Grove Criterium. Chris took her trial run with the team in Iowa City a few weeks back where she took third in the Women's Category 4 road race and first place in the criterium. Welcome aboard Chris!

Happy Birthday MARIA!
Tonight. You, me, and a whole posse of people who love ya. Tandoor. Rawk.

One of our goals as a team is to promote women in the sport. To get our numbers up locally and then develop a system for increasing them regionally. Tonight's showing at the local Elkhart Time Trials was a sign that women's cycling locally is taking the right steps forward. Women represented nearly 1/3 of the 70-some participants. Awesome indeed!

Jane set the bar with a 17:28 finish time over the 12km, out-n-back course. But nipping at her heels we had our farmed-in rookie to PRC, Chris Maravelas with 17:48 and Kelli Mente with 17:54. Maria took silver in the Women's Cat 4 group behind Lindsaey Heim.

After the individual TT efforts. Jane, Kelli, Chris, and Emily threw their hat in for doing another run. This time as a team... and had the team not had the world's most ridiculously bunked up start they likely would have done better than 17:58. But that was still enough to take first place amongst the teams (being they were the only team to do the time trial).

Here are the PHOTOS. Enjoy.

Check out full results HERE.

Look for four of the PRC crew at the first of this year's Elkhart Time Trials. The 12km, out and back TT is a local favorite. Jane, Kelli, Maria, and Emily will all be doing individual TT efforts followed by a team TT.

For the event the girls will be using the Specialized Transition E5 Comp, Zipp wheels, and the Giro Advantage helmet. Check out video on the bike HERE.

If you'd like to come out here's the race info.

DO THE RITUAL RIDE and SEE EMILY'S MEAN FACE!!

The weather this afternoon/evening looks to be great for another addition of the PRC Ritual Ride! Remember we're meeting at Ritual Cafe on 13th between Locust and Grand (downtown Des Moines). The ride leaves at 5:30 and we'll be doing a 22-mile loop on paved bike path and rolling highway. All abilities are welcome, road bikes recommended.

Check out THE ROUTE.

Big congratulations go to Jen for graduating Massage Therapy School! Jen has been rubbing away at people's backs up in Green Bay for the past six months and now, with the certification in the bag, Jen has two things to do: 1) Go race at the Joe Martin Stage Race in Fayetteville, Arkansas and 2) move down to Des Moines to be with the team.

We can't wait to have you full time in the 515 Jen!

About two weeks ago Kelli was riding the Tuesday Night World Championship ride out of Des Moines. A couple of guys got tangled up in front of her and she had no choice but to ride right through them. Her helmet, clothes, and bike came out of the crash absolutely fine. She took the entire impact with her face. Since then she's made huge steps in healing and has already logged quite a few miles in the saddle.

10. I was riding a Trek.
9. I asked Donny if it was cool that I miss a workout.
8. Crazy intense game of bowling on my Nintendo Wii.
7. Quitting my last job wasn't as pain free as I thought it'd be.
6. Backyard wrestling is the cat's meow!
5. She seems nice, but let me tell ya, Emily is a mean drunk. Mean.
4. What, you've never gone snow tubing in the summer?
3. First place at the concrete eating contest right here sucka!
2. What'd you say? Did you just dawg my mama?!?!

And the number one response from Kelli.

1. This is nothing. You should have seen what I did to that punk Jane.

How many times have you had someone tell you you're crazy for cycling? I rode my bike for two hours. Oh my, you're crazy! I raced this past weekend. Oh my, you're crazy! I paid $2000 or more for my bike. Oh my, you're crazy. I ride my bike 5 days a week. Oh my, you're crazy. I rode my bike in freezing temperatures. Oh my, you're crazy. I'm not like you. Oh my, you're crazy.


Well... now you can live up to their claim and tell them you've committed yourself to the ASYLUM. Hosted by the women of Punk Rock Cycling, the ASYLUM is where cycling women of all ability, age, and goals can find other like-minded gals who enjoy every part of their two-wheeled craziness. Women in the PRC ASYLUM are treated to special discounts at all PRC events plus a membership package stacked with clothing and other goodies. Welcome to your retreat, COMMIT TO THE ASYLUM.

Over the past month we've gathered a great collection of photos from our weekly Ritual Ride. The ride, which is held every Wednesday at 5:30pm, has averaged about 40 people and has been roughly 2/3 women. The route is 22 miles of paved bike path and rolling highway. If you're in the Des Moines area and would like to join in... meet us at Ritual Cafe on 13th between Locust and Grand (downtown), Wednesdays at 5:30pm. All abilities are welcome and road bikes are recommended.

Check out all the RITUAL RIDE PHOTOS.

We had an awesome time at last night's PRC Duathlon. We'd like to shoot a huge thanks to everyone who came out and raced... it was our pleasure for sure watching you all suffer through the wind. ;) Many many thanks need to go to Kelli and Jane for their great organization on this event as well as all the volunteers (Craig, Steve, Rick, Lou, Darrell, Jesse, Tracy, the crew at Visionary Services and everyone else who we may be forgetting at the moment). And of course a shout to the Elder Corporation and RBS Safety Training for making sure this event had as little overhead as possible. Mucho gracias.


For the event we're proud to crown winners Jane Riessen and Patrick Riley with the wonderfully coveted leaders jerseys from Specialized. And Kristin Gallagher got free entry fee for finishing in the middle of the pack, earning the right to call herself the Most Mediocre.

And for all of our bike-geek friends at Specialized and Shimano we thought this would be some extra cool information for you. Of all 38 bikes used in the duathlon there were:

Join us tonight at the PRC Training Duathlon held at Big Creek State Park!! These duathlons are the perfect chance to prep yourself for the Hy-Vee Triathlon, Flatland Series, or any multipsport event. DOWNLOAD THE RACE PACKET!

Fastest finishers will wear the PRC Duathlon Leaders Jersey (pictured) but free entry fee will be given to the person finishing exactly in the middle (most mediocre). SWEET!

LOCATION: Big Creek State Park
START TIME: 6pm
DISTANCES: 2 mile run - 12 mile bike - 2 mile run
DOWNLOAD THE RACE PACKET!

Check out the courses: BIKE COURSE - RUN COURSE