Eating, drinking and riding

Athena is an independent cycling team composed of fourth-year rider Mavourneen Ryan and rookies Allison Ware and Anna Schwartz. Ryan has been a part of every Athena team and feels the team gets stronger each year. \nRyan, a senior, met Ware, a junior, over the summer, and they began training as soon as the academic year began. Ryan and Ware then met Schwartz, a sophomore, in mid-November. Although Ryan and Ware were well into their training, Schwartz began an intense training program and was soon on pace with the team. \nA typical workout for team Athena consists of not just one, but two workouts.\nThe first workout is always held on the track, where, earlier in the semester, the team focused on sprints and exchanges. After qualifications, the team's focus shifted to pack work. To practice riding with the pack, the team focused on maneuvering, catching the pack and breaking out of the pack.\nThe second workout is held on the rollers after the track, which is where the team works on its form and sprints. \nWhen the weather is nice, and the team members can coordinate their busy schedules, they try to go for road rides. While most students relax on the weekend, the members of Athena ride for distance. Last week, the team completed a 100-lap set on the track to prepare for race day.\n"I think that our team has meshed really well," Ware said. "We're all really good friends, and we like what we're doing." \nWare also said one of the best parts of being on the cycling team is the new people she has met. On race day she will be cheering for more than just her team. \n"There are so many great girls out there on bikes that it will make the race so much more fun," Ware said.\nAthena relies heavily on videotape to make it a better team. The riders taped exchanges while practicing for qualifications and planned to watch their performance in the practice race as well as races from past years.\nThe riders don't have a special diet, but they do abstain from drinking alcohol. Everything else is fair game. \n"It comes to a point no matter what you put in your body you're going to burn off," Ryan said. \nIn general the team eats a lot of cereal, trail mix and power bars. The team members always make a point of drinking more water than they think is necessary so they do not become dehydrated. \nAlthough the team only has three riders, the riders don't feel it's at a disadvantage. \nTeam captain Ryan feels the team's strongest asset on the track is the way the girls' personalities mesh. She said they often joke that Ware is the attitude of the team, Schwartz is the enthusiasm and Ryan is the patience.\nAlthough the team placed 14th in qualifications, it knows the real test is April 19. In the individual time trials, Athena was one of only a small number of teams to have two riders in the top 20. Ware finished 18th with a time of 2:51:62, and Ryan finished 20th with a time of 2:52:00. \nIn the Erickson points standings, the team is currently in 9th place, with a total of 103 points.