They call her the bullet.
Lauren Hall, a Mississippi native, who now calls Dolores home, is known as the bullet in the cycling world.
As a professional cyclist, Hall said she couldnt have a better nickname.
My grandfather played in the NFL in the 30s and was on the first 49ers team, Hall said of her grandfather Parker Hall. His nickname was Bullet, and thats my nickname on the track, so Im so honored.
Hall, 32, said growing up in Mississippi with two older brothers, she always took to athletics and always wanted to be a pro athlete like her grandfather was.
Hall began that quest as a soccer player, playing on a full-ride athletic scholarship at Mississippi State. She played semi-pro for some time and then bought a bike.
I got the bug immediately, Hall recalled.
That is when Hall knew she had to move, and go up in elevation where hills and altitude would help hone her biking skills and fitness.
Hall has trained and lived in Dolores for three years.
Dolores is such a cool town, Hall said. This is a great place to train and be an athlete.
She trains with Michael Engleman, a Dolores resident and founder of the U.S. Womens Cycling Development Program. Engleman was a pro cyclist, too, and rode for teams like Coors Lite and US Postal.
I couldnt have done any of this without Michael, Hall said.
On Monday, Sept. 12, Hall said it was an easy day. She was just going to ride to Rico and back. The hard training days, Hall said, involve trash cans.
On trash day, we spring for cans. Those days are tough. There are a lot of cans, she said with a smile.
Hall rides with Colavita/Forno dAsolor Pro Cycling, which is the No. 1 team in the United States, for the second year in a row.
Hall just finished the road racing circuit, and will begin competing at indoor races. Her road racing year was quite successful, winning the 2011 THF Realty Gateway Cup Series in St. Louis. Also this year, Hall won the Best Colorado Rider for the Criterium in Aspen. She won the Climbers Jersey in Altuna, Penn., after the longest road race of the year, 98 miles, in the Tour de Toona.
Hall went to California last week to prepare for the USA Cycling Elite National Championships at the Home Depot Velodrome near Los Angeles. A velodrome is usually an indoor, wooden race track that is 250 meters long with a 45-degree slope.
You can get up to 50 mph in there, Hall said.
This is all on fixed-gear bikes without brakes.
Hall hopes to win a national title in California during the USA Cycling Elite National Championships on Sept. 28 through Oct. 1.
I want to win a national championship on the track and go on to worlds, she said.
Fans can follow Hall on these sites:
http://laurenthall.blogspot.com.
http://www.teamcolavita.com.
