Thank you Keith Olbermann

Please think about this. More people need to start caring about love and compassion and not division of a country, a culture war in these great States, and us versus them. This is about the heart. (Click the title to watch the commentary)

SHIFTLESS!!

Shiftless! This is my team name for the 24 Hour in the Old Pueblo. Yes, the race is months way, but this race fills up every year. Solo categories closed in a little over three weeks this year. crazy, but then again this race is a little carnival like.
I am officially acknowledging that it is wrong to say you will never do something, as my choice in teammates demonstrates. When I started doing these 24 hour events years ago I said I would never race on a team with a guy, or with guys. Of course I have signed up to race co-ed duo this year with one of the few guys I would ever consider competing with - Marc Basiliere. My Big Wheel Racing teammate Jeff Hemperly, or El Freako as he's known, also is a guy I would race with. Marc has raced Old Pueblo for years as a duo, with both guys and gals, so I'm totally relying on his expertice on the best approach. I watched Marc throw down ten laps at Old Pueblo two years ago when his duo partner blew his knee out before the first 12 hours elapsed. And he did so without a complaint or gripe, he just stepped up and kept at it. Now that's the kind of teammate anyone would want.
Now, I have no idea why I agreed to race duo with one of the faster guys I know. Maybe it is some perverse need to punish myself. Maybe it is because I thrive in stressful situations. Whatever the reason, it means I'll be in the gym lifting and I'll be riding as much as I can from now until the race is over. Regardless, it's time to go ride. See you all out there.

Coming Full Circle

Well it seems that a year has passed by unbelievably quick. I have started back at the begining of my yearly training routine, which is where I was when I first created this blog. It has been an interesting year, with some successes and disapppointments. I can't say there were any failures, and the whole year was dedicated to increasing my cycling, both its abilities and the amount of cycling I was doing. I did both. I saw some big improvements in some areas, and I participated in new events, learning something about myself and my abilities in each of them. I did not DNF any events, although I was DFL several times. I participated in every event I signed up for.
So it is time to set some goals for next year. I have decided to focus on gaining strength and becoming more consistent in my performances. I am aware that part of my consistency issue is related to current health problems, but I believe that the more I learn to manage those the more they will not interfere with my performance. So, its off to the gym and back to carefully tracking my progress.

The person I admire

Right now I am a huge fan of my lil sister. We were never buddies when we were kids, only after moving at elast 6 hours apart from each other in our twenties did we start to get along. For years now she has come out west to crew for me at 24 hour races. In high school Jodi was a runner, a distance runner. She was tiny, staying under 100 pounds and under 5 feet tall all through high school - all the effects of running. She quit running in college, and grew finally. A few years ago, as she tells it, she came back from crewing at one of the 24 hour races and thought to herself, Jen is doing this crazy endurance thing on her bike, I ought to be doing something. She kept saying out loud to her husband that she never did run a marathon like she always wanted to, and she ought to get back into running. He finally told her to shut up and just register for the Chicago marathon (her home), and so she did.
So, this past weekend I travelled to Chicago to cheer her on in her third time running the Chicago. I knew what to expect, but I did not expect what I experienced. I cannot think of any other non-arena, non-team sport that would draw that many participants at one time! Almost 40,000 people registered and participated, and the number of people in the streets supporting was triple that - or more!
My bro-in-law and I took the bikes and essentially followed my sister the entire race. We stopped to watch her run by 7 times or more, and got to ride along-side her (not right along side her, but within about 15 feet of her) for 2.5 of the last 3 or 3.5 miles of the marathon. At that point people were dropping out like crazy, mostly because Chicago was unseasonably warm again (last year they called the marathon several hours into it, cutting most people off from finishing, having one death and innumerable prsons off to the hospital from heat exhaustion). We cheered for her, encouraged her, and watched our garmin's to monitor her pace. She ran 55 minutes faster than her previous best, but missed her goal by 7 minutes. All in all she was very happy, having made the choice to back off to try to avoid heat exhaustion, she finished strong and only a little sick.
When cycling, if you are feeling pretty bad, you have places you can maybe coast down a hill, or in the flats you can pedal, coast, pedal - but in running if you are not running you are walking and if you are not doing either of those there is NO forward progress. I'll take a 24 hour bike race over a 4.5 hour run anyday. Kudos lil sister, you rock!!

Show up and you win!!

So this past saturday was the final race of the New Mexico Off-Road Series (NMORS). I had a much better race, taking teammate Matt Turgeon's advice with the input from Shannon Gibson about running a bigger gear on the Siren - which is not quite right yet after last week's match with the clay of Gallup, but getting close.
I was not quite as fast as I hoped, but I was able to come in under 3 hours runing about 30 minutes behind the first place female SS rider. I had a small hang-up out on the course about 5 miles before the finish which probably cost me 5 minutes. I had the shakes pretty good due to the thyroid problem and I was unable to negotiate a dab, which turned into a dragging across rock. I got very fatigued between miles 22-26 but I bounced back fairly quickly and finished really strong.
I am super happy with my effort considering. I took secondoverall single speed female and first in my age group. The performacne was also enough to put me in first place in the NMORS points for the Single Speed Women category.
I stayed to watch the awarding of jerseys to the points series champions of each clas only to be reminded that some people are still ignorant. An official awarding the jerseys made several inappropriate comments about women's categories and what women needed to do to break a points tie. It seems women are still tolerated at the races and in the series, but not yet given credit for their efforts as valid. So to all the women who raced in the series races this year - screw the guys, get out there and keep racing - watch Shannon Gibson, Nina Baum, and Jennifer Tribe-Wilson for inspiration on how to climb to the Pro level in the sport with class and with the ability to finish above most of the men! To the three ladies named - thanks for taking time at races to give encouragement, advice, and answer questions. I think I like these short course races, and I think I may have found a new passion!

How to kill a bike in a single ride

Here's how: Ride it through a downpour, complete with hail, in terrain that is composed prediominately with clay. Water and dry clay turn into something that will destroy parts of it within about 4 miles. Results guaranteed.
OK, I have to be a smart -a$$ because I'm really bummed, to say the least, about the condition of the Siren at the moment. After about 4-6 miles of riding in rain and some mucky conditinos, the rear tire side wall is bare to the threads. I have no idea how it did not totally give during the last few miles of the race. The rims (Stans 355) are worn clear through the anodized coating and down through the rest of the rim to the wear indicators. Of course brake pads are toast, but that is a cheap and simple fix. And there is a gritty sound that after hours of cleaning I have yet to locate, so I have to break the bottom bracket down, and try to check the hubs more closely. The bike, parts and all, has 56 miles on it.... that's it. Oh, and it's a singlespeed, so you would think there would be little to get jacked up in a ride in the rain and mud.

It's complete - well sort of

The Siren is complete - sort of. It weight in at 19.3 lbs - which means it's as twitchy as Tweak. I'll put a Mary Bar on it the coming week, and I may need to get a longer stem, because once I got the seat adjusted I was too crunched up. Not sure I can go back to V-brakes, so I think the disc brakes may go on, which would add weight, which may help the bike stabalize. I put 20 miles on it today in really familiar territory. It may have just been me today, but it felt like it just would not climb. I felt like the brakes were always on. I'm going out Wednesday to see if a different day changes the feel - we have to keep in mind some days my body does not cooperate and I cannot always tell when I'm having a "bad" day. She corners very nicely, although both uphil and downhill I kept loosing the rear end. I'll change tire pressure and make a few other adjustments and see if I can't get her more dialed in, possibly go a little wider tire. I think this bike will rock Tucson in the Spring. Pics available here.

It's coming along

The new Siren Single Speed is 90% built. I was missing rear v-brake bosses, so production halted Monday night just shy of a complete bike. Bosses have been rummaged and brakes are now on. I just need to run the cable and housing, which will require a titch of ingenuity as the bike has v-brake bosses but does not really have v-brake cabeling mounts... so I have to run a full length of cable and find one of those v-brake cable guides that were made for putting v-brakes on old mountain bikes that originally had canti brakes. Yeah, I know, I should have just gone with the disc brakes. And I may still do so, but we'll run it this way this winter and decide whether to upgrade (have a set of mechanical disc brakes in the shop on stnadby) before Tucson.
I also decided after I say upon the mostly complete bike that I really do prefer the Mary BAr, so I will eventuially have to swap out bars. But I'll post pics for all waiting as soon as I have the brakes cables ran. Check back Friday. Saturday I'll put her on dirt at the La Madera trail opening celebration.

State Championships

This past weekend was the New Mexico State XC and Super-D Championships. I raced in both events. The Super-D was quite fun, but definately not a downhill event. It started with loose rocky hairpin switchbacks and then turned into a moderate climb for the last 1.75+ of the 2.3 mile course. I took second in that event.
Sunday was the XC event. I rode hard and felt good for the first 13-14 miles of the 19.5 mile course. I kept the third place rider in my category in sight through the first 7-8 miles and watching her knew I could get a pass in dropping the last decent to the half-way mark. Indeed I did pass her there and kept in front of her for a few miles. She passed me about a mile and a half into the final half - an 8 mile climb up loose rocky, rutted 2 track that has turned more into a drainage ditch than anything. I stayed on her rear wheel until I took a small spill. This caused a mechanical and put me about 5 minutes behind her. I tried too hard to catch her, and glimpsed her in the trees about 15 minutes later, however, the last 2-3 miles of climbing ate me up and I dropped back even further, dashing my hopes of placing in the championships. I did everything I could to have enough calories in me, and to build my stores in the days before the race - but to no avail. Until I able to bring my metabolism rate down to a "normal" level this is going to be an issue for me. Or until I do not make mistakes, like the spill I took.
However,if my calculations are correct, this event will put me in the top 5 of the points series. I will be racing 2 of the last three events in the series over the next 3 weeks. My hopes are to end up in the top 3 of my Sport category after only 5 races in the 13 event series.

Ragin' in the Sage

This weekend was the 6th Annual 24 Hours in the Sage in Gunnison, Colorado. It was my second year racing it and the race marked the one year anniversary to my venture into soloing these events. As noted last week I have been not quite up to par in health and conditioning so I went to have some fun at a race for once instead of to punish myself. My best friend and teammate, Lisa, and I made a decision to ride every lap together and decided to do just 6 laps, which was one shy of what I did last year. The six laps felt great, my shakes only appeared a few times, and I had plenty of gas left in the tank for another lap or two had we chosen to do so.
This was the best time I have had at a race in a very long time. We rode a steady pace, we enjoyed the awesome sunset, the full moon, and the spectacular sunrise over Hartman Rocks and the surrounding mountains. I was surprised to learn I had more laps in me than I did last year, since I have been unable to train the last month or better, and I chalk that up to overall heightened condition from the last year of steady training.
My Partner was amazing crew for Lisa and I and helped watch Lisa's soon to be 2 year old, who is starting to learn how to help, or rather help herself, in camp. It was great to hear her say "momma, go ride your bike" and send Lisa and I out for more! And Lisa, well she's my bestest bud and one of my inspirations, so it was awesome to ride 80 miles with her. I think for both of us it was a chance to get back to why we ride, to leave the pressure of doing well at a race and the fear of not meeting goals behind. I climbed virtually everything on the course every lap for the first time and Lisa rode down decents she rarely felt comfortale on and flew down other decents that she normally kept a mere steady pace down. Lisa, thanks for the inspiration and the awesome time at the Sage! Pics to come soon.

Off to slack at the 24 Hours in the Sage

This coming weekend is the 24 Hours in the Sage. This is the first anniversary of my venture into soloing these events. Unfortunately I will not be going to compete, but just to put a few laps in to quell this nagging disappointment in me over not being able to race the schedule I had planned. I have had a hard time this summer with my overall health and conditioning. One problem was diagnosed and I have managed to adapt my diet to accomodate, but I have been unable to ride even the simplest of rides withut feeling like I am brand new to physical activity. I get the shakes shortly after starting any ride, even a slacker ride with friends. I have been losing weight all summer despite my efforts to maintain my weight or to put on a few pounds before the race (as these events always cause a loss of weight for me).
I know most people say, wish I was that lucky when I complain about losing weight, but I'm losing muscle and fatigue very easily. I have fought tiredness and lethargy all sumer. So tomorrow I'll go forthe first of a few tests to see what the deal is. I'm hoping I'm having some blood sugar problems that can easily be diagnosed and remedied with diet. I'm hoping my thyroid has not decided its fulfillled its potential. Regardless I just want to get back to being able to ride without feeling like I've spent the last ** years sitting on a couch doing nothing.

waiting, I'm just waiting

For parts to come in. Finally made all my decisions regarding components for the new Siren frame. Everything is ordered with the exception of the wheels, stem and seatpost. These three things are in process of being ordered, I hope, and then its build-up time. It's looking like the complete bike will be under 18 pounds. Thanks to everyone who spent so much time working with me on this project so far. I was hoping to have this bike ready for the 24 Hours in the Sage, but I think that's a long shot now because I have not heard if the wheels, stem, and seatpost have been ordered yet. But I'm planning to race it at the High Desert Screamer in Gallup New Mexico in September!!

What's less than 3 pounds and sexy?

My new SS Siren Frame"> frame from Siren bikes. She's 2.93 pounds with a clear anodized finish. Brenden kindly put pink decals on it to keep the theme on my single speeds - my other SS is a Bianchi P.U.S.S. This is going to be the race bike, so I have spent the better part of last week pouring over parts prices and weights. I'm going for a 16-18 lb built-up bike, but we'll see what I can actually manage - light parts are expensive! So far I think I have decided on White Industries ENO crank and chainring, phil wood BB, King Kog, On One Mary Bar,Syntace P6 carbon seatpost. Still deciding on fork and wheels. Light suspension forks (3 lbs) are few, so my options are few. Wheels, depends on whether I go disc or rim brakes - I have yet to decide, the latter saving over 1.5 pounds.... so many options.

The end of blue dot watching

This morning, July 13, 2008 at approximately 3:37 a.m. Mary Collier of Siren Bikes completed the Tour Divide race. Mary completed the race in just under 30 days. She spent the last month riding from Banff Canada to Antelope Wells, New MExico. This womena is an inspiration. Only two woment have every completed, attempted, this even. Mary has demonstrated to all women that we can accomplish the same endurance goals as these crazy guys who show up again and again to do this race. Mary thanks for being the inspiration. When I think of the obstables, physicl and mental you must have gone through, the terrain you covered, the mountains you scaled on a bike loaded with gear, the lonely hours in the middle of nowhere - well, let's just say next time I'm feeling like crap or feeling whiney at a 24 hour race, I'll think of you and this amazing accomplishment and I'll buck up and keep pedaling!
MAry has a final gabcast on her blog, Siren Mary and it was awesome to hear the joy, emotion, and culture shock all in a short time! Way to go Mary!

Drunk Log riding and a game of Foot Down

So came home today from work and my left ankle is huge. My leg has been tender and sore since I wiped out riding down a downed tree obstacle Saturday night out in Gallup. Its progressivley more tender - so I am going to wait another day for my HIT workouts. Since I have been remiss to post, I have been mostly getting miles on the road bike (UGH!!!) since most of the mountain trails are closed because of fire danger and I have been doing high intensity workouts. I definately am getting something out of the HIT's but I think I really need a lot more long rides, so for the next several weekd I'm going back to my last year's weekend workouts of really long rides two days a week. If I don't I'm afraid I will not improve over last year's showing at the Sage. That was my first solo 24 hour race and I have another one under my belt now, so I hope to be able to get at least 9 or 10 laps this year.
Othewr than that I'm working alot because if all goes well Thursday I'll have a beautiful Siren Frame to start building into a light, fast race ride!
Ok, now to catch up on work since I spent most of the day checking Siren Mary's blue dot. See she made it to Cuba, NM and is being held back a little by storms. Hopefully by morning she can head out into reservation and get through Grants! Go Mary!!

What an Inspiration

I've been working with Brenden of Siren bikes the last few weeks on a new singlespeed frame. What an opportunity! The other half of Siren Bikes and the other half of Brenden, Mary Collier, is currently on the home stretch of the Tour Divide race. I have been addicted to watching Mary's blue dot (her GPS tracking Unit) move along the route and now that she is in New Mexico its even more exciting. I think Mary is only like the second female to every attempt this event, she's the only female to have started this year from Banff, Canada. Wow!! Mary's blog has a link to her Spot so you can see where she is. Mary is heading into Cuba, NM today. She's out riding in some of the most beautiful parts of NM right now and I am so envious. I don't want to be at work, I want to be out riding.

If you go too hard, you might make mistakes

This weekend I headed down to Socorro, NM for the Tour of Socorro Omnium (that means 2 races). Saturday was the XC race, and I of course was up against at least 2 women who sdhould have been racing expert. Such is the life in the Women's fields, most do not race enough to be forced into the right class by USAC, NMORS, or other riders. Regardless, we all know I am doing these races for experience and not to place. Its bad enough that the chances are high I will race too many of these and end up with the problem of possibly winning the darn series just because I have more points by being consistently 4th or 5th points-wise.
Anyway, there were 10 sport women, 5 of us age 35+ (relevant for the NMORS point series). Interestingly the second place woman is racing expert in the next event...hmmm... anyway... I was about 7-8 minutes of the 7th and 8th place riders (I was in 9th) and was finally warmed up and riding well come the second lap. I climbed better, I held better lines and was moving faster on the flats, downhills. I was pleased that I was going to finish the second lap in the same time or better than the first lap - when .6 of a mile from the finish, at the bottom of the very last downhill, I got too far forward and washed the front wheel out. I hit the ground like a ton of bricks and was so mad at myself I just hollered. Of course, not remembering there were others on the course, I think I gave they racer behind me a little scare with my outburst. he kindly pulled my bike off of me, as I had landed in the worst position possible. he wanted me to take a moment and regroup before I got up, but to no avail, I was up and walking it off as soon as he gave me a hand up. It was quite difficult to ride, the pain and cramping in my left thigh/hip area was nauseating, but ride I did, just really slowly now. I have some hella bruises and enough pain to think I actually was hit by a truck, but so as the life of one who makes such mistakes.
This 18 miles was far better than El Paso, and taking the crash out I was only 15 minutes behond the 2 riders in front of me. Now to figure out how to be 30 minutes faster so I can compete with these expert women in the sport class!!

Dawn til Dusk

It was only 18 or 20 degrees when racers lined up on Mentmore Road in Gallup, New Mexico Saturday morning, but everyone was upbeat and full of good humor. This year the race started by running the racers out dirt road to the end of the loop and then onto the course in hopes of avoiding the cluster that mass starts often cause. I ran the singlespeed and of course knowing I am not as strong as I should be, I went +2, so I lost a great deal of ground on the road, but when I hit the trail I was happy with my choice. I caught up to Ayden, son of my teammate Chris. Ayden is 13 and this was his first endurance mountain bike race. We cruised a nice steady, but not too slow pace for our first lap. I made a fairly quick pit and headed back out for my second lap. I caught up to Ayden about 1.5 miles in, the first 2 miles are 80% climbing, it is where you do a huge part of the 17oo feet of climbing per lap. He was feeling sick, so not being in the mindset that I could compete with the big gals, I walked with him a bit, advised him the best return route to camp, and when the 5th place SSF passed me, I took off to not be too far behind her.
My second lap felt good. I was not strong enough to ride most of the climbing in the first 1.5 miles, but after that I was able to move along at a decent clip. I kept a pace that would have gotten me 6 laps had I not taken such long breaks between laps. I mostly took long breaks to try to save my feet. After Gunnison last year My feet were in pain and half numb for weeks. I can barely last 15 miles without the pain making it so I can't pedal, so each lap I am taking shoes off, rubbing them, etc. to allow me to continue. On my third lap I passed the 4th place rider, but within 2 miles, the 6th place rider, who had a mechanical on the road the first lap, passed me and within a few miles more, the gal who had been fourth passed me, so I was in 6th. In the end I was 5th, although the 5 times I checked the results postings from 6 to 7pm I was 4th. The actual 4th place rider beat me by 35 minutes or so. Had I gotten a 6th lap, I still think I would only have gotten 4th, because the 3rd place rider got her 6th lap 45 minuters before I got my 5th lap.
All said, I was happy with my performance and my effort despite my not training at all for the last 2 months. I literally have ridden 5-6 times since 24 HITOP. I imagine had I still been training I could have contended for 3rd place, but it would have taken 8 laps, 8 friggin fast laps to have competed with those first and second place gals.
Now, back to Ayden. Ayden and I went out on our last lap together (he was out for his 4th, me my 5th). I struggled for the first 4 miles on that last lap because my feet hurt so bad it was making me nauseous. At about 5 miles in I told Ayden to just go ahead and he said - "no, I said I would stay with you and I will." We rode that lap together, and I came in slightly ahead of him. When he came in, he was right in front of none other than Travis Brown.
My best pal (who we convinced to not bail at 3 pm the day before) Lisa rocked out 6 laps in Solo Female class. That class was also the very tough. Last year she would have placed, but like me, she wuld have needed 2 more laps to be in contention. If only these races would start breaking out the women into age categories like they do the men. There were 7 SSF, and more than that in the Sf class. I think that's good enough showing to let us have age categories too!! Lisa and I had a great time together. I think this was her first race ever without her huuby there to crew for her. My girlfried was her stand in crew. My team was rockin' and it was awesome to be out there with such an awesome group of people. Jeff won the Solo SS male 40+ and Lenny got third in the same class.

Getting My Butt Kicked

As promised I hauled myself down to El Paso for the first race in the NMORS series this weekend. And I got my butt handed to me. These "short course" races are tough. To describe the course: everythhing I hate about the Cedro trails and more! I am obviously way to used to these courses set up for endurance. I think I am as sore, and more beat up than I was after 24 HITOP!
One redeeming thing about just being able to finish the race is that NMORS is a series, so points are awarded for places from 1st through 15th. In the women's side of things, very few women show up to these, so although I did not place at the race, I received decent points in my age category towards the points race. NMORS has added women's age catgories this year, which is why I decided to try at least a few of these...to support this change.
A shout out to my BWR teammates Lenny, Doug, and Chris and his son Ayden for their finishes and their support and wisdom! I really appreciate it all guys!!
And a very special shout out to my girl, who is recovering from major surgery...even with limited ability...the best crew and suport ever.

A change of pace

Well I think I may have finally convinced myself to do two things this summer. First, go to a pro-run skills camp - because other people are paying for it for me. I really want to learn how to do wheelie drops, manuals, and big drops and we all know I love downhill-ish rides more than anything. Hence why these darn hill climbing endurance races eat me up! Second, I'm going to do a little traditional cross-country racing. The NMORS series has added women's categories and I want to support that effort.
I guess that means I better get a little more serious about training again.....

The Team Goes Euro

Well everyone, Big Wheel racing has gone Euro. Its very exciting to me as a member to know that the Team continues to grow, let alone to grow overseas! I'm especially excited about our Germany connection. I have family in Germany presently, and for years have been saying I need to get my behind over there, not just because I could et a free place ot stay, but also because I'm 3/4 German.
I think the stars may be aligning for me to fulfill a drem of taking a Euro vacation and riding abroad!
Welcome to all of my new teammates and thanks Michael (aka Wunnspeed) for all your hard work overthere putting things together. I'm sure your past experiences will get the Euro half of the team going in a fantastic direction!

Thanks to Sponsors

I want to make a special post to say thank you to all of the Team BWR sponsors. Most of them are listed and linked to at the BWR website . I want to give special thanks to Christina P Argyres, Attorney at Law for sponsoring me and encouraging me. I wish her the best of luck in her quest to be nominated onto the 2008 ballot for Metropolitan Court Judge.
And to C:Change in Chicago Illinois for sponsoring me (and employing my lil sister). C:Change has lent an awesome hand with logos for some of our other sponsors. They also allowed my sister a day off work to fly to Tucson to support me and to race on a four person women's team. That team rode for fun, but finished well and had a great time. My sister has come to Tucson every year I have raced except one. She a marathon runner, but the last two years we have thrown her ona bike and sent her out. She isn;t fast, but let me tell you, for a gal from the midwest that doesn't ride offroad much, she's a trooper. Thanks again C:Change for giving her a chance to become a part of your team and for sponsoring mine!
These tweo sponsors' logos are placed on the Team BWR race kits. At Tucson those logos made 82 laps around the course for 1, 312 miles and 98.4K feet of elevation gain.

Second Place in Tucson

Well the 2008 race season is officially here. Mother nature did her best to discourage me from starting my season off last weekend at the 24 hour in the Old Pueblo in Arizona, but she failed. Two extremely painful knees and many other sore muscles later I waddled away (I'm still not walking right) with second place in the women's solo single speed category. Let me tell you folks, it was a roller coaster of a ride.
No I did not meet my personal goals, BUT I did not give up either! saturday started out more than soggy from the record breaking precipitation that fell from about 2:00 am Friday to about 4:00 am Saturday in the form of rain, sleet, and yes even snow! Unlike my teammates, my camping arrangements did not stand up to the weather. At 6:00 am Friday I had standing water in our tent, our bags, clothes, and coats were soaking. Everything in our ez-up shelter was soaked, including bikes, food, and race clothes. After tempers flared from stress, cold, wet, and lack of sleep, we packed it in and headed into Tucson in search of a dryer, a new tent, and dry place to sleep.
A huge shout out to my girlfriend for getting everything dry and buying a new tent, to my sister for dealing with me and the horrible conditions, and to their race team member Rita and her other half and their local friends for the use of a dryer and a place to nap and get ourselves together. Without all of you I would have headed home!
Race morning was cold and wet, as this race has been more times than not for me. About the time Todd (race promoter) fired the shotgun for the exceedingly long run to the bikes we were already peeling layers! The sun indeed started to show and a good portion of the course dried out - but the placed that did not, never did and were quite the resistance monsters! However when night fell and the temps plumeted, the moisture rose back out of the ground and started to turn to ice. It was not until about 9 or 10 sunday that the course started to get really dry again.
Now as for my race performance..... it was not what I had hoped. On the down side my lap times sucked and I did not reach my goal of 8 to 10 lpas. On the up side I managed my food well thanks to Hammer. A bottle of perpetuem, hammer gel shots every lap, and endurolytes caps in between laps kept me going and kept the stomach problems I usually have away. I felt good - EXCEPT! - for my knees which started to hurt on lap 3 and by lap 5 I was crying and walking because I literally could not push through a pedal stroke without almost passing out. Crikey!! Motrin 800's did not relieve it, long rests, and changed gear ratios also did not help. I had to pack it in about 2:30 am. I was seriously bummed. I was ranting that I was never doing these races solo again, and that I was tired of something always going wrong... yadda, yadda, yadda. But on that long, slow 5th lap, Jeff Hemperly, the Freko from Rico, who is a team BWR member and who was in 1st or 2nd in the male solo SS class, passed me and said, don't give up....
So I didn't. I rested the knees for many hours and at sunrise I got redressed, got everything in order and headed out with my girlfriend (racing on a 4 person team with my lil sister). She ditched me halfway out because the knees were still so bad I was having to walk and could not hold a decent cadence. When I returned to the pits, I was all set to call it a race, but I learned that if I dug deep and got back out there for one last lap, I would be back in second place, which was where I was running at 2:30 when I had to pack it in for the long rest. So out again I went. The last three miles was so painful that the poor guy behind me just kept saying, "that's it, talk through it" the whole way - he was in survival mode too -
Needless to say I am proud of myself for not giving up, for getting back out there and for making the effort. It felt good to stand up there on the podium and know I earned that place.

Getting Noticed part 2

OK I talk to much. I know this. My report cards as a a kid all said I was a great student, but I talked in class too much. I ended up with my career(s) because of my gift of gab. So apparently I talk about riding and racing too much at work, because the President emailed me today that she asked the Media Relations people to do a story in one of our publications on my performance at the Tucson race. This is all because I know she rides bikes and I filled her in on the upcoming race. Me and my big mounth. But on the bright side - sponsors, we have a readership of several thousand and I'll wear my kit for the photo shoot and mention as many of you as possible.
Ugh, better go get on the trainer, don;t want an article to say I participated but sucked an egg......

Getting Noticed

Went out for my last long ride today. It was one problem after another. The 10 month old shock on my singlespeed blew yesterday. So today was the geared bike. I damaged a rotor a while ago , have not taken the time to repair it and it gave me problems this am. Then when I got going - flat. After the climb up to the trails - another flat.
The thing that did make me grin today was this: I got stopped by some guy on the trail that wanted to know which race I was going to. He stopped me because he saw my kit - the big ol' BWR logo. Guess this team I joined is starting to get peoples' attention. With one guy going to mas-e-menos and more than half a dozen of us going to Old Pueblo .... and the results posted by team members last year.... I guess people are taking notice of the team. Weird. Kinda puts pressure on me to live up to those standards.
Now off to fix that Singlespeed. I'm racing solo in that category and only have one bike, better go get it running.

Down to the Wire

Well, it is down to the wire. In two and a half weeks is the first raceof the year - 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo or 24HITOP as we call it. http://www.epicrides.com/twofour/24.htm
I'm realizing how very close to race day it is and how very little time I have to complete my training. And by very little time I don't just mean how many days left before the race. I have more to do today that there is time to complete - yes I know, so why am I choosing now to blog. So I am having to focus very hard on making sure I get my training in first and then decide what will get completed and what will get sacrificed.
I was real confident, I'm hoping I remain really confident, that I can meet my goals for 24HITOP. I have been working hard on my feuling and recovery during training. So far I can honestly say that during rides I feel stronger and like I am not fatiguing as fast. Both Dr. Ross' book and Hammer nutrition are to be thanked for this. In fact, I was finally able to make the switch from a plus 3 to plus 2 gear ration on the singlespeed for the local trails with the longer and steeper grade climbs. And I even was able to keep up with my geared riding pal the other day. These are great signs; however, these are just my training rides and my local rides, not 24 hours worth of riding. So needless to say...I got a few nerves about endurance capability.
I'll post on Tuesday the 12th and include a link to the real time scoring site for the race. I'll be racing solo singlespped and am the only Big Wheel Racing female racing in that category (I did not register as my name but rather as my team name.) Big Wheel is representing big at this race with a duo team, two solo females and I can't remember how many solo males. Other than than chyeck back after January 18th to see how I did.