Obsession Update....

Thanks to mkr, I think I may have decided on a frame for my current obsession, the Hooligan by Soul Cycles. It has an eccentric bottom bracket which means a bit more weight but the vertical rear dropouts means it can run normal QR rear axle hubs. And, by going with disc brakes, I'll be able to swap wheels between 26 mtb wheels for the woods and 700c wheels for commuting. Hold on....I need to wipe the drool off my keyboard.....

And so it begins, the obsession over all the little parts that go on it. I've started a spreadsheet to keep track of all the bits and pieces and keep wondering just how much I can agonize over each component. So far, the only decisions I've made are to go with the Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes and my favorite bar, the Easton Monkeylite Carbon XC bars. I need to figure out the fork soon since that's likely to cost more than the frame....that's just wrong! And I have absolutely no clue about ss gearing...more research, more questions for mkr and anyone who will listen.

And speaking of cost, given all the economic madness going on, I actually do have second thoughts about spending $$$ on a bike I don't truly NEED. And I am trying to keep it relatively inexpensive. And while I was feeling guilty even contemplating a new bike, I came across a post on this site. I don't feel so bad now.

And Mike, thanks for feeding my obsession....and I'll be hitting you up for more advice!

From First To Last (a.k.a. It's Mo' Betta To Win)

~sigh. I knew going in it wouldn't be pretty. And you know, it's true what they say about visualization, believing in yourself, and training your head. If you go in with no expectations, you'll pretty much come out with nothing to show for it.

I told myself, "You haven't trained. You're not fast. You haven't raced enough this season. You're packing on 8+ extra pounds. But you are better technically." And guess what, I rode up those hills like I was towing a BOB trailer full of fat, 100lb, negative-thought gremlins. It's amazing I stayed upright on those hills given how slowly I was going. But damn, I was smooth on those downhills - tell yourself you can float down the nasty stuff Mount Snow throws at you, and you can.

I was in San Francisco the days before Nats. I was supposed to catch a 2:30pm flight at SFO to connect in Denver and get home around 1am Thursday morning. Around noon I discovered my flight was delayed, which meant a missed connection in Denver and a red-eye to make it home. I went through security and into the Red Carpet Club (one of the best presents S ever gave me) and explained my situation to the woman behind the counter. "I'll even take a red-eye from SFO to Boston! Any where on the east coast! I just have to get home!" Behind the counter, the woman is typing away, almost feels like she's IM'ing her friend, "We have a desperate one here! How much should we screw with her?!?!" Instead, she says to me, "I'm not supposed to do this but I put you on a direct flight to Boston. But it leaves in 30min so you better get to the gate!" Sweet! This meant I'd get in around 9:30pm. Yay!

We arrived at Mount Snow late afternoon on Thursday. Checked into the hotel, changed and went out for a pre-ride on the newly changed course. What a difference from last year's pre-ride in the dumping rain! The surface for the most part was dry, dusty, and loose. The first section (north loop) had been changed so there was no cut-through in the woods on single-track. This meant we had to climb a bit higher and the descent was on a service road. Not technical, kind of boring, a few drainage ditches to keep an eye on but otherwise a piece of cake.

Then the long climb to start the south loop. And it just seemed like it never ended. Instead of the hike-a-bike section in the woods, they routed us up a STEEP service road. Ouch. Then into some switchbacks in woods (yay, shade), then back on service roads, up, up, up. At a couple of the climbing sections there were 90 degree turns. You'd think you had reached the top, turn, and look up to more climbing. Finally, some downhill. Some of it was different from last year. In particular, the nasty stairs sections was gone. All in all, it felt very rideable. There was one section that caused me to pause, get off and watch some riders go by. Soon, I saw Libby zipping by me. Figured that was the line to take and tried to imitate her. I managed to get down but just not as fast. I think my extra 30 or so years on her make me a bit more cautious. ;-)

Throughout my pre-ride, my chain was skipping all over the cassette again. Unfortunately, the Shimano guys were gone by the time I made it back down so I did manage to get it fixed a couple of hours before my race on Friday (bent derailleur hanger. No idea how I did it.)

Lined up at the start with 10 other women, only one I recognized from local races. At the line, I was making my usual squint-into-the sun face that the announcer mistook for a smile. "Look at 804 folks! She's smiling! She won't be smiling soon, though, on that first leg burner granny-gear hill." No joke. I had an awesome start at the whistle and led the field up the first hill. That was the last time I saw first place. One by one, 6 women passed me on that first hill. I was determined not to get off and push. I'm still wondering about that strategy. One of my goals was to ride the whole race - no wussy girl pushing the bike up the hill or walking down the tricky downhill sections.

So I did manage to ride the entire first lap. The uphills were painful - just sat there, spinning the pedals and going about 4 mph. How lame. But the downhills - I flew (for me). Weighting and unweighting the bike, concentrating on picking a line that wouldn't kill me, so wrapped up in the trail I almost forgot I was racing. I love that zen feeling. At one point, I was congratulating myself on riding a particularily nasty section of trail that had me walking on the pre-ride, and managed to plant my front wheel. Uh oh. Here goes. Spectacular endo in the making. But somehow, I balanced on that front wheel, felt the rear of the bike swing around, I kicked it back with my left, unclipped foot, and shifted my weight back to get the rear wheel down. OMG! No endo! A proud moment despite being caused by my carelessness. Even the marshall was expecting carnage, "Nice recovery there!"

At the end of the first lap, I passed one woman. I was soon passed back on the first uphill of the second lap. Then passed by another. And one more. That last one we traded places back and forth for most of the second lap but she finally put down the hammer on the last long uphill and I never could catch her again. As she cruised up the hill, I gave up. (Meh - I hate admitting that.) I was hot, on the service road, sun beating down, pedaling hard, going about 3 mph now and not making up any ground on her. I got off and pushed. Wretched. Just wretched. :(

So I'm trying to take away some good from the race. I finished DFL. Ok, well maybe not last but the only woman behind me was a DNF. It's clear that I'm able to ride stuff that scared the shorts off me last year. That's a plus. The minus is I'm clearly in worse shape than I was last year. I hate that. It's also clear that I need to figure out a way to train better given my travel schedule if I'm hoping to do better at 'cross this season. But the real goodness: I'm still riding my bike. S couldn't compete this year, much to her frustration since they cut the beginners to only one lap. I remind myself of that and am thankful. Similarly, I saw pics of Sue Haywood being carried off after fracturing her leg and again, am happy I didn't bite it on the course.

Bottom line: I enjoyed myself but both S and I decided that it's mo' betta to win. ;-)

And speaking of winning, Mike took third the next day in his expert division. Scott took 4th in his division and Libby gets another stars and stripes jersey. NEBC Happiness! And, my MTB idol, Mary outsprinted Georgia the Luna Chick at the line to win the Pro women's race. Smokin' hot! Hoping she can get gold in Beijing in August.

Nationals....This Is It

"This is 10 percent luck, 20 percent skill
15 percent concentrated power of will
5 percent pleasure, 50 percent pain
And 100 percent reason to remember the name"

Lyrics from Fort Minor's Remember The Name

There's something nice about Nationals coming in December. For me, it is the crescendo of the cycling season. Then there's the fact that it's followed by all the reflections, introspections and resolutions of the New Year.

Early last year, I made a decision to give up being a relatively successful runner (at least in age group competition) and focus on cycling. I even took a page out of my eleven year old niece's playbook and put up a list of refrigerator goals. The ultimate goal was to improve my finish at Nationals to the top 10 in my age group race. Funny looking back on those goals now. I did "Stick with the plan" but got swept off my feet (literally) so much by mt biking that I ditched the crits and roadraces. But anyway....I digress...this is supposed to be about Nationals.

Days before heading to Kansas City, we kept hearing about the ice storm there. In fact, we even started wondering whether they'd hold the event. Arrived on Wednesday and the view from the plane looked like the arctic tundra. Fortunately, I had reserved a 4WD car. Headed over to the Budget counter and the guy tells me they're out of the Jeep Liberty's I had reserved, would I mind taking something else that was 4WD for the same price. Sure, no problem. Walk out to stall B26 and there's parked a giant red Hummer.
OMG! I drive a MINI - I can't drive that beast not to mention I'd feel like someone who goes out and clubs baby seals. Geez.... S and PFFC laughed their butts off when they saw me pull up in that thing.


Since C fro LA would also be joining us, we had booked a suite at the Great Wolf Lodge. We were pretty speechless (and not in a good way) as we walked into the hotel lobby. I knew going in that it was a family hotel geared for kids but I don't think I expected the singing moose heads, the daily snow storm at 3pm, Santa's visit every day and a host of other events. The place was certainly fine and I know all my nieces and nephews would have loved the indoor water park.



The B Women race was at 9am Thursday. The course, about 10 min drive from where we were staying, opened at 8am for pre-ride. The sky was lightening as we loaded up the car at 7:30 but the sun still wasn't up. Everything was coated with layer of ice. Everything. Pre-riding the course was interesting. I liked the course but wasn't so sure about the crust of ice over it. As we rode, our tires crushed the ice resulting in the oddest sound I've ever heard during 'cross along with making me feel like I was riding in a giant glass filled with a frozen margarita. I did a lap slowly, wondering if it even made sense to do the race. Really didn't want to get hurt before the more important race the next day. Found S, talked it over, and decided to race conservatively and use the race to learn the course. Granted lines would change from one day to another (indeed, they changed from one lap to another at some points during the event) but the practice would be a good thing.

The temp when we lined up for the race was about 28 degrees. I had a front row start thanks to an early registration (cracks me up to think I registered for this race on a sunny, warm evening in Kauai. Registration started at midnight Central Time which is a quite manageable 7pm in Hawaii. Perhaps I should head for Hawaii during next year's registration as well). I had another great start - powered up the hill and hit the dirt second to the eventual winner. Along the first little pond, I rode a bit conservatively and was passed by a 5 - 6 people but was sitting in the top 10 by the time we crossed the road to the next part of the course. Getting passed by a few more women, I was more than a little annoyed and ditched the "ride conservatively" idea and punched it. I reeled a couple of riders in and really concentrated on riding hard and not making mistakes. My first two laps were probably my best of the entire season. And then it fell apart. Not sure if I just ran out of steam or what but the last two laps were probably my worst of the season. Most of the ice was now chewed up and we were riding in mud. As the mud coated the bikes, it froze. Both of my derailleur cables were going nowhere (and I have top mounted cables! Those with downtube cables had it even worse). So now I was tired and riding a single speed. Lovely. But I did manage to ride well. Handled the off camber sections fine and the ditch which seemed to claim riders and wheels every lap proved to be non-issue for me the entire weekend. The Tsunami was awesome in that crud. I love that bike. :) I finished completely wiped in 52 min or so. Good enough for 18th place.

By the time our race was over, the sun appeared. It warmed the course and really started the melting. By the end of the day, the trees no longer had that gorgeous ice coating and the course was a complete mud pit. I hung out to watch the Mens B races and cheer for the MRC boys. The off-camber section turned to slick mud for their race so that ended up being a good place to watch the carnage. ;-)

Next day, my race was at 1pm. Plan was to eat breakfast and get to the venue in time to pre-ride at noon. Breakfast at IHop - bad idea. At least for me. Not my kind of food. Lesson #32: don't change your pre-race eating habits before an important race. You'd think I'd have learned that especially after hearing about Andy blowing his egg mcmuffin at the MRC race.

The course was totally different on Friday and challenging in a whole other way. All the melting from the day before had resulted in frozen mud ruts that would grab your front wheel. Interspersed with the frozen mud ruts in the shade were long stretches of peanut butter mud that I felt were trying to suck the rubber off my rims. And then there were what appeared to be areas of peanut butter mud that in reality were frozen. That led to unexpected and fun jarring. Last but not least, there were slick patches of ice on either side of the narrow brown ribbon of best line through the course. That would make passing interesting.

I had a second row start for this race which worried me a bit given the condition of the course. I was anticipating girls going down on the first turn/downhill-uphill ditch off the pavement and didn't want to get caught behind that. Punched it at the whistle and floored it to get to the front. I arrived at the first turn about 5th or 6th and one of the first women on the dirt biffed it as expected. I changed my line last minute to avoid running her over and that was just enough to cause my rear wheel to slide in the mud and I was down. 45 sec into the race and I was already eating dirt. Wah. Got back on and started passing people again. I actually rode the mud and gunk better than many (yeah, mtb skills). I think the key for this race was to stay on the bike, ride hard but not on the crazy edge because each time I pushed it, I face planted. Case in point: coming off the long off camber section I was trailing a woman I had been trying to get ahead of for a while. The MRC guys were cheering like crazy for me, "Make a move, Teri! Make a move!" Inspired by their yelling, I decide to leave the narrow brown ribbon of safety and pass her. As I climbed out of the saddle, I realized I had picked a lousy point to pass. I was on ice, the bike flipped sideways hard and I did a superman slide on my stomach in the mud. (MRC boys yelled, "Not that move!" Yeah, I kinda figured. Thanks.) Lesson #17: Don't listen to everything the spectators yell.

As the course was more and more turned up, I found it was easier to get traction on the edges. This was fine except it also meant one ran the risk of catching the tape. At one point where I was actually keeping up some good speed, my right brake caught the course tape. Damn - those stakes were in good because my bike stopped instantly and I flew over the handlebars. This time landing hard on my back and sliding a bit. At least I was getting symmetrical mud stains on my jersey. Similarly, while making a tight right hand turn onto the off camber section to take the high line, I caught my right foot on a stake. Didn't fall but got hung up enough for people to pass me. In each fall mishap, a woman or two would pass. I felt like I was falling further and further behind. Then last time over the barriers, my chain got stuck between the spokes and the cassette. Took 30 seconds or so to free that. I was so angry by then, though, I caught two more women.

By the time I crossed the line, I was sure I was in last place. I was completely exhausted. I tried not to sob. All year, worked hard, came in last. I suck. And my head really hurt from one of the falls where I really smacked my helmet hard. S was there at the finish telling me I had did great. Wasn't sure which race she had been watching.

In retrospect, I had been riding in about 5th place for much of the race. Had I raced a little more carefully and stayed on the bike, I could have stayed there. Looking back at the pics, I was even ahead of a woman in the age group that went off before us. The disparity between my perception and reality is really quite shocking to me. I didn't look at the results until I was at dinner that evening. Totally shocked to discover I came in 10th. Next year, top 5. Year after that: 1. Remember the name. It's a new year - may as well put those goals out there.

And congrats to my teammates who took the Stars and Stripes jerseys (go Julie and Libby!) and Cris taking #2 and Sally 3. NEBC women rock!

Blowing Up At Landmine

Wah! This was my last mtb race of the season (~sniff ~sniff) and the last one I'd be doing in the beginner division. My goals: 1) finish so I received enough points to win the series 2) don't get hurt and screw up my cross season 3) ride more of the technical stuff

The course was fairly flat, 4 wooden bridges, numerous logs and a few killer rock gardens which reminded me of Mt. Snow except they weren't muddy or on a 20% incline/decline. ;-) Unlike all the previous races, this course would be one 11 mile loop which meant no pre-ride on the day of the race so I decided to pre-ride on Saturday to check it out, see what Wompy State Park was like and just get back on my mt bike. Saturday was HOT and humid, I rode around noon, didn't eat lunch and pretty much set myself up for a bonk-fest. The course was super dry and dusty and on the first small downhill section with left turn I skidded out and went down hard on my left side. Hmmmmm....wrong tires? Have my skills really degraded in 3 weeks off? Was I simply spacing out? Similarly, on a small downhill section with tight left turn that went onto the bridge, I went in a little hot, couldn't hold the line I wanted and yes, flew off the bridge (3-4 ft drop into branches, brambles, weeds). As I went off the bridge I thought, "This is going to hurt." but oddly enough it wasn't so bad. One gi-normous bruise on my thigh, a few scratches, a 4" diameter stick through my rear wheel (no broken spokes!) and fortunately, no witnesses. ;-) The last 3 miles or so, I was entering the bonk zone - wasn't sure where I was in the woods, couldn't wait to be done, and pretty much walked through the rocky sections since I didn't think being so tired and handling technical stuff was wise. Was so happy to get back to the car and probably at least 5 lbs lighter given how much I had sweat out there. :(

Race day I was still feeling pretty tired but kept telling myself all I had to do was ride conservatively, finish, get enough points and win the '07 season series. Funny how all that flies out the window when the whistle blows. One thing I have learned is that it's really important for me to be out front. I don't ride as well in back of others (something I need to work on next year). The first mile was flat, fast and not technical. I wanted to be out front after that section. Three younger women flew out off the front and I let them go. Then one woman from my age group who was also super fast flew by and I let her go. At the end of that first mile section, I started running into the 55+ men and juniors. The juniors were really good about yielding on the trail where there was space but I think the older guys really weren't happy about getting "girled". Really super frustrating as I was going way slower than I knew I was capable was and felt my lead just melting away.

For about 1/2 the course, I fought for second place with another woman. We were pretty well matched and traded back and forth between 2nd and 3rd perhaps 3 or 4 times. The last time she passed me I was pretty wiped but thought I still had a chance if I didn't make any mistakes and so that's what I drilled in my head. No mistakes, ride EVERYTHING and if you need to get off, use your 'cross skills to get back on fast. Amazing what you can ride when you tell yourself that. That helped me catch up to her, had to jump off in a uphill rock garden but at the top of the hill did perhaps my best 'cross mount ever and took the lead back. Now I knew I just needed to push it and not wipe out. The pre-ride helped here as I remembered there was one large log, then flat and fast twisties to the grass and then finish. I thought that if could ride the log (way bigger than any I'd done before) and then sprint, I had second. If I endo'ed on the log, race over. Push...push...push...where's the log? where's the log? holy $^%$# it's bigger than I remember....hope that dirt's tasty in case I bite it big time... popped the front wheel...chainring hits the log...pedal...over! And still upright! Such a rush of adrenaline that I was still riding that I had a good sprint for the 1/4 mile to the finish. Took 2nd by 6-8 seconds or so. :) Won the race series for the season. More importantly, really improved my bike skills this season. Stuff that scared me silly in the spring is totally doable now (with a little guts and much trepidation). Looking forward to taking it to the next level next season.

I'm off for two weeks now - but when I return, it's full throttle on 'cross (Amesbury should be my first 'cross race of the season. So psyched!)

The Point Of It All

Sometimes you need to ride with a 6 year old to remember the real reason we ride bikes in the woods. My usual goal is to get from point A to point B as fast as possible, choose the shortest route, the line with the least obstacles, the smoothest part of the trail. Yesterday I rode with E and he reminded me that oh, yeah, finding your favorite rock, gnarliest root or tallest log can be the most fun. And doing it over and over is even better. Why go down the middle of the trail when you can skim the sides and hit the rocks less ridden? Why do it once as fast as possible instead of trying it again - this time with both feet off the pedals Good questions.... Pretty damn smart for a 6 year old. Turned out to be one of my best rides this summer!

Oops!

Yesterday while hiking back from the beach, we passed this car parked near Dyke Bridge. Since I'm always checking out bikes, I glanced up at this one and thought, "Huh....is that fork on backwards? WTF? Weird bike.....OOOOOH!" Yeah, someone else did what I told TCB every cyclist does at one point in their cycling career. And to be totally honest, we almost did exactly the same thing with the Merlin while getting on the ferry last Friday. Ouch.

US MTB National Championships

We headed up to Mt. Snow Thursday morning aiming to pre-ride the course later that afternoon. As we approached closer and closer to West Dover, the skies got darker and darker. By the time we pulled into the parking lot, there was a decent, steady drizzle falling. Since the course would be closed from 8-7pm the next day, our only chance to pre-ride would be that afternoon or super early Friday morning. So despite the rain, we headed out on the course.

Wow – I’ve heard lots of things about Mt. Snow’s XC course and it lived up to all of it. Technical, wet, rocky, rooty, hilly killer course. It’s a 5 mile course laid out in a north and south loop. The start is a very slight uphill dirt road that then turns up the mountain, zigs and zags a bit on fireroad, still up, up (past the first feed zone) then goes left off the ski slope into the first wooded section. There you start the descent down on rocky, rooty single track, across a couple of small streams, pop out onto a ski slope and head straight down toward the start where you’d then head back out the opposite direction up a LONG climb to the south loop. The climb starts out gradual but after a level bit through the woods turns straight UP the mountain. Steep, mud, roots, rocks. I can’t imagine anyone being able to ride it (especially in the muddy condition) and sure enough even the pro-women were doing the hike-a-bike through that section. Lots more up, up, up until you’ve hit about mile 3 and then you start heading down through the most difficult trails I’ve ever ridden. Mostly single track, rocks, roots, stairs, 4 foot drops over roots, you name it, it was there. After about 1.5 miles of that gnarly single track, you finally pop out down a ski slope and onto a fire road, through a tunnel, past the Grand Summit Hotel, small gradual climb until a nice downhill to the finish line.

So imagine seeing it for the first time during a two hour deluge. Yes, it dumped rain on us the entire time we were out there. The climbs were made tougher by the dirt that was now inches of mud. The technical downhill sections were pretty much impossible since choosing a line was a total crap shoot. The puddles and mud hid the holes, rocks and roots. And all the rain made everything slick as snot. We kept telling ourselves if we could ride it in these conditions we could do even better when (if?) it dried out by our race on Saturday morning. We spent a few hours out there slipping, sliding, trying to figure out lines, etc. At one point on one of the more sketchier downhill sections, we ran into an expert woman rider we know who was also off her bike, walking (made us feel good) and saying how it was pretty much impossible to ride in these conditions. As we were discussing this particular section (two trees in the middle of lots of rocks – go left, between or right of the trees?) two guys come flying down the hill and chose to go between the two trees. That line looked good on the surface but under the mud was a slick web of roots. The first guy went down hard, second guy was able to stop. First guy was ok. We all decided the left line was best after that. ;-)

Friday we spent watching the men semi-pro, and women’s pro races. All the lap counts were reduced by 1 lap given the conditions of the course. For the men’s semi-pro, the gradual fire road climb between the two loops was so muddy that mostly all the guys were off their bikes. By the time the pro women’s race (3 laps instead of 4) went off at 2pm, it was much drier given the sun and breeze. Amazing race to watch. Mary McConneloug led out from the start and never gave it up. I think she ended up beating Georgia Gould by 90 sec or so. Wow. So cool to watch those guys ride.

Saturday was blue skies and breezy for our race. It had rained a bit overnight so the course got a bit of extra moisture on it. Lovely. Earlier that morning, the expert men and women races were held and their lap counts were reduced by one so expert women ended up with having to do only 2 laps. Beginners were scheduled to do 2 so we were wondering if they would cut us to 1. But no, they kept us to 2 laps which I figured would be to my advantage anyway since lately I’ve been relying on my fitness and not my technical skills. My goals were to: 1) finish 2) not get hurt. My strategy was to basically push hard on all the rideable climbs and put lots of distance between me and my competitors since I knew the downhill sections would be super difficult.

Our wave rolled up to the start, and the announcer introduced us each by name.(!) I was shocked when he mentioned along with my name that I was ranked #2 in the country. (Who was he talking about? ;-) Yes, I had discovered a few weeks ago I was the ranked as the #13 Women Beginner, then moved up to #5 but I guess my win last week moved me up to #2. Oh geez…nothing like a little more pressure at the start of the race. I can’t begin to describe how cool it was to stand at the start line as the clock ticked down, fans banging on the walls lining the course and being super excited to just start riding.

Race went off as planned. I rode up the entire hill of the north loop (found out later that all of the others in my division walked parts of it). I hit the first wooded section in first, and couldn’t believe the mud. It was like biking though a giant vat of peanut butter. Slipping, sliding, and off the bike for my first fall. And of course, in front a big group of spectators who had hiked up to watch the carnage. I was glad I did not disappoint in putting on a good show for them. ;-) I was so happy when I survived the first wooded section that when I popped out on the ski slope for the downhill, I almost endo’d as I flew down and hit a trench (nice recovery). Whew. The entire first lap was made difficult as I was spending a lot of time avoiding the juniors. Especially on the hike-a-bike mud steep uphill section and the downhill sections. I started catching women from the two age groups below mine as well. Toward the end of the first lap, in the absolute worst section of downhill rocks, I had probably my worst fall (hard enough to brake my plastic number plate), I lost my chain and thought I had broken my left shift lever. I spent 2-3 minutes getting the lever unjammed and getting the chain back on. Finished the first lap in 1 hr 20 min. (that’s almost as long as any mtb race I had previously done). Oddly, though, I pretty much felt ok as I headed out for lap #2. True to form, I rode that lap much better (and faster) than the first. With no juniors and very few other riders to avoid, I was able to set my own cadence and just ride. I could spin better up the climbs and was much smoother on the technical downhill sections. Finished the race in 2hr 39 min. 1st place for Beginner Women 40+ and I later realized would have been good enough for a 6th place finish in the Expert Women 45+ .

Coolest part - S doing her first 2 lap mtb race ever crushes the competition for 2nd place. How cool is it to be 1 and 2 on the podium together! Gold and silver medals. Yeah.

Beginner and sport categories aren’t awarded National Championship stars and stripes jerseys but they do get the blue stripes and red stars jerseys. So I have a very cool, new blue stripe jersey.

Hell's Divas

Today was the Pat's Peak XC MTB race in Henniker, NH. Uffff. One should be leery of bike races at ski resorts that have the word "peak" in them. 5 miles long, 847 vertical feet of climbing. Doesn't really sound like much. Tell that to my burning lungs.

The race was also part of the Pat's Peak MTB Festival. So while we arrived there in lots of time to pre-ride the course, we couldn't because the crazies doing the 24 hour race were still out there. Wow. Can't imagine doing that solo. But I can imagine doing it as part of a four person team. If you're reading this and want to do such a thing, let me know. I'm game. Anyway, ate our pre-race pbj's, hung out and talked to the downhill guys a bit about what their races were like, their bikes, etc. The idea of just going down sounds enormously appealing until I look at the body armor, bikes with 8" of travel, and some of the air these guys get on the course. I'd be the one coming down the course with their brakes on fire and setting new speed records for slowest decent humanly possible. ;-) Wussy downhill girl, for sure.

Since we were there so early and couldn't pre-ride, it gave me lots of time to fix my flat rear tire. Headed to the start line a little before 9 and knew it was going to be a hot one. Received lots of instructions from the officials - mostly warnings about water bars on the downhills. We'd be doing two laps and again following the 50+ men's division. The fields were pretty small. I suspect a lot of people were at Pedro's MTB Festival. Fine with me, though.

So the course: The start was up the grassy ski slope. Then some single track through the woods. Cross a ski slope, more single track, lots of climbing up ski trails, more climbing on single track (yay! shade!) Up..up...up...down...across...up...up...across...down...then a nice twisty single track section down the mountain. That part was super fun. Spectators who were supporting the 24 hr folks also had a great sense of humor and set up the "Teeter-Totter of Death" and "Ramp of Doom" which also added a bit of fun to the course.

As for my race, I thought I was going to spontaneously combust on some of the uphills. I'm sure the color of my face matched the red of my NEBC jersey perfectly. Stopped at the water stations for water to pour on my head. I rode most of the course by myself - leaving most of the women behind on the the first uphill. The second lap, I slowed a bit thinking I shouldn't kill myself before Mt. Snow. Thought I heard a women's voice behind me but thought, "Eh...far enough behind...probably one of the 24 hr riders." Yeah. Sure. Tell that to my sorry slow butt when she passed me 300 yds from the finish. Stayed on her tail and tried to get back in front but was blocked by the narrow trail. F*&^%%$!!! Couldn't see her number so I didn't know if she was in my race. She wasn't. We crossed the line together. Never should have let her get that close, though. Stupid.

All in all, it was the toughest race I did this season due to the climbing and the heat. Good warm up for Mt. Snow, though. I know that will be tougher. Still - looking forward to it.

Results: 1st place Beginner Woman 35+
Still have the leader's jersey
And now, I'm officially a Hell's Diva - got the t-shirt as proof for winning.

And yes, S won the First Timer's division! Pretty soon she'll be moving up to my division. Which means I better get to the sport division soon!

Flats

What is it with me and flat tires this week? Thursday morning I headed out to do a 32 mile ride. Right smack in the middle of a great downhill around 25 miles into my ride, I hear, "PING! Pshttttt!" and feel that dreaded let down rear flat tire feeling. "Crap!" I said as I passed a jogger heading the opposite direction. I think he thought I had Tourette's.


Then Friday I head down to CT to pick up the newly fixed Bobtail. The guys at New Country BMW were super nice. Had a hard time walking past the new 328xi Sports Wagons in the showroom. Didn't help that the service guy was whispering, "Trade in...trade in..." in my ear. Soon, I'm sure but not quite yet. Anyway, since I was in CT figured it would be a perfect excuse to drop in on mom and dad, hang out, get some good pasta and give my dad his belated Father's Day present (bad daughter - very late.) Later that evening, we decided to head out to walk off our dinner. As we walked up the driveway, my mom looks at my car and says, "Uh oh. You have a flat!" Yep. Sure was. Flat, flat, flat.

The next day, dad and I take it to the station. Turns out to be a faulty valve. Got it fixed and headed back up to Beantown, hoping I'd have enough time to get a short ride in. Rushed home, threw on shorts and a jersey. Out to the garage, grab the Merlin, pump up the front tire, move to the rear tire. And yep, it was flat. While I was at it, I checked out Rocket. And of course, it's rear tire was also soft. Someone is trying to tell me something.

Things You DO (and Do NOT) Want To Hear...

The plan for this morning was a ride with the guys but it turned out to be just me and The Columbian which is always just fine with me. It's always an entertaining ride with a conversation that makes the miles fly by. Today's highlights:

Good To Hear:
"Yeah, I can tell you're in much better shape this year. Your ass looks HARD! Can I touch it?"
"NO!"

Bad To Hear:
"Careful, Darling, twisty, steep downhill. Don't biff it!"

Good coffee and muffin, too!

Just One Of Those Days

Sunday was one of those days that makes you believe that there's some higher power out there thinking he/she/it's going to have a little fun and it just happens to be your turn to be the object of their amusement.

The plan: head down to CT for a 9am mtb race (Channel Three XC Race). S was going to head down with me so I told Luna Chick (one of the ones who got us lost in the Fells a few weeks ago) we couldn't carpool.

Reality: Alarm triggers at 5am, roll out of bed, down some coffee and cereal and start getting my gear ready. S decided that her ankle really was hurting too much and it wouldn't be wise to stress it further in a race so she bows out to workout at home and do some chores/errands.

Pack up the car and head out. About 5 min from home, I realize I never put the pump in the car. (PITA #1). Return back home, pick up pump. On the road again. Usually, while driving to a race, I'm fired up, bopping to some tunes, and on the edge of my seat. This time, I was pretty low key - figured I was just tired and shouldn't have had that Mike's at Marta's the night before.

The weather has been a little unstable over the past few days. On my 90 min drive to the race, I saw blue sky, sun, drizzle, low clouds and just as I'm getting off on my exit, the sky opens and dumps so hard we're all going 30 mph and can't see. (PITA #2).

Next, apparently the gods have been playing with Google Maps. The directions I had had me turning right onto a non-existent street (PITA #3). I drove around in circles in the CT backwoods for a half hour until I finally found someone out for the morning walk and who fortunately could direct me to where the race was located.

I arrived at the race, found Luna Chick and chatted as we got our bikes ready. Pumped up the tires and shocks, donned shoes and then started searching for my helmet bag which besides my helmet, contains my gloves and glasses. Not in the back of the Fat Ass, must have left it in the front. Nope, not there either. Behind the seat? Nope. F*&^%$#@! Left it at home. (PITA #4)

Ok, well, let's at least tape on the GU so assuming I find a helmet, I'm good to go. Black electrical tape is also in helmet bag. ~sigh. But, Luna Chick to the rescue with some duct tape! Yay! I pull off a strip and use my teeth to rip it. Somehow, it sticks to my lips and when I rip it off, I draw blood. (PITA #5). Un-f(*&^!-believable.

Here's where the gods stopped playing with me (somewhat) and my luck changed. Headed to registration anyway thinking I could bum a helmet from someone. Chris, the race director, didn't have any spares but since he would be racing Expert hours later, he offered me his. It was way too big but if I left my sorry excuse for a ponytail in, it snugged up the helmet just enough. I also had to really shorten the straps so now I truly looked like a dork with a huge amount of excess straps hanging down.

By this time, it was 8:30 which meant no time really to pre-ride the course or warm up. Went out 10 min worth on the course and 10 back. Roll up to the start line - this time not muddy but still bloody from my encounter with the duct tape. The other girls also admired my combination of mtb and paintball bruises on my legs. Wasn't sure whether to say, "Bite me!" or "I'll rip your legs off so quit picking on mine." :)

Anyway, oh, yeah, the race. There were about a dozen of us at the start, 5 or so in my division but only one woman who I thought I'd need to worry about. "Pinky" had won my first mtb race and seemed to be in decent shape. She was starting in the front row, I was in the second directly behind and not worried since there was a good amount of trail to catch and pass the other riders. Sure enough, the whistle goes off, and it's Pinky off the front, followed by a 19-34 year old rider and about 5 riders then me. Slowly, I picked off the 5 riders, the younger girl passed Pinky (never to be seen again - we were dusted) and I was on Pinky's wheel. Coming to the first bridge she took a bad line, hit the bridge hard and endo'ed. Ouch. I passed her. She then passed me on the next big uphill. I passed her on the downhill (fascinating to see the battle between hardtail and FS in action). We traded places all through the race. This course was way hillier than any I've done so far - at least 3 big climbs, two of which I couldn't do even in the granny. And riding with sweaty hands and no gloves really made life exciting. ;-)

By the end of the first lap, we were still riding together and here's where I made my first tactical mistake. I ripped the GU off the handlebars thinking I was in the feedzone but I wasn't - ended up trying to eat GU, drink some water and climb a hill at the same time. This broke up my rhythm just enough to slow me down and allow Pinky to get a lead that I couldn't make up. She ended up beating me by 30 sec or so.

The good: I rode really well. First race that I didn't fall or add to my bruise collection. I rode everything except the two very large downed trees. There were lots of roots, rocks, short climbs, steep descents (one I handled so well the marshall was applauding, yelling "SO SMOOOOOTH!!!"). I rode a couple of tricky bridges that had either logs or rocks leading up to them, 8" planks across water, all kinds of fun stuff. I loved the feeling of riding the off camber section fast, feeling/hearing the shocks working hard, the bike doing what I tell it and just feeling more confident on the bike - I've learned how to use the sliding rear wheel on turns rather than freaking out or fighting it. Really loved the course. And I'm thinking I want to do sport and be out there for one more lap.

Lessons learned: Make sure all the gear is in the car, don't trust Google Maps/MapQuest/etc., don't get duct tape stuck on lips (or if it's already too late, remove gently). Oh yeah, pre-ride the course if at all possible. And try a little bit harder. 30 sec isn't all that much.

Final result: 3rd woman overall, 2nd in age group

Nice People Rule!

Dreary, drizzle, 45 degree morning here in Boston. I have a bunch of weekend plans that don't include riding so I figured I'd get some miles in this morning. I've ridden in worse, no biggie, it'll be great once I'm out there....yada yada yada. Definitely a beanie and bootie kind of ride. While pumping up my rear tire, I noticed the valve acting a bit funky - leaking a bit of air when I screwed on the valve cap. Hmmm....weird...oh, well, let's leave the cap off. Seemed ok that way. Famous last words.

The weather deteriorated the further and further I rode from Lexington. By the time I hit the top of Strawberry Hill 15 miles into the ride, there was a steady drizzle coming down. Still....no worries...everything was fine. Jamming down the fun downhill section on Pope St. I start feeling something a little weird with the back wheel. Eh. Whatever. Another 1/2 mile and I look down at the wheel, and yeah, I had to admit it, it was flat. Pita!

I seem to be doing a lot of this lately so fortunately I'm setting new records at fixing a flat. That came in super handy this morning as my fingers were losing feeling when I took the gloves off. So I got it fixed and finished up a 30 mile ride

But the best part, in the brief time I changing out the tube, no less than four (4!) drivers stopped to help, offered me a ride and their sympathy! Nice people rule!

Hey! What Was That?!?!

It's always an adventure. Always.

Today, S and I were on the road bright and early at 6am. Typical pre-race morning - we threw the bikes on the car, grabbed giant to-go cups of coffee and settled in to watch the sun rise. Beautiful, crisp, clear morning and we had the road all to ourselves for the most part. Only other cars cruising out on the Mass Pike were wackos like us or those with a super long drive to visit mom. About 30 min into our drive, cruising in the middle lane around 80mph, I hear a THUMP that most definitely was NOT coming from the stereo. "Hey! What the f*&^&% was that?!?!" Instinctively, I check the rear view mirror and much to my shock and horror, I see one mtb wheel bounce off the hatch, hop a few times in middle lane, and just keep rolling down the pike. Eventually, it crosses to the high speed lane and flops down next to the jersey barrier. Immediately, we pulled over to breakdown turned and looked at each other, eyes WIDE, "What do we do?!?!?!" The other thoughts going through my mind were, "Whose wheel was it?!?!" quickly followed by, "If it's mine, will hers work on my bike?" While S called the Staties, I opened the sunroof and saw my wheel sitting there safe and sound. The trooper on the line said they'd send someone to help out and while we waited I watched the wheel in the rearview mirror, mentally steering approaching vehicles away from it. I was certain it was going to be smashed to bits, or worse yet, hurt someone. Within five minutes, a trooper arrived and after briefly chatting with us, flicked on his lights and siren, drove backward, crossed three lanes of traffic and retrieved the wheel. Inspecting it upon return, it looked practically perfect - just a tiny scratch on the skewer handle. Rather than throwing it back on the rack, we threw it in the backseat, safely on suicide watch (S was certain that the wheel threw itself off the car in despair since she wasn't planning on racing.)

The race got off to the same kind of start. Arrived early enough to pre-ride the course but should have asked which direction it went as I ended up missing the first part of the course. Then there was the fact that I found myself somewhere in the middle of the woods, no idea how close I was to the Start/Finish and less than 30 min to the start. Oh, yeah, and I took a swim in the mud pit as well during the pre-ride along with a few good falls. The overall result: I arrived at the start line slightly out of breath, muddy and bloody. I'm not sure if that intimidates the other riders or if they look at me, think "LOSER!" and decide to ride no where near me.

As we're waiting for the start, one of the riders mentions the first part of the course (missed in the pre-ride) and the wet roots (Hate roots. Just hate them!). Uh, oh. Quick shuffling of goals: #1) get the hole shot or close to it. REALLY didn't want to be in the back of the pack with tons of riders down in front. The red head who won the 19-34 division at Farmington was in the pack. I knew she was a good rider - fast and fluid over even the more technical stuff. Figured she'd go for the hole shot so I decided I'd jump on her wheel and hang there as long as possible.

Whistle goes off, she jumps out front, and as planned I'm right on her wheel, second into the woods. I keep telling myself to floor it over the roots, keep up my speed and momentum and DON'T THINK, let the bike find the line, don't force it. And it totally worked. Skimmed right over the dreaded roots and while I was dusted by the red head, I seemed to have put quite a serious distance between me and the rest of the pack.

I rode the rest of the race pretty much on my own. Early in the first lap I had one nasty fall, lost the chain and ended up getting passed by two women. Every time through the deep mud pit, I fell, one of the falls being a spectacular endo. My bike and I looked like we'd been dipped in chocolate. Delicious! Toward the end of the first lap, I was feeling pretty tired and actually began to doubt whether doing a second lap was wise.
Headed out on the 2nd lap. Ate my GU in the feed zone which was followed by a swoopy up and down, fast section of the course and I was totally revitalized. Rode the second lap better than the first (seems to be the norm with me.) With 10 minutes to go, I jammed my middle ring with a chunk of wood and the rear derailleur was so coated in muck it wasn't shifting too well either. Between that and the fact that my rear tire was flat (didn't notice until I returned to the car at the end), I felt pretty slow going into the finish.

I really enjoyed the course. Slightly less rocky than Glocester, more stream crossings, more mud and I really liked all the practice on the roots. I feel like I'm riding better and stronger.



Final result: 1st in Beginner Women 35+, 4th overall. Oh, yeah, and I captured the Series Leader Jersey!