RacerChick
Hudson Valley Girl
Last week I was contacted by Nancy Haggerty who writes a weekly column for the Poughkeepsie Journal. She had asked if it would be OK to do a column in the paper about Tommy and I, I was like ... "Hell yea!" Our interview took over an hour on the phone. This is copied from their website today,
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/.../1002/sports/Bicycles-are-built-for-these-two
Bicycles are built for these two
Champion racers Christina and Tom Perkins are newlyweds who take their bikes everywhere they go, even on their honeymoon.
Tom and Christina Perkins drove to their Sept. 19 wedding overlooking the Mid-Hudson Bridge, their car included the essentials for a fun honeymoon.
Inside was Jordan, their best-buddy Weimaraner, and atop were their bikes.
Their destination had nothing to do with sand, surf and foolishness and everything to do with sweat, swiftness and finish lines.
The next day, the couple, who ride for New Paltz's Bicycle Depot, were in upstate Clinton, competing in the first 2009 New York State Cyclocross Series race. That only seemed appropriate. After all, the Marbletown residents met in May 2007 through a fitness singles Web site.
Tom, 48, grew up in Highland. He started road racing in 1990 and later switched to cyclocross, enjoying it so much that in 2006 and 2007, he raced in cyclocross-crazed Belgium.
Christina, who hails from Edison, N.J., started skiing at 5 and competed two years as a pro freestyle skier. She also raced motocross from Florida to New Jersey's Englishtown Raceway Park and won the Meadowlands Supercross. She competed for 18 years, finishing in expert women division. In 2002 after badly breaking a shoulder she retired from the sport.
When they met, Christina, who competed in 16 mountain-bike and 18 cyclocross races this year, was a devoted recreational cyclist. Of bicycle racing, she said: "I didn't have a clue what this stuff was about.''
The answer is day-in, day-out commitment.
The day after their wedding, Christina won her race, then went head-over-handlebars en route to watch Tom, who was eighth in his.
That would have been more amusing were she fully recovered from breaking a collarbone in 2007, mountain-bike racing at Stewart Forest.
But spills sometimes hurt less than losses.
Recently, Christina seemed a sure lock for third in the season-closing New Jersey Cyclocross State Championships, part of the Jersey Cyclocross Cup Series. But in the last 50 feet she was passed to finish fourth.
"I was so mad," said Christina, who, denied a medal, walked away mumbling, the tamer things involving this not happening again.
Cycling is work and a science, with sleep, liquid intake, dietary supplements and heart-rate monitoring part of the equation.
"It's a real job to do what we do," said Christina, whose actual profession is surveying.
But there are paychecks in life and there are real rewards. This year, she won the nine-race New York State Cyclocross Championship women's category 4 title involving Northeasterners; was third in women's category 2 in the Hudson 2 Highlands Mountain Bike Series; and was fourth in women's category 4 in New Jersey's Cyclocross Cup Series.
Facing many more competitors, Tom doesn't boast the same success. But three years ago, he captured fifth overall n the 45+ division in the Jersey Cyclocross Cup Series. He's much stronger than Christina.
In cyclocross, the Bicycle Depot mechanic competes in categories 1-3, 45-plus masters, often facing pros. He did place 8th in the NYCross Series.
For Christina, anything less than a podium means disappointment.
Through motocross, she aggressively tackles corners. But while she has a 42-beats-per-minute resting heart rate, she'll sometimes lag climbing hills and is still building her "engine.''
Officially, their season starts with mountain-bike races in April and ends with cyclocross in December. But theirs is a 12-month, there-are-no-other-hobbies commitment.
Yes, particularly in bad weather, it's sometimes hard to get out the door. But they can't stay home, Christina said, because "you have such a high energy level.
"You can't help but get back (home) being in a great mood," she said. "The endorphins kick in."
With cyclocross now over and two weeks slated for healing, the Perkinses are still weight-training. By January, they'll start three months of multiple-hour road rides as mountain-bike prep.
"If you have a bad foundation, you can't last in a race," Christina explained.
And ultimately, while good health and even the ability to wolf down Devil Dogs with no downside are motivators, this is about racing.
"I don't know if I were not racing that I'd ride my bike as much," said Tom.
"Doing well in a race makes it all worth it," Christina said. " ... I hate riding my bike sometimes. (But) it's the desire to have a goal to compete — to beat that 19-year-old."
She also wants to race in the 2010 mountain-bike nationals, riding a level up at expert. Eventually, she'd like to win a divisional national championship. It would be easier in mountain, but she won't rule out cyclocross.
"People who live without a goal are kind of a shell," Christina said. " ... If you don't have goals in your sport, what's the sense of doing it?"
Nancy Haggerty's Without Limits column appears on Sunday in the Poughkeepsie Journal.
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/.../1002/sports/Bicycles-are-built-for-these-two
Bicycles are built for these two
Champion racers Christina and Tom Perkins are newlyweds who take their bikes everywhere they go, even on their honeymoon.
Tom and Christina Perkins drove to their Sept. 19 wedding overlooking the Mid-Hudson Bridge, their car included the essentials for a fun honeymoon.
Inside was Jordan, their best-buddy Weimaraner, and atop were their bikes.
Their destination had nothing to do with sand, surf and foolishness and everything to do with sweat, swiftness and finish lines.
The next day, the couple, who ride for New Paltz's Bicycle Depot, were in upstate Clinton, competing in the first 2009 New York State Cyclocross Series race. That only seemed appropriate. After all, the Marbletown residents met in May 2007 through a fitness singles Web site.
Tom, 48, grew up in Highland. He started road racing in 1990 and later switched to cyclocross, enjoying it so much that in 2006 and 2007, he raced in cyclocross-crazed Belgium.
Christina, who hails from Edison, N.J., started skiing at 5 and competed two years as a pro freestyle skier. She also raced motocross from Florida to New Jersey's Englishtown Raceway Park and won the Meadowlands Supercross. She competed for 18 years, finishing in expert women division. In 2002 after badly breaking a shoulder she retired from the sport.
When they met, Christina, who competed in 16 mountain-bike and 18 cyclocross races this year, was a devoted recreational cyclist. Of bicycle racing, she said: "I didn't have a clue what this stuff was about.''
The answer is day-in, day-out commitment.
The day after their wedding, Christina won her race, then went head-over-handlebars en route to watch Tom, who was eighth in his.
That would have been more amusing were she fully recovered from breaking a collarbone in 2007, mountain-bike racing at Stewart Forest.
But spills sometimes hurt less than losses.
Recently, Christina seemed a sure lock for third in the season-closing New Jersey Cyclocross State Championships, part of the Jersey Cyclocross Cup Series. But in the last 50 feet she was passed to finish fourth.
"I was so mad," said Christina, who, denied a medal, walked away mumbling, the tamer things involving this not happening again.
Cycling is work and a science, with sleep, liquid intake, dietary supplements and heart-rate monitoring part of the equation.
"It's a real job to do what we do," said Christina, whose actual profession is surveying.
But there are paychecks in life and there are real rewards. This year, she won the nine-race New York State Cyclocross Championship women's category 4 title involving Northeasterners; was third in women's category 2 in the Hudson 2 Highlands Mountain Bike Series; and was fourth in women's category 4 in New Jersey's Cyclocross Cup Series.
Facing many more competitors, Tom doesn't boast the same success. But three years ago, he captured fifth overall n the 45+ division in the Jersey Cyclocross Cup Series. He's much stronger than Christina.
In cyclocross, the Bicycle Depot mechanic competes in categories 1-3, 45-plus masters, often facing pros. He did place 8th in the NYCross Series.
For Christina, anything less than a podium means disappointment.
Through motocross, she aggressively tackles corners. But while she has a 42-beats-per-minute resting heart rate, she'll sometimes lag climbing hills and is still building her "engine.''
Officially, their season starts with mountain-bike races in April and ends with cyclocross in December. But theirs is a 12-month, there-are-no-other-hobbies commitment.
Yes, particularly in bad weather, it's sometimes hard to get out the door. But they can't stay home, Christina said, because "you have such a high energy level.
"You can't help but get back (home) being in a great mood," she said. "The endorphins kick in."
With cyclocross now over and two weeks slated for healing, the Perkinses are still weight-training. By January, they'll start three months of multiple-hour road rides as mountain-bike prep.
"If you have a bad foundation, you can't last in a race," Christina explained.
And ultimately, while good health and even the ability to wolf down Devil Dogs with no downside are motivators, this is about racing.
"I don't know if I were not racing that I'd ride my bike as much," said Tom.
"Doing well in a race makes it all worth it," Christina said. " ... I hate riding my bike sometimes. (But) it's the desire to have a goal to compete — to beat that 19-year-old."
She also wants to race in the 2010 mountain-bike nationals, riding a level up at expert. Eventually, she'd like to win a divisional national championship. It would be easier in mountain, but she won't rule out cyclocross.
"People who live without a goal are kind of a shell," Christina said. " ... If you don't have goals in your sport, what's the sense of doing it?"
Nancy Haggerty's Without Limits column appears on Sunday in the Poughkeepsie Journal.
Last edited:
