so out of shape

I'm a fair weather cyclist. If I have to wear more than 2 layers I just say no. I have no desire to ride when it's cold. NONE. I don't even miss it really. I usually preoccupy myself with cross training indoors and the internet.
I don't know how to explain it but if I can't ride the way I want to ride, riding just doesn't interest me. Bundled up in a lot of clothes- mostly the big gloves- I can't handle the bike the way I want. Trails are usually snow or ice covered in spots so I can't ride as aggressive as I'd like.
Yesterday I was bored. It was technically a rest day so I had nothing planned for working out. The sun and 50 degree temps motivated me to get outside. So I went downstairs to pump up my mountain bike tires. I grabbed my helmet,shoes and their covers. Threw on my wool knickers, jersey, windproof jacket and my mint green dakine gloves and headed outside with music cranking through my headphones.
My plan was just to hit up the paved loop. Not a mile into my ride I knew this was going to be a mistake so I decided that after crossing Harlem I'd head over to the Swallow Cliff area. A destination if anything. I didn't feel bad really but I knew I had a tail wind for much of the ride. I ignored that there wouldn't be a tail wind on the way home on the straightest hilliest portion of my ride. I planned to just head out to Rte 83 and back, but of course when I saw the entrance to the multi-track how could I resist? So I dumped in. It was wet. It's been worse however. I rode to Rambo Hill and then headed home on Kean to 119th.


Man, was I out of shape. It wasn't so much that I was struggling as how slow going it felt. I know the wind didn't help. And I suppose I wasn't expecting much different as I haven't ridden my bike in a long time. But for some reason when you've been off the bike for so long, when you get back on it's like your body remembers how fast you were when you rode last and it just doesn't respond.
Still, it was such a nice day to be out. I was thankful for my wool as times I was super sweaty, and then pretty chilled.
My legs felt like jello for a little bit once I got home (mind you I rode a mere 16 miles) but later on I felt normal as I do today. I think mostly because I didn't eat before or during. I'm glad to get that first ride out of the way and looking forward to it just getting easier from here on out.
I was reminded how much I miss riding even though it wasn't singletrack. Though I was happiest in the trees. Just something about it that makes me feel so alive and happy.

If anybody is interested...

John is selling his white Spot CX bike (need to get measurements) as well as his orange Gary Fisher Ferrous (med- 17.5").
I'll also be selling my Blue carbon cx bike.

As soon as I collect all the details I'll post 'em up.

It's 2012.

I can't believe it's a new year already.
As I get older it seems like time just flies.
We ended the year at a cross race and started one with the same.
I don't do resolutions but with that said I really need to get back into a routine of putting some sort of work out into my schedule. I'm still having wrist issues from my crash at Sheboygan back in October. I don't think I wrote about it. Or did I? Huh.
Anyway, I can't do yoga or push ups. I can ride. But jumping at Ray's eventually becomes an issue.
Ray's. It's what's on my mind for the winter. Hopefully I'll get out there this week.
I plan on being there the 15th for sure.
Mountain biking is not on the brain yet. I just put all the IL races in my calender. I haven't done that for WORS yet, which I guess says a lot for what I plan to do this year.
I miss WORS how it used to be but I won't miss what it eventually became for us.
It's just after 11pm. I'm pretty tired but just not ready to say goodbye to Sunday yet.

The Last IL Homegrown Race

I was sick. So sick leading up to the last race. I had such mixed feelings on racing.
I just had to show up and finish to keep my 2nd overall in the series. At first I thought we had to do 3 laps for 24 miles. That's a bit rough being sick, but then I found out us ladies were doing 2 laps. I could totally do 2 laps for 16 miles. All I had to do was finish.

So we drove down to the Farmdale Reservoir to finish out the series. For the first time racing in near Peoria all year there were a couple unfamiliar faces at the start line. Which is great, but figures it would be the race where I wasn't going to be that competitive. It was a struggle with myself to hold myself back.

I love the atmosphere at these races. It's just so laid back. It's perfect for me actually. People just wanting to go ride their mountain bikes fast on single track.

We were off. It was a fairly slow start which surprised me. I thought they'd be giving it a little go. I was third on my way into the singletrack when second place ended up dumping it on the sharp left hand turn. I actually rode over both her wheels, though I did choose the wheels over her. She was fine and I hoped her bike was too. I was in second for a bit watching 1st place walk away. I hoped Betsy would come around me and give her a run for her money. I wanted to so bad, but knew it wasn't a good idea knowing how I felt. In hindsight I may have been too cautious, but if you've ever had an asthma attack, it's not worth the risk.

Betsy ended up going around me as we rode over the reservoir/dam thing. I stayed on her wheel for a bit. She opened it up as we got further into the trail and I never saw them again. I passed a few guys, nobody caught me, so it was good.

I forgot just how fun Farmdale is. The trails down there are definitely worth the drive. Not to mention there are multiple trails systems within a short drive of each otehr. I ended up coming in 3rd place. I actually wasn't more than a minute behind Betsy and first place was only a couple minutes ahead. The girl who won, Cat? or Kat? was actually from Utah, very cool to have her racing there.



So, I was 3rd overall in the race, 2nd overall for USA Cycling IL Cat 1 for the year and 2nd overall in the IHGRS. Good times.

Next up is Sheboygan, last official race of the season which happens to be pretty much be my all-time favorite race even though I usually have my worst results there.

The Yeti

I was riding the trails last night thinking about riding 26" vs 29" wheeled bikes. I don't think I have a preference right now to be honest. A 29er does things well that a 26" can't, like keeping momentum. I noticed right away that I was pedaling to keep my speed quicker than I would hit the gas on my 29er. Roots, especially those that aren't straight across the trail, were easier on my 29er. Climbing steep, especially more technical climbs, are easier. Riding my 26er I had to work a bit harder to make it up the steep climbs that my 29er rolls right up. To add though, the Yeti is way taller and I'm not used to the higher front end to get up and over the bike. My second day on it I made the climbs, however there was a bit more grunting and more body english to go up.
A 26" has its very own things that a 29er couldn't compete with, however. For starters, I have never been able to accelerate out of a corner like I can on a 26" bike. I can't whip around a corner on a 29er like I can on a 26" bike. Floating in the air on a 29er does not feel the same as it does on a 26". The landings feel quite different too.
I have no complaints about either bike. A 29er rolls over things nicely, however I found that I work a lot harder to get over taller log overs than I realized. Popping a wheelie takes a lot more effort on my part on my 29er than it does on my 26".
I'm not disappointed by either ride.
I remember having a conversation with Kent Eriksen when he was building my hardtail a few years back. We spoke about how we go back n forth between short top tubed bikes vs longer top tubes with shorter stems and 29er vs 26ers, full suspension vs hardtail, etc. It's not that we feel one is better than the other, but we sort of like change. The difference. We get used to riding one for so long, and we adapt forgetting that we've adapted. So then you get on a different bike, for me 29er hardtail to 26" full suspension, and all of a sudden the traits that the new bike excels at are just that much more excellent. It's new and exciting and fun!



As far as the Yeti is concerned I was nervous that I would hate it at first. I hate the flat tire feeling and the hang up on log overs I remember experiencing on my Blur. I struck my pedal a lot on my Blur too. Anyway, after getting over the initial weirdness, which only took me about 15 minutes actually I had a blast! I'm a fairly aggressive singletrack rider. I like to attack the trail. I like to drop in, I like to lean, essentially I really like handling my bike. With the 68 degree headtube I found the small ravines, the downhills way more fun. I don't know if fun is the word, but I felt like I didn't have to get back off the rear of the bike. I just dropped in. I felt like I had more control. I realize we don't have huge drops here or very long downhills, but still, everything is short and fast here and I noticed the difference right away. I sort of touched on it above, but I was a bit nervous coming off of the 29er back to a 26" when it came to the logovers. My worries were put to rest right away. I thought I'd have that endo feeling as I hit the other side, but with the longer fork, this wasn't an issue at all. Not that it would have been an issue, just something I would have had to get to know again. It was so much easier to get up and over them, way less effort. I had troubles climbing steep ups on my first ride out. I didn't know how to get over the front end so it ended up wandering on me causing me to have to put a foot down. The second day it was fine. I'm sure I'll have issues in the snake put, but I'm looking forward to the challenge. It's funny how quick we adapt; I sat on my Form last night and it already felt low and long.
Hopefully I'll get to ride again later on today.

IHRS # I don't even know anymore

I just realized I hadn't wrote about my last race. Probably because there really wasn't much to write about race wise.
Saturday night we had a party for my cousin. I was out until 1 am. I didn't eat dinner either. I knew that wouldn't bode well for my race the next day, but whatever.
It was just Betsy and me at the women's expert start. Betsy and I are pretty equal racers actually, it could go either way when we toe the line.
I was off the front in hopes to get some time on Betsy in the beginning. I was doing well and feeling fine, though I could tell that I was going to be hungry. You just know.
I took my first gel shortly after the first lap and felt fine. I actually felt pretty good. I killed my second lap once I knew the trails. As I was riding my third I could feel myself fading a little bit so I took a gel. I didn't feel so good right after. I felt like I really needed to burp and/or puke so trying to go hard was difficult. I shouldn't have needed a gel so quickly I think was part of it, but I think this had to do with not having ate right those prior 24 hours. Anyway, I could hear Betsy coming. But it was hard to keep moving feeling that crappy. Betsy caught me and then passed me. I was still feeling a bit green. I went to grab a drink out of my hydration pack hoping that watering it down would help me a bit. I did end up burping which relieved some of the pressure, but then my bite valve fell off my pack. W.T.F. I was shocked to feel all that water hit my chamois and start running down my leg. I tried to stop the water flow but all that happened was me getting a mouth, throat and stomach full of water. I gagged and choked while trying to reverse the flow back into the pack. Finally I had done so. Feeling a bit waterlogged I moved on. At this point I felt I had lost so much time, not to mention what the heck was I going to do about water? No water equals no food. Oh well, I thought, just ride your bike.
Dehydration caught up with me quick; it was way hotter out than I expected. I started to feel a bit out of it. In the singletrack I just felt a bit off. I just ended up slowing down to enjoy the ride. I didn't think I'd catch Betsy so it wasn't worth asking my body to go above and beyond just to finish a closer 2nd place.
I finally finished. I had dried salt all over my body and wasn't feeling the greatest. My body wasn't hurting like it should after a race, just more like out of it I guess.

Sitting here on Thursday typing this, I still feel like I'm a bit dehydrated. I really suck at drinking water lately it would seem.

Last race of the series is Farmdale, apparently if I race it I will be counted for series points.

Kickapoo Photos

Kickapoo Bash

I made a last minute decision to race stop 9 of the Illinois Homegrown Race Series. I wanted to race, I just didn't want to be in a car for 5 hours that day. I knew I'd regret not going so I made the decision to just do it. John headed the other way on I57 for the xXx cross relay with the girls in tow.
I love Kickapoo. It's a 10 mile loop of mostly all singletrack that I love. It's tight, technical and twisty with short punchy (at times super) steep climbs, ravines, off camber sections, not to mention two (or is it three?) pretty awesome downhills. There's like one spot on the loop to recover- the double track to start your next lap.
In past years us women have done two laps of the course. Twenty miles on that course is a lot. As I'm in the staging area I found out we weren't doing two, but three. I was not prepared to do three. Luckily I had brought enough water, but mentally it sort of deflated me not to mention that if I knew I had an extra 10 miles to do, I probably would've ate more. There was nothing I could do about it, so I shrugged it off and prepared myself for a long day.
We started two minutes after the men. There was a longish double track lead out that lead us to surprise hill, which is very aptly named by the way. My plan was to get out front to get into the singletrack first to hopefully put some time on the ladies.
As I struggled up surprise hill (should've been a gear easier) in the lead, I felt Bev right on my wheel, literally. I felt her tap it as I grunted pushing my pedal down to crest the hill. By this point I was pretty redlined. Arms tingly, breathing hard and legs burning, I almost felt like I was coming to a stop as the trail continued to climb.
I knew it would start going down in a couple feet, but Bev passed me before the trail turned to my favor. I sat closely behind her as she descended down the fast flowy singletrack. I wanted to get by her, but it was so tight. She'd brake going into the turns, I'd have to brake too, slightly annoyed that I knew if I was up front I'd be railing the sweet, sweet singletrack. But Bev can accelerate out of a turn like nobody's business, so it was impossible for me to get by.
We headed down the switchback down into the ravine. I was still right behind her as we climbed up the switchback out of the ravine, both of us dabbing as we made the super steep left turn. Still behind her we recovered as we finished climbing out of the ravine and onto more twisty, rooty goodness. I waited for an opportunity to get by. I was rewarded for being patient as Bev lost traction going into a turn and was off her bike.
Sweet. But, not so sweet. Her misfortune happened right at the only section of multi-track on the whole course! Her strength, definitely not mine. I laughed at the irony.
All I could do was slide forward in the saddle, click my gears and push as hard as I could. I raced this course last year so I knew the next section was the wall rides and technical creek climb. I hoped to stay in the lead once we got to that point. I know Bev is strong, and though I'm a better singletrack rider than Bev, she still is no slacker; so I knew staying ahead of her was near impossible, but anything could happen so I just kept pushing.
As I entered the trees I almost felt relieved as I thought I'd start descending to the wall ride. NOPE. More doubletrack. It felt like forever. Bev caught me here and I pulled her into the singletrack. I led for a bit but she was right on my wheel. I'd put some space between us in turns, but she was right back on me in no time. I probably still had 25 miles to go at this point in the race, so I told Bev if she needed to get by to go. She was gone. I didn't even try to stay on her wheel. She was way stronger than I was. I still pushed hard though because I knew Betsy wasn't far behind, and well, anything can happen.
As I entered the second lap I still felt good. I grabbed a gel, chugged some water and pedaled on. I had the singletrack all to myself! I was having a blast until I saw Betsy as the trails weaved next to each other. A sort of panic set in; I didn't want 3rd. I pushed harder to keep the distance between us.
As I came to the end of the 2nd lap there are two super steep hike-a-bike climbs (for me anyway), as I stood at the top of the second one trying to clip in my pedal I heard shifting behind me. It was like I saw a bear on my tail. I flew down the steep technical downhill, skidding around the 90 degree turn out to the multi-track to the next singletrack section. I saw Betsy again as I messed up the switchback climb to head to the finish. As I was running up the climb Betsy came shooting down out of the woods. CRAP! After climbing up that climb it took my legs what seemed like forever to want to turn over the pedals, but finally I got them going.
After that, surprisingly I still felt okay going into the 3rd lap. As I pushed down the double track to drop into my 3rd lap I almost missed the turn to surprise hill. I slammed on the brakes and barely made the turn. I felt like I lost so much momentum. As I climbed up the hill I heard the crowd cheering for Betsy. She was so close. I pushed myself so hard in the singletrack in hopes of gaining a bit of time where I knew I could make it count. I almost ate it twice. I flew down the switchback downhill perfectly and cleaned the steep switchback that I missed the first two times as well. I wish somebody was there to high five.
I pushed through the rest of the lap harder than I thought I could. On one of the downhills I thought I was going to have a significant crash. I was going very fast, way faster than I should have been. I brushed a tree which moved me to the left side of the trail where there was a hidden log in the grass. I'm not sure how I missed it, but I did. So I dialed it back a notch on the dowhills. Fatigue and pain were starting to take over. My stomach was crampy from the gels, both of my feet had blisters and my back was twinging on every root and ravine, not to mention my feet kept flying out of my pedals for some reason. Every sound I heard I thought was Betsy right behind me. I dreaded the hike a bike section. My legs were hurting, I knew I was close to cramping and I had blisters that burned and stung worse when off the bike. As I came flying down to the descent to head out to the finishing section of singletrack (which isn't short), I looked back and didn't see Betsy. I knew at this point that if I could keep moving I'd have second place.
A part of me wanted to cry. Whether it was PMS, pain, joy, I don't know, but the urge was there. I didn't though, instead I laughed. I was almost done. That last section of singletrack is super fun, however after almost 30 miles I just wanted it to end. I was close but still so far away.
Finally the little steep exit onto the double track. I put my head down and then looked for the timer's table. I hit the brakes and high-fived Bev who was standing at the finish line. As I stood there I wondered how I would get back to my car. The thought of pedaling back with legs that were probably planning a mutiny and a back that was revolting, not to mention I was feeling quite sick from my effort, was not one of joy.
It was the first race I'd ever done where I couldn't eat anything (well, okay, I had an ice cream cone) nor did I want anything substantial until the next day.
My legs feel okay today. My left quad is sore, but I think my cleat on my new shoe is a bit off. My back however, I feel like I've been punched in the kidneys.

No results posted yet. No pics yet either. I saw one guy out there in the ravines. I hope he posts them up.

2011 Palos Meltdown

It wasn't looking good for a race on the singletrack for this past Sunday's Palos Meltdown. I didn't even want to think about it. I had been looking forward to the race for quite some time. The thought of a multi-track race was just, um, no.
I was stoked to read Ben's text early that Sunday morning: "Full course!" I didn't realize how down I was about it until I read that. I just felt my face light up.
It's really nice to have a pretty big race 20 minutes from the house.
As we got closer to the racecourse the weather was nothing what I expected it to be. It was barely in the 70s and misting. At about 11:30-12 it pretty much rained. As long as we ran the full course it sort of excited me. I'm a decent technical rider so I knew it would be to my advantage.
I'm usually not that competitive, but I really wanted to do well there; so this past week I thought about what I would do knowing who my competition was. I knew I just had to stay with the girls who were super strong power riders and hopefully get around them as we headed down into Turf.
Start time, as usual, came before I knew it. The rain had stopped. The expert men were off and now it was our turn.
When John Vande Velde sent us off I missed my pedal. D'oh! I'd like to blame the fact that I had different egg beaters on than I'm used to (wider spindle), but I think I just missed my pedal. I watched Julia smoothly pull away.
We all came together again quickly as we descended down the grass hill. I passed Julia on one of the slick short ups as some co-workers were cheering me on. I then took the lead and wondered what the hell I was doing. I'm so not good in the open.
However I figured what the hell, I'm going to suffer in front or trying to hang on. I mostly just thought about busting my ass to get into the singletrack first. I knew if I got into Turf first I could hopefully put some time on them.
As I was just cresting the hill to head down to clay hill I shifted my chain up into my spokes. Really? I seriously don't even remember the last time I did this. I don't even think I've done it in my 30s. I hopped off and calmly pulled it off, but I think I still swore. (reminder: check hanger- remember I sheared my other one off just last week?)
Now Julia was right on my wheel, which I expected. She passed me on the grass as we started to go around the lake and up the hill. I knew I had to just keep her in my sight. At this point I had no idea what was going on behind me.
I pushed hard on the gravel to keep Julia close. I felt like I was getting closer to her and debated on whether or not to put the power down (haha) and try to pass or just be patient.
I seriously didn't know what to do.
After exiting onto pipeline I was glad I waited. I forget how long that section is of lots of pedaling. I also apparently pre-rode the wrong fork in the trail, as we went left instead of right.
There were two small drops. I was right on Julia's wheel. She got a bit squirrelly on the second one which caused me to go off trail. For a split second I almost hit the brakes to let her go by like I would on a ride. *shakes head. But shortly after I just thought "go". So I did. I, and whether or not it was true, thought Julia might not want to pass on the cupped singletrack. I know I would've been freaked. I'll ride down rocky root infested downhills, but those types of singletrack trails with lips scare the crap out of me.
As soon as we hit the road and I was still in front I was confident I'd get into Turf first. I remember coming flying down the pavement and flying into Turf the smoothest I've ever floated in there before and just felt awesome. The bike floated underneath me as I negotiated the slick corners and off camber sections. Once I crossed the creek I felt like I had a gap and could just grow it as long as I stayed upright. And then I lost my water bottle. It was so weird. I actually thought about going to get it for a split second. I climbed up Psycho as best as I could. That section of trail is always longer than I think it is. Finally the turn to head down to the ravines. Man I love that trail. I almost ate it on One Day as I misjudged that long root over the trail and slid down it until my foot hit the tree. Luckily that's all that happened. As I was entering Gravity Cavity Bos passed me, but not without acting like an ass. Obnoxiously calling out on your left, racer coming, etc. It was pretty funny. I had him ask some friends to have a bottle for me. He then said, I saw your Metal bottle on Turf and totally knew it was yours. Of course.
Second lap I rode well but, and I think I was in the minority, thought Turf got a bit slicker on my subsequent laps. Not the actual trail, but the turns for sure were more slick. It was pretty uneventful actually. I was just enjoying the ride. I really loved the course. It was really fun and hard, but not a death march.
Going into my third lap I still felt pretty good. I rode the flats and singletrack great. I just felt really bad on Psychopath just as you pass the fence and the second up part of Gravity Cavity. My legs yelled at me a bit. I wanted to move them faster but they just wouldn't respond on the steeper stuff. I pretty much kept on the gas the whole race; I had no idea how far ahead I was so didn't want to chance it. I just wanted to be done pedaling. Obviously I was excited to come in first.
Crossing the finish line and having a bunch of people cheer and come up to me was really weird. I've never experienced that before, I almost felt a bit awkward.
It was really nice to get the win on my home course! I didn't realize I knew so many great people! It was cool to see them all in one place.
When the guy from the Southtown Star came up to interview me after, the first thing I thought of was CAMBr. Great job to all. I'm still smiling about it today.

"nice face" photo © velogrrl
podium shot © Luke R

Anybody interested?

I'm going to put this stuff up on ebay soon.

Kent Eriksen ti 26” mtb frame w Rock Shox SID WC XX, Orange KING headset.
$1500

DT Swiss 190 (ceramic) hubs laced to Stan’s 355 rims with black DT Swiss Super Comp spokes
Bontrager XR 2 tires – set up tubeless (includes centerlock adaptors)
$1000 (the hubs alone retail for $800)

Edge handlebar- cut to about 22"
$65

Edge 90mm stem w white faceplate
$140

Eriksen ti sweetpost 27.2 w setback (I believe 360mm, but will measure).
$100

Or I'll sell the bike complete with full XX for $2800.

Race Blogging

For some reason I had been really looking forward to the Illinois race this past Sunday. The race was held at Black Partridge Park in Metamora, IL. Being able to ride trails has been pretty intermittent this Spring, so I think a race held rain or shine gave me an excuse to get out there and ride my bike in the dirt regardless of weather.

On the way to the race I was almost a bit ho-hum compared to how I felt earlier in the week. Maybe it was nerves, I don’t know. The forecast wasn’t calling for rain, so I was stoked about that. However there was some rainfall at the course that morning. I was a bit nervous about my tire choice. I really think I dislike the Bontrager 29.2. The side knobs fill with mud and don’t clear, which then have absolutely NO traction in turns dry or wet. They are advertised as a loose over hard pack tire, so I guess the wet isn’t what they were made for, so I shouldn’t hate.

Anyway…

The Cat 1 women were initially supposed to do 3 laps of the 8 mile mostly singletrack course (same as the cat 1 men)… which meant I’d probably be out there for well over 2 hours. I was looking forward to the fun miles, but at the same time not really looking forward to it considering how hot and muggy it was. Not to mention it wasn’t dry, so lap times would be slower than last year. Which, yeah, get over it… but coming from 50s to 80s and humid is a bit rough on the body. Anyway, a couple of the girls petitioned the race director and we were cut down to 2 laps. I had mixed feelings, but it was going to be fun regardless. I unzipped my Metal jersey, so I wouldn’t be fumbling with the zipper in the singletrack, and lined up behind the men.

Us Cat 1 gals actually started in the pack with the Cat 1 men. I was a bit apprehensive about this at first, but it worked out pretty well actually. I was first woman behind all the guys. It was a fairly short lead out on the grass which then dropped us right into some downhill benchcut singletrack. Way awesome trail. The Cat 1 dude right in front of me was going a bit slow for my liking but it was difficult to get around him with all the creek crossings and bridges. Eventually I was able to sneak by him on a rooty climb. One creek crossing was very steep. It was like a wall to get out. The guy in front of me didn’t make it and I had to slide back down. I panicked trying to get up. It was so muddy and slick I couldn’t get a foot hold. I was just waiting for the women to come barreling down on me while I tried to get out of there. Finally I made it up the first of three switchback climb sections completely redlined and breathing hard feeling like my head was going to explode.

It took me a long time to settle, almost the whole first lap. With having asthma, the humidity and the fact I wanted to ride fast was causing me some breathing problems. I had to keep talking myself down; I felt like I was hyper-ventilating. Breathe Rachael, breathe. Finally I was able to settle down and enjoy the rad singletrack. And rad it was. Super tight, tons of log crossings. I felt like a Jedi floating between trees and dipping into little g-outs. I did end up at one point sliding out on a bridge (plank really) and hugging a tree, but I don’t think I’ve ever come away from a race completely unscathed.

Before I knew it the first lap was over. That ride on the grass was the hardest part of the race… I was pushing my gears so hard, but felt like I was going nowhere.

Second lap had me looking over my shoulder a lot. Betsy usually beats me when I race with her, usually after catching me after I’ve led most of the first lap. I could hear the sport guys coming on some occasions and feared Betsy, or another Cat 1 gal, was with them. I just kept pushing. Lungs settled, legs were good, I felt great all around. I was dreading that steep creek crossing, but not having anybody in front of me I floated right up it. What a relief! I was a bit more confident knowing the trails, not to mention they had dried out some, so weren’t as slick in the corners. It started to get pretty dark in the singletrack as it appeared a storm was rolling in; I almost had to take off my glasses. All I could think about at that point was how slick it was going to get if the clouds let loose. It started to rain just as I was exiting out of the singletrack on my last lap for the finish.

My first win in a very long time, and maybe my first one as a Cat 1. I was pretty stoked.

Iola 04.01.11

Driving up to Iola I was sort of bumming... I knew it was going to be close to 70 degrees at home and Iola was calling for rain and cold. And having read that they had snow up there just a bit ago had me nervous for conditions. I knew I couldn't ride at home regardless and the thought of missing Iola for another venue just didn't appeal to me, so it was the best of all my options.

Getting out of the car to pre-ride the wind was coming hard but it wasn't raining. About 15 minutes after we arrived the wind totally died down. It was weird. I ended up starting the pre-ride in arm warmers and undershirt but promptly ditched them soon after entering the course. The trails were perfect and the climbs didn't seem to be as bad as I remembered (though they never really do on pre-ride).

My first lap I didn't feel like me. Just wasn't confident tossing the bike around, the second lap was much better I felt the "rail" come back.

We packed up and headed to our hotel. Pretty boring really.

Morning wake up had us not rushing as Ryan races the Cat 1 Junior category now. Though the thought of sitting at the hotel for hours before the start didn't sound appealing so we headed to the venue.

BRRR!!!!

Wow, was it cold! I ended up in 3 layers and a beanie with gloves just to walk around. I was sort of stressing about what to wear to race, always remembering that no matter how it felt outside of the woods, inside the woods always seemed 10 degrees warmer with only a few sections of dealing with the wind.

I ended up in arm warmers, jersey and shorts with wool socks. I lined up next to people wearing thermal jersey, tights with shorts, knickers, headbands and double layers. YIKES... I would have died of heat exhaustion! My head would have exploded on the first lap!

Don said Gooo... and we're off. I've never been a good starter. However I was surprised that the field wasn't completely gone as we got to the top. I hate the first lap as I'm sure most other people do as well. I went back and forth with a couple girls and then sort of settled into a spot until the first singletrack I passed a couple girls in there. I was actually surprised that I was able to power past up on what was definitely not the better line. It felt sort of good.

For the most part my race was uneventful. I passed a girl or two, a girl or two passed me. Tons of comps came by. I didn't have a problem with any of them. They all called their passes and weren't stupid about it. Iola is almost a perfect race course actually.

I still suck at eating. I totally forgot how quick one of the sections of singletrack came up so I ended up riding it with an unopened gel in my mouth. Finally ripped it open, sucked it down and stuffed it into my back pocket with all my unopened gels. So of course on my next lap that's the gel I grabbed thinking I'd be ahead of the game, I put it in my spandex on my thigh. EW. Gross. It wasn't so bad that it was all over my thigh, but when I grabbed it from my shorts, the gel was all over my glove... which then was all over my grip, lever and shifter. Ugh. There were times I actually had to pull my hand off the grip hard to grab the lever. I ended up sucking on my gloves where the gel was to help out with this a bit. So I had to get that mostly eaten gel into another pocket and grab an uneaten one out. *shakes head

Before I forget, I was so thankful for Jeff doing bottle hand ups. I go through a lot of water and not having to carry it on myself or bike is such a relief!

I actually felt pretty damn good on my 2nd and 3rd lap. I completely surprised myself. Going into the 4th lap right at the top of the start climb my legs started to fuss. It was the first time it was actually painful and hard to push them to go. I felt like they were pretty heavy. I actually didn't hate the start climb or the big climb in the back as much as past years. I really HATED the 3rd climb after coming out of the bowl. After you make that swooping left, ugh. I just felt my legs hate me. But I so love when you shoot back down into the bowl and right back up! So frickin' cool! I was hurtin' on that last lap but I was nowhere near being completely done and in survival mode like I am on my last lap at most WORS races. My legs still climbed and I was still pretty fresh in the singletrack handling wise, just wasn't poppy or fast.

Much better than last year's DNF, that's for sure. It's also the first year, I think ever, that I've raced Iola either not sick or coming off of being sick.

I ended up 11th overall/9th Cat 1. 4th age but 2nd age podium (I think) with the overalls taken out. I'm bummed I missed my podium opportunity. Those don't happen very often for me in Elite WORS (only once).



And how about the Twin Six Metal kits... so awesome!

whoa

I have no idea what possessed me to actually update this blog.
Probably weather depression. My blog is filled with pissy posts about the weather so what's one more? I know that it won't be cold and rainy forever, but still...
Reading my last few posts the Superfly is gone; it'll be replaced by a Form shortly. I suppose I should be sure all of the parts we need are in. I need to make a list. I'm going to sell the Eriksen. I stopped racing cross. Once the weather turned to shit I hung it up. No regrets. I found that I enjoyed hanging out with the crowds and watching John. He raced right after me so I'd miss everything. I'm just not a competition person I guess. I think I like mountain bike racing because for the most part it just seems like a hard mountain bike ride with other people. With cross it seemed like the prep was longer than the race. Just wasn't for me.
The girls are good. Casey started tumbling, Zoe will be starting dance. Everything is so expensive. I can't believe Casey is 9. She is so unbelievably smart and creative. Zoe is 4 going on 15. She loves to sing, dance and be a drama princess. We finally got a trail-a-bike so hopefully we'll have some family rides (when the weather finally warms up).

I can't believe Iola is less than two weeks away. It's going to hurt.

Superfly for super sale

John's getting rid of the Superfly.
It's in Gatto condition- however there is a scratch on the toptube from his handlebar (rookie).

Gary Fisher carbon 29er hardtail frame- med, 17.5"
RockShox Reba XX 29er fork- white
240 DT Swiss wheels- hubs are very lightly used, rims are still in the plastic- they were just rebuilt to Stan's rims.
pics are of the 190 wheelset that are being kept.
SRAM XX triggers
SRAM XX rear derailleur
SRAM XX front derailleur
SRAM XX disc brakes
SRAM XX 175mm 42/29 carbon crank.
Truvativ World Cup stem 100mm
Truvativ World Cup handlebar, carbon, flat
Cane Creek headset
Bontrager carbon ACC seatpost
Bontrager ti saddle
991 chain
1099 11-36 cassette
ESI chunky lava grips
No pedals.





$2700 complete or $1500 frame and fork.
If you want more pics or are interested email me if you'd like spicyride at gmail dot com.

blogging

Someone asked me to update my blog or why don't I?
I don't know why. Time?
I always think to myself I should update it more. Even if a pic or two here and there. It always seems like at this point it overlaps with facebook.
I know I love to go look months and even years back to look at the photos and see what I had to say. I think I'll miss that.



No resolution or anything, but maybe I'll try and update more. Not for anybody else though, for me. Which is who this blog has always been for anyway.

Cross and things

It's been awhile since I've updated.
Not much going on really.
I've raced cross 3 times, and although it's fun, it's yet to hit me as the best thing ever.
I long for roots, drops and twisty singletrack. However I do enjoy it for a good work out and hanging out with people.
I upgraded to a Cat 3 knowing I'd get my ass beat, but at the same time I didn't feel right racing the 4s, especially since the category was filling up so quickly. I guess I just felt that the women that were being kept out of the race, were true 4s. I don't really notice or feel much difference in the extra 15 minutes. The only thing that's changed really is instead of finishing in the top 10 I'm near last. I'm pretty used to that. John's been doing very well. Podiums for the most part every race. He won the 30+ this weekend and then took 4th in the 1,2,3. So good on him.
I sold my road bike. The Eriksen is still safe... for now. However, I did wake up one night in a cold sweat having thought I sold it. Perhaps that was a sign saying DON'T DO IT.
Halloween is coming. I have two costume ideas. Casey will be Hermione from Harry Potter and Zoe is Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I still have to pick up a few things which is sort of annoying as I just want to have it done. Hopefully tonight.
This weekend we'll be racing Campton on Sunday, not sure of Halloween Cross in WI. Just a lot of driving and a lot of cash.
So much to do at home. I'm starting to get a bit stressed out at how unorganized the house is right now. It's starting to get old.
I don't know when I'll be on my mountain bike next. Hopefully before the weekend.

Last one.

I love Sheboygan.
I don't know what makes it so special. I think it's the crowds of people everywhere on a super fun course. It has a little bit of everything- roots, big fucking roots, log overs, a log drop, wooden bridges, a quarry, twisty singletrack, pines, river edge singletrack, steep leg cramp climbing, a creek crossing... There isn't a place on that course that I do not look forward to. It's all good.
I haven't done a WORS race since the beginning of July. I knew it was going to be tough if only because I haven't raced or ridden that intense in quite some time. Sure I did other races, but nothing compares to the competition of a WORS race.
My first lap was fun, going back n forth with a couple of ladies. Second lap I was still feeling good... I was starting to relax and get into a rhythem. Third lap I took another gel and my stomach cramped shortly after. I think I took it too soon not thinking that the laps at Sheboygan are pretty short. I knew right away after I took it that I wasn't going to feel well so I willed it away. Luckily it didn't get too bad.

WORS #12 ©WORS Danny Marchewka

My legs still felt great through my 3rd lap. I don't know exactly where it was, but
on the 3rd lap I did something to my back. I thought maybe it was just tense from all the roots and having too much air pressure in the back tire. But it didn't exactly feel like that and still today, my back hurts. I don't even want to ride my mountain bike. The thought of it causes me to tense up. It's just this one spot by my back rib.
Anyway, Sheboygan is pretty rooty so it was pretty intense at times, I could barely hold onto the bar, so I slowed down quite a bit. At first I was pissed off. But then, I was like, whatever. It wasn't like I'd be missing out on anything if I could pedal faster. So I just dealt with it. Weird for me, though, to actually look forward to climbing...
I guess it was kind of a bummer if only because I'd like to see how I would've finished without that issue as my legs were totally fine. But I'm sure there were other racers that day with their own problems as well.
In the end I had a blast and that's what it's all about. I still look back on it and smile.

I'm hoping to get an epic mountain bike ride in this weekend. We'll see. I'm not one for making plans. I either change my mind, or get disappointed if what I wanted to do doesn't work out.

John, me and the mesa

So I did make it out to the mesa yesterday. Much later than I thought though.
John ended up riding with me. I felt sort of off. I wrote it off to not having been on a mountain bike in awhile, that time and just tiredness in general. I also need brake pads dearly.



There's a new bridge out there on the middle finger. I wussed. John even offered to spot me and I still wussed. I don't know what my deal was, but that sucker is mine when I'm out there next... I think.

Anyway, it was a short ride. I didn't ask my mom to watch the kids so we were pushing it time wise. Good thing too as the skies looked pretty angry as we rode home.

Today I went to work for what I hoped to be a half day. Turned out being a full day. I was hoping for a light week since every body is in Vegas, however it's been turning out to be the busiest week in recent memory.

We interrupt this mountain bike season

to bring you cross.
Yep, that's right. Hell froze over. I raced my 2nd ever cross race.
I had a good time. I was on a bike, how could I not?
52 women started with me on Sunday. I finished 10th.

above image stolen from ©Edmund White

I'm ditching work here in a few to go for a mountain bike ride. It's been awhile.

obligatory