Last (and Most Awesome) Race of the Season!

Yesterday I raced my shiny new bicycle (pictures of my build to follow-This picture is just off Redline's website) on the sickest course of the season. It was the last race of the season, the Colorado State Cyclocross Championships, and Mother Nature finally delivered for me! How? SNOW, ICE, and SNOTTY MUD :)

After several races that had potential to be snow races only to have them turn to packed in mud, I was despairing that I would ever have a chance to race the way I love it. And with temperatures in the 60(F)s early in the week prior to the last race of the season, it wasn't looking good. Then the temperatures plummeted.

I woke up Wednesday morning to a single digit weather report and I rejoiced. The thin snow of cold, empty air wisped down from the sky for the following days. By Saturday, I was looking at a course that had me seriously admiring the technicality of it. This course, loaded with off-camber snow, one very righteous descent, rutted packed snow/ice, and snotty mud rewarded the aggressive, the relaxed, and the just plain crazy. I know I felt all three at different points in the race. The race started, and I found myself sitting pretty at 10th of 22, way farther up than usual. For once, I didn't fade, holding my position, having a great time jockeying with a strong group, and being very stoked that I was staying with my friend Susan Prieto. Unfortunately, I paid the price for running the old style Shimano pedals, as the mud clogged my pedals and promptly froze into place (in Shimano's defense, this year's XTR pedals are head and shoulders better at shedding mud). I watched as my competitors powered away from me. Several times I tried to stand only to have my foot skate off the pedal and almost have a close encounter between my chamois and the top tube (scary!). But I persevered, telling myself that there was nothing to do about the pedals right then, so I should just concentrate on attacking and competing. All told, I ended up 15th, still a great place for me, and very happy.

Congratulations go out to Lisa Strong, the new women's Colorado State CX Champion, and Peter Webber, who won the Men's open. And thanks to the Colorado Veldrijden Crusade for putting together a great race!

...read the whole post

Engineering update

I'm sitting in Pike's Perk with my mom and friend Jesse, typing on my new Netbook. Yes, a netbook. Against all sense of self-preservation, I bought an ittle-bittle computer on Black Friday. Thankfully we only spent about 15 minutes in the big box store buying it.

Why buy a computer? Well, I found out recently that my engineering lab is closing April 16th, leaving me without a normal (engineering) job, and much worse, without my work computer.

So what am I going to do? Run and get another engineering job so I can buy a spiffy new car? Hopefully not. I'm working to get two sources of income. First, I'm trying to get a job teaching at the University level (I knew I suffered through that Master's for something!).


Second, as a few friends know, I've been increasing my coaching knowledge over the last year. I earned my USA Cycling level 3 coaching license, and coached my first athlete throughout the season, as well as coaching at USA Cycling's Talent ID Camps. Now I am enrolled in USA Cycling's Level 2 Coaching clinic and actively expanding my coaching business. So, I will keep you all informed as I make the transition over the next few months. Wish me luck as I prepare for April 17th!
...read the whole post

Thanksgiving Holiday

This week my Mom is here in Colorado Springs, visiting and generally making the holiday happen. On the agenda: Having all the "orphans" (folks like me who live in the Springs but don't have family here to spend Thanksgiving with) over for a real, sit down Thanksgiving dinner, racing cyclocross on Saturday, and generally enjoying sleeping in for four days straight. Hooray!

In other news, I've had a so-so cyclocross season. With just two more races left in the season, I'm fully motivated to make them count. I'll report back soon with race results.

...read the whole post

Sickness + Racing = Pretty Fast, Actually

I've been in and out this cross season. In mid-October a really nasty cold put me out of commission with a gurgling lung (yeah, icky). Just last week did I feel like I was coming back into form, and I was stoked for a double race weekend. I did all of my race prep Friday night, ate a good meal, and went to sleep early.....only to wake up with a migraine and promptly relieve myself of that meal. Again, icky.

And then I had a great moment. I thought, "I'm already at the bottom, anything I do today will be a win". So I drove up to Lafayette, entered the race, and got a respectable 14th in the Open class, right smack in the middle of the 3s (Categories 1, 2, and 3 commonly compete together here but are scored separately). Pretty darn good for a girl who couldn't keep her dinner down. Just goes to show you don't know what you can do until you try!

...read the whole post

Fat Tire 2009

Yeah, drive that cart! Lisa, Wiggidty, Lumberg and I

Let me give a piece of knowledge to you as a reward for reading my blog: Copper Harbor is the next mountain biking Mecca. Don’t believe me? Go and check it out for yourself.
Every year I snub my nose at the elite of Colorado’s races and instead fly back for this race that doesn’t even show up as a blip on the radar of the big name bike community. Why? Because the Keweenaw Fat Tire is hands-down the best race out there. You see, this race is about all the things that make mountain biking great. Not just racing. So, while it starts on a solid foundation of awesome by racing on some of the sickest and most flowing trails out there (and it starts at 2pm so we can all party hard the night before), it only builds from there. Because once the racing is done, there’s jumping off the dock into Lake Superior to clean up, all kinds of yummy food in the park (free!), the awards ceremony (and this year’s overall awards were beautiful – wheels constructed of birdseye maple rims laced with copper spokes and treaded with water rounded stones), and only then does the party just begin to roll. The bluegrass fires up on the awards stage, and beer flows (also free! Thanks Keweenaw Brewing Company!). We dance the night away under the stars and aurora borealis until finally the band collapses and the community slowly drifts to bed, only to wake up the next morning for one last chance to ride the trails.

All props to Sam Raymond, the progenitor of Copper Harbor riding, and all the folks who have taken up the torch throughout the years...Tony....Nels....Aaron...countless others.

Me and the hard working boys of Copper Harbor, Nelson and Tony

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The woman who always creams me in this race (28 minutes faster than me last year) was there again. But this year I've been stepping it up a notch....and this race was proof positive for me; I finished four minutes and forty seconds behind her this year. And her time was two minutes faster than last year. w00t!

...read the whole post

Mountain Bike Nationals

So, yeah, I got a middle-of-the-road seventh in the cross country race when MTB Nats were recently held at Sol Vista, Colorado. I was fine with that performance, because the next morning I went out and won the Super-D. Granted, they wouldn't let me race in Pro (since I don't hold a Pro DH or XC license), so I just won my age category. But I rode and strategized well, so I'm happy with my win.

I do have a cool new jersey; USA Cycling gives you a Stars and Bars when you win at Nats. And if you win a gravity event, you get a sweet gravity style jersey. None of those sissy short sleeves and pockets for me!

I'll try to get some more photos, but for now, here's my lone podium shot.

...read the whole post

Winter Park Double Race Report

I'm keeping it short today, folks. Lots of racing going on, and Mountain Bike Nationals is just around the corner (this weekend!), with Paralympic Road Nationals less than two weeks later. So, here's the skinny: Last weekend I went back up to Winter Park for another two installments of their excellent race series. Saturday was the Valley Point-to-Point cross country race. I knew going in that the course would suite me; Twenty-four miles with only 2,600 feet of climbing. So I pushed hard on every climb I ran into, trusting that none of the climbs could be that long. It worked, because even with a stop to fix a loose saddle (yah, not comfy), I was able to win my category. But I'm not gonna get too cocky about it--I was creamed by some of the 30-39 age group ladies.
The next morning was Super-D, and I had a great race. Michelle Rivera, the pro downhiller, was kind enough to pre-ride with me, giving me a much better sense of how fast different obstacles could be ridden. Back on the lift for the start of the race. I sprinted for all I was worth in the starting uphill straightaway, ending up with Michelle and Sage Wilderman, both pro gravity girls. Surprisingly, I was able to keep them in sight for most of the race, loosing time on the wide-open speed sections, gaining time in the sprints, and staying even through the quasi-tech rocks. I finished 50 seconds behind Sage, and 10 seconds behind Michelle....in just over 22 minutes. What an epic Super-D!
Sweet course, Winter Park, way to go!
...read the whole post