1st and DFL, all in one race.

At the Metro Challenge, Erica and I shared the dubious honor of taking first and DFL in our category - the 12 Hour Female Team. Only, we started 5 hours late...

When we got to Crystal Ridge to register, Anne told us nobody was in the 12 hour female team category. It was noon, and we showed up intending to ride the 6 hour duo, knowing it would be against teams with guys in them that would kick our asses and that we'd go home DFL. We were ok with that. When they said, though, that we could ride as the only team in the 12 hour female cat, just starting late, we couldn't say no. Not only did it put a team in a category that I think is really important to keep alive- a laid-back and friendly intro to mountain bike racing for women - it also meant we weren't going to spend the whole day rolling our eyes at the results as people in our category like Carlos turned in lap times 20 minutes faster than ours.

Anyway, we still rode it like a 6 hour. I went out first, and Gina rode with me for my first lap and then Erica's with her. It was about what I expected, only the tight singletrack and the open field were run backwards after a loose rocky downhill. That Wednesday night pre-ride didn't help much! It was tough getting a rhythm on a trail that was built to go the other way, but whatever, it worked. Lap 1, done, passed the bike, helmet, and gloves off to Erica and sat on my butt for a while.

Lap 2 is always faster for me, and lap 2 always makes me happy. Pulled 4 minutes off my lap time, just had fun. I like lap 2.

Lap 3 Gina rode with me again. My allergies were starting to pound in my head and the day was wearing on, and the faster 3 hour riders were catching up and flying by, making me have to pay attention to letting them pass. A 6 hour rider was pushing me hard on the gravelly lose downhill and it pissed me off. Seeing nowhere good to let him by, i started putting my left foot down to pull off the trail. Only, the hill dropped off next to the trail and I found my foot and my front wheel falling over, the rest of my bike kicking across the trail. Dude t-boned my bike. It's ok, nothing was hurt, he apologized. But man, of all the places to get all pushy with a slow biker...
Lap 4 we shall call the lap of pedalstrike. The sun was getting low and it was getting dim in the singletrack, and my brain was getting nearly as dim. I had several close calls and finally ended up having an intimate moment with a rock where some upper-body strength I didn't know I had managed to stop the invariable trajectory of face to rock. Hello rock! You smell fine today! The hours in the sun took their toll and I was making some bad decisions. I needed a beer, and a burrito.

Erica and I called it quits after about 5:38 of riding. We rode the 6 hour duo we had planned on. When Al and Anne offered us bombers of Fat Tire as our awards, we gave them back. Meanwhile teammate Kristina had an awesome ride in the 3 hour. When she came around me like I was standing still, I was so happy for her. She's really, really good at this! Amy also rocked out the 3 hour for a 2nd place and it was great catching up with her after the race.

Unfortunately, this is probably the end of 2009 WEMS for us. Blue Mound is really a stretch for me skills-wise, and it's the day before my first anniversary. The rest of the races are just too far a drive. But thanks to everyone who put these races on - what a fantastic time. (second photo: Amy)

Why hello, there, Mr. Rock. You look fine today.

(photo: Jim Parman) Ya know, when your expectations are low, when what should be happy anticipation turns into complete dread, it doesn't take much to beat the odds and feel good about what happens. Which is exactly the way the deck was stacked on Saturday for the 12 hours (I did 3) at John Muir. On Thursday I hated the trail, as I had before, and I arrived in a carful of slightly-late HAC riders, just looking to get it over with. Not hard to come out on top when your only goal is survival!

Lap one I just let everyone go. I rode with Fran from Clif Bar for a bit, who had the PERFECT attitude. I unclipped a few times and had to walk when traffic in front of me was stopped a few times, and I always gave the automatic, "crap! I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it! It's just bikes! Let it go!"

Thanks, I needed that, Fran... I will! And so, off I went. Halfway through lap one I started actually going somewhere, and then came through the first lap at 1:09. Well, crap, that means a 2 lap race for me unless I take 18 minutes off my lap time, which is silly to even attempt. After a PERFECT bottle handup from Jacob Thom (who won the kids' race!) I came to the clearing before the switchbacks and saw Fran behind me, and decided it was time.

ZOOM! I took that downhill at a speed that I'd hazard to call hazardous. I really just plowed over and through nearly everything in that lap, and had fun with it. Which is not to say I was able to shed my habit of riding over the biggest rock in the trail at every opportunity, but I liked the trail ok, and I just loved the new-cut section through the trees on the backside-- almost like Stump Farm! Things went swimmingly and I didn't even fall into the lake.

All in all, 6 of 11 finishers. I'll take it! Even broke my DFL streak.

Congrats to teammates Al, Adrian, Jason, Bob, Mike, Ronit, Jacob, and Erica and honorary teammate Amy! What fun. And congrats to Britt on taking 2nd- she's really kicking butt on her first season racing trail.

can i blame my tires? DFL #2.

(photo from Amy) Yeah, tires.... well, not really. The trail got all technical and I sorta gave up, really.

Amy and I left the blue sky in Chicago and just as we pulled into Greenbush, it started to pour. Soon riders were coming back from their laps muddy and telling tales- saying the trail was greasy, saying it was unsafe, warning of the off-camber. The 12 hour riders were taking a break, waiting for it to dry out a little. The race organizer even asked the 3 hr crowd whether we wanted to postpone. (Postpone invariably means cancel, so of course we said no!)

The race started and I didn't even try. I let everyone past. I really like riding my own pace and especially with everything wet and slippery, i had no interest in that little first-lap sprint. Jason from Killjoy went down twice right away. I sort of just stood there and thought, well, even if i walk a lap, that counts. So I pressed on.

It was slick, and with my crossmark tires, I just kept sliding around. I couldn't stand and climb or my tires would just spin, and the greasy downhills were like riding on ice. I walked a good part of the first section. It would have been fast and awesome, but it was technical and slow. I fell in poison ivy alot. Then it dried up, got fun, and was fine through the end.

I stopped after one lap, not wanting to do that first section again. Screw the mud. The funny part is, both Killjoy Jason and Hemme forgot to go by the timing tent before they dropped out after 1 lap, so my lap time was faster than theirs. Not that it matters... Amy wanted the series points so she went out for a 2nd, which she later reported was not fun.

and so, DFL #2, aka 6th.

Race report: Stump Farm (redeemed!)

(Photo: Amy) After starting my season with 4 completely terrible races, I needed a change. I'm very, very happy to say that I got it.

Stump Farm is outside the 3-hour driving window we usually allow for racing (otherwise you end up driving 8+ hours for 3 hours on the bike) but since the trail is so! much! fun! it always stays on the list. The original intention was to do the women's 12-hour team for the WEMS series, but since they upped the number of races you have to complete for the series from 4 to 5 that was out. And when the forecast called for 40 degrees and rain at 8am, we made the call to sleep in instead of driving out Fri night and paying for a hotel room, and Erica, Ronit, and I rolled out of Chicago at 10am to make the 3pm 3-hour start. This also meant actual racing instead of a laid-back relay, which was a little scarier.

Pulled my bike off the roof in the parking lot, rode it 20 feet, and realized something was really wrong with the rear brake. Pulled my wheel and - o crap! - realized the pad was completely spent. Note to self: no braking on the rear. Fuuun. And I realized what I forgot. A sports bra.

Anyway, the start came and I sauntered to my bike and got in the lineup that hit the brakes for the singletrack. The first time through, it sucked... the traffic made flow impossible. Half a lap later, though, most of the riders were off in the distance in front of me, and I was just riding my race. The trail was soft and the morning's racers had carved banks into the turns, making it fast and fun. I beamed. This is why we ride. Outside of a few bumpy sections where my unrestrained bosom protested violently, the trail was perfect.

There were some short hills in the middle of the lap that kept the legs honest. I again felt a big difference in the climbs - I still suck at climbing but I am far stronger, and if I drop into that perfect gear I really can chug up them at a not-quite-embarrassing pace. But everything was icing. It was fun.

Gu packets at the start of lap 2 and 3, and my running talents translated to being able to pull the pack from my jersey, open it, keep the tab (no littering!), eat, and shove the spent packet and tab back in my jersey, no problems. Aw yeah. But my bottle was filled with caffeinated Clif Shot and my gu packets had caffeine too, and by lap 3 I was twitchy-high and felt more like a pinball player than a rider. (Sorry if I acted odd at the finish- I sort of felt like a crackhead).

The only noteworthy happening was the giant bug I inhaled on the third lap. It was still alive and I think it was trying to crawl out. I had to get off the bike and was coughing so hard to try to get it out that I nearly gagged myself. It felt fluttery in there and made me sort of dizzy.

I finished somewhere in the bottom half of the pack, but that's fine. WEMS races don't have categories and some of the women in the field were clearly ringers-- Amy recognized them as Expert racers from WORS. I put in some respectable lap times (for me) and the rain held off till we were loading the car. Ronit, Erica, and I even had Taco John's on the way home. We drove fast and I was in bed just before midnight.

Sunday Morning the weather insisted on a run, and when I turned home after 3 Molly dragged me out, insisting on 5. I coughed up a black wing.

WEMS team love.

Last night, our WEMS team (which includes honorary member Amy, who races the 3-hour series instead) assembled to tackle making a rainbow cake and celebrating the arrival of our awards from last year. It was awesome. For next year, we're Amanda, Audrey, new member Erica, and myself. But the way Erica kicked butt at Ray's she's a total natural. We're going to do this with heart.

We're totally ready for next year, we're psyched. We're super thankful that Al and the WEMS crew are so accepting of our shenanegans, and we're looking forward to another summer full of sunny days in the woods. Man o man, I miss those days. If you're a rider, you should try it, really. We love winning by default but it would be even better if there were other women to hang out with.


2008 WEMS 12-hour Women's Team

a weekend of suck.

i worked hard for this weekend. why didn't this weekend work as hard for me?

John Muir just sorta didn't happen for us. Brake problems right off the bat, with both front and rear sticking, the adjusters on the levers doing nothing, and no tools/bleed kit for dealing with the problem. Harumph. Audrey went out for the first lap as I stood around freezing in the frost-covered park. When she came in (in front of the other women's team, I should mention) I went out for my lap, choosing lines that would make the baby jesus cry. I found the best ways to fall off the trail, hit stuff, and generally lose speed whenever possible. The light angle through the trees made it hard to even see the stuff I was hitting. Dumped my chain into the wheel on some of that plastic milkcrate stuff, then my footdown slipped on the plastic, and there I lay, chain wrapped in wheel, bike wrapped in me, staring at the sky. (Dear Bicycle: You belong below me, not above me. Kthxbye.) It wasn't fun, and since we ride for fun, and considering the fact that the brakes weren't fixing themselves, after my lap we decided to call it a day. So instead we had Audrey's birthday picnic, chatted with friends, cheered on Mike and Chris, and Amy came by, which was pretty cool.

Sunday just plain sucked. Long story short, car died just outside Aurora on the way to the team race and we instead spent 5 hours at the National Tire and Battery and its adjoining strip mall. The car's still in Aurora. Not so PRO. And did I mention that I got a cold, to boot?

I just have to elaborate a little on this one, though. Ben's been mid-pack in the UCI's at these races we spend $$$ to get to. Now, here we had an opportunity for a local race, cheap to get to, good chance he'd podium or even win, a course he helped design, an event I baked for and worked for and really wanted to be at, and him racing in front of our friends and a rad local crowd, and the freaking car breaks down. The same car that got us to John Muir trouble-free the day before, a nice little car with just 55k miles. I chalk it up to newlywed luck -we can' t believe how many little expensive things are racking up - but it's still just a punch in the nose when it was supposed to be the uplifting feel-good day.

the end of 2008 mtb racing.

(photo: Naz) Saturday's WEMS will mark the end-end of trail racing season for me. It's been an odd year. What with the wedding, and then Ben's season starting up in September, and all the rainouts and reschedules and whatnot, it's been a last-minute half-assed sort of season. And ending it on that note, Saturday's 10 hours of John Muir will be just 8 for Audrey and I, since I have a family commitment in Chicago at 6pm. We won't even be bringing a tent, since that has to go to DeKalb for our race.

Either way, we'll be the WEMS 12 hour women's team champions for the second year in a row, almost entirely because we're the only people in that category. Last year at least there was a smattering of folks trying it here and there for fun (though we were the only team registered for the series) but this year, by my count, it was us and just one other women's team that raced once. I'm afraid we might lose our category- completely understandable- in which case we'd race in the 12 hour open team and do it the same as always. I just wish some other ladies would come out. It really is soooooo much fun. We're also one woman down on our team, so if you're interested for next year, check us out. No need to own a mtb- we all share mine, making our trademark bike handoff between laps.

And one year after doing my first 5-mile run ever, I'm cranking them out every morning. It's that time of year where I broke out the wool yesterday and I'm getting on the sidewalks before the streetlights are out and the cool weather is making me fast. Coach says, "you have to run fast to run fast," and he's right. It seems like every day I'm pulling seconds off my best times. I'm working, so it's working.

annual reminders.

it takes 1 WEMS race to remind me of why, although i'm slow as molasses and really more likely to injure myself than race well, I get up at 4am and haul my crap to Wisconsin for silly long races. It's the people. Having spent some time at other kinds of races this spring, the counterpoint is amazing. Everyone- fast and slow- is just super friendly.

I try to give back by cheering and beering, and some volunteering. But nothing can make up for folks who say "you're doing great" and are patient about finding a good place to pass when they lap you (Chris, Carlos), folks who smile and say thanks when you cheer them on (Ron, Amy, Bubba), folks who get up at 4am to make a race happen (Brittany and the Pedal Moraine crew), folks who are willing to tent up with a laughable crew of slow riders (Mike, Alex), or folks who offer to stop riding in the middle of the race to offer you help (dude in the Salsa kit??). Good times. Thank you.

Ben got his first skinsuit this weekend. Naturally it's too big for him. I'm so jealous. If I ate 1/4 of what he does, I'd be pushing 200 lb.

race report: 12 hours of Gears

(photo: Mike)
ok, so our 4-lady team was just 2, and we decided to start the series anyway and just have a good time. Amanda crashed at our place the night before, and we got up at 4am to roll to the great woody north. Ben even came along to be our driver and Molly-entertainer.

breakfast from McD made us all sick. before the race started i probably lost half my bodyweight in the damn pit toilet, and no thanks to bibs (who gets bibs for women? seriously?) got to the start line late. began in the back of the pack, and pretty much stayed there. i think 3-4 people finished the lap behind me.

the loop was fast. sweeping downhills on open fireroad, a great pump section toward the end. a few log jumps but nothing i couldn't handle. and some twisty turny bumpy new trail with no flow through pines.

my goal for the day was, with every lap, to do one thing better than the last. i would take on climbs i had walked the lap before. it sort of worked but didn't change my lap times. in the end, the only thing i didn't ride but wish i had was a log pile just after a 90 degree turn into singletrack at the bottom of a rocky downhill. yeah, just couldn't get the speed and approach angle combo right. meh. the turny section in the pines may as well had a sign that said "this section punishes short people with toe overlap and people who don't know their bikes well." yup. i crept through that every time. i honestly think the Spot does NOT have toverlap issues, but every bike I have does, and it's a mental thing. something i've trained myself to correct for.

i did one thing far better though: after getting to know the course, i stopped covering the brake levers on the downhills. let go, grabbed the bars, and just let the bike roll. my mantra: trust the bike. it worked.

on my second lap i caught myself watching a butterfly and paid for it, riding out of the deep trail rut and up the side. fell straight onto my left middle finger, which jammed badly, popping back into place when i tried to bend it. dislocated? i don't know. i'm still pondering a trip to urgent care, but i dread the thought. either way, it got puffier and hurtier with each lap, and by my 6th it wasn't interested in helping me brake anymore, so my race was done. luckily it made the ankle- which started wincing at lap 4 - hurt less. ugh, i'm a wreck.

this is one thing marathon training has done for me- i'm far better at ignoring pain and pressing on. with the finger getting worse and me seeing stars, i rode a second lap before handing the bike off to Amanda, and after she came back I rode my 4th and 5th laps as a double too. they were short- less than 5 mi- and I could have kept going. My 6th was a single, and with my ability to use my front brake going downhill fast it just wasn't a good idea to be out there anymore. and i further justified it with the thought that those 6 laps were 1/4 of the 12 hour- had the whole team been out, I would have done my part. it was beer time, and as always, the Half Acre was flowin'.

Amanda did awesome. Her first time on the Spot and she was lovin' it. It was so amazing to watch her lap times improve over the day. Even though she was getting tired, she was just more used to the bike, pushing it faster and havin' more fun.

so, we took 2nd of 2. the other team had 4 members, and while it looks like i was faster than 3 of their folks, we just didn't have it together. it's ok. it was sunny and nice and we got to hang out with our Bonebell friends, Cody, smell the bacon from the guys cooking breakfast burritos next door, and catch up with some friendly folks including Anne, Amy, Regina, et al.