2009 Event Summary

See individual summaries for each event.
2009 MTB Bikes: Salsa MotoRapido, Ritchy NiTi
Team: WVMBA, support by ProBikes.

2009 Events:
WVMBA-Big Bear XC-Finished, not a good race.
Greenbriar Marathon-Excellent race until two flats.
WVMBA-Mountwood-Better start, but fell off and finished bad.
Dirt Sweat Gears 12Hr Solo-Conditions made the course hike a bike, only did 1 lap.
Mohican 100-Finished, on the long side of usual time, 12hr.
Davis WV Road Race-Finished, OK considering I used a mtb with road tires.
WVMBA-Massanutten XXC-Finished, good race, lots of fast competition.
Granny Gear 12hr Duo-Finished, not a good all out effort.
1/2 Trail Run Marathon-Rachel Carson Challenge-Finished 14.4 mi, 4hrs, 3500ft climbing. MASS 9Hr Solo-Finished @ 8hrs with 47 miles total.
Tour de Burg Stage-Finished 5 out of 6 days.
6 Hours of Power Coed Duo-Finished 1st.
Wilderness 101-Set my own PR & felt good!
WVMBA-Big Bear Ultra XXC-Great race, felt good. Finished 2nd.
Shenandoah 100-Lost 2hrs to flats, had to DNF @ mile 86/10hrs.
Shannock Valley XC-Finished 1st.
Roaring Run XC-Finished, slower than any past year here.
Roaring Run MTB Road-Flatted and finished.
Smuckers Peanut Butter Festival MTB XC-Great race, felt good. Finished 1st.
WVMBA-Revenge of the Rattlesnake XXC-got lost, prorated finish.
MOM Racoon Creek CX-Finished, not very well, + did first tandem cx!
MOM Grove City CX-Finished, not very well, + did next tandem cx!
WVCX Marilla-Fourth Open Wm, + did tandem cx.
LaRuta! MTB Stage-Finished!

Dan Chew's Endurance Stepclimbing Challenge

Cathedral of Learning-Dec 26th
Can you think of a better way to start the day after Xmas than by setting the alarm for 4AM, and heading to the Cathedral of Learning for a 6AM start, and begin climbing the sauna-like, dusty, stale air filled stairwell? Yeah, me neither.

So, Dan has been doing this for years (see his website for climbing records set, etc) , and recently a local untrarunner woman set a new record for the most consecutive climbs up the 36 flights of stairs. She finished 103 in 24 hours. A counterchallenge was arranged!

I saw the note about the challenge and was somewhat interested in the woman's new record and had fleeting thoughts of actually seeing how close I could get to her number. That thought went in and out of my head multiple times, often leaving as quickly as it would show up! The kicker was I just was not in the mind set to pull an all nighter for this right now & without doing that there of course no way to even come close to doing anything than just a long day of exercise.

I tell Dan I am in for the 6AM start, but I am just going to go for a good part of the day at my own pace, and not setting any goals for trying to get a record number of climbs. To myself, I am figuring about 20X would pretty much tire me out & be a good day of exercise! He replies that if I can get in anything more than 40X, I will actually be in a second place to the ultrarunner, as she initially only had 40X and so far no other women have done even that many (I don't qualify for the Rookie record, as I have actually been on the steps a few times in my life.....darn! I recently went there just a few times and at the most did a stretch of 8 climbs just for an evening of exercise, no record ideas in mind). Ok, I agree.......I am in to do just over 40X. Still in the back of my head was a dirty plan to see what my hourly pace was, and if good enough maybe consider to just keep going.

JP has absolutely NO intention of heading down to the start with me, as he HATES early mornings and plus it's quite a drive from our house. I get up and get going, planning on he will show up sometime during the late morning and do a few climbs with me. I get there along with Jon Pratt, we both get a few minutes late start, but before you know it we all run into each other and the party is ON! Along with Dan is his nephew and a few triathlete friends, 5 of us total, and lots of others come and go during the day.

The 36th floor is our functional transition area, with us each having a pile of boxes, bags, coolers, shoes, etc out for easy grabbing. The guys have family close by and during the day have some planned support to show up. I just have what I brought and JP for any emergencies, but he wasn't going to be around all day, but really I don't like too much help so this is ok.

The guys are setting fast paces, I try to keep mine toned back instead of worrying what they are doing so I end up doing several sets alone & a few with someone or other. After about 3 hours I start to feel settled in to a pace, but surprisingly my avg remains the same....5X/hour. This continues, until hour 6. I hit a accidental bout of dehydration with completely no sweating, along with some soreness was already beginning in various areas! I had been drinking, and more liquid felt just bloating so I just had to back off a little for one hour. That hour was the only one out of my total 9hrs that I dipped below my avg and got only 4X in. After that, I picked back up, although feet/knees/etc were taking a toll already.

Hour 6 and climbs 30-34 were the rough ones, JP was there making fun of my dwindling pace. He quickly stated he would see me around and took off to run with the guys. Cool, now I can have some peace and quiet:-) At this point I also ditched the tennis shoes and put on comfy fur lined crocs...not the easiest to walk in but sure nicer to my bunion feet!

Climbs 35-40 I got back onto 5X/hr, and at 40 of course felt SO relieved that it could almost be over. I still had fleeting thoughts of staying, as if you realize I could keep the pace even for just 3 more hours and then dropped to 4X/hr, I would have beat the women's current record! But it still kept nagging at me that I didn't want to have to recover from an all-nighter or be so sore I couldn't walk the next day! And I didn't want JP to spend what turned out a pretty nice day hanging around the cathedral being bored! Before he left, he brought me some extra food just in case, and I finished out another 3X just to be above the current 2nd place number, with total climbing time of 9hrs. Then it was time to sadly call it quits. I packed up & watched with envy as all the other 6AM starters were valiantly still going. Turns out they set some new records overall too!

I am pretty sure that next year, if not before then, I will be up to challenge the current womens consecutive climbs in 24 hours!! It's on my list of things to do.....maybe.

Dirt Rag XX Punk Bike Enduro 2009

I think this year would be like my 6th time to go to the annual Punk Bike, not sure. Either way, it's close to home, local trails, always cold, always muddy, & always a fun day on your bike! This year was the XX anniversary & Dirt Rag overcame a major glitch with the usual start/end not being available & I think ended up finding an even cooler rental building right in Emmerling Park. Even closer to home for me so I'm not complaining! The course was shortened overall, and kept to a smaller area of trails, but looped around pretty well to get some good riding sections in.


So I decide to dress all crazy, but in my overzealous costumeness, I get all mixed up. Colors aren't matching (I AM colorblind, remember?), and you really can't tell what the heck I am! The idea was that a small group of other girls my own age (you know, 'Cougar'-age) display our proudness for being so well middle aged. Each was a 'Cougar', but with personalities, mine was of a Dominatrix. Yeah, that went together real great! Well, I need to keep in mind next time.....'Keep it Simple, Stupid' & it will probably be better! Anyway, here are three of us that got the theme together:

(Me, Kim B., & Elizabeth L. dressed up)

So, EVERY year I say I am not even getting sweaty to just stand around between the stages and every year I do it anyway. This year included, although I sat out 3 stages, I attempted to get a good start at the rest and picked my way through the mud without any major damages. Sharon L. came out this year, and MAN she was goin' for the points! Until a horrible run in with a divet:

(Sharon's bike with bent rigid fork & tacoed wheel)

She got a loaner and was back in the game but missed a few too many stages in the downtime for overall points, otherwise I am pretty darn sure whe would have cinched it this year!

Unlike the far past, JP gets dressed up nowdays too. But like the past, he also is really looking forward to carrying as much alcohol in his backpack as possible & making sure he finishes all of it before the end of the ride. This year he really also wanted to have a GREEN face for some reason, I heard about the green face for weeks. So, he accomplished his goals & here is what he came up with, HULK, whose growling sounds got louder & wipeouts became common as the backpack got lighter(!):

(JP as the HULK)

Thanks for another year of putting on a fun event in the burgh!
Dirt Rag write up, pics & vids of 2009 Punk Bike:
http://www.dirtragmag.com/blogarific/punk-bike-enduro-xx-edition

La Ruta de los Conquistadores Summary

Thoughts about this trip, why I went, what I learned, what I am thankful for, how we did it, & my afterthoughts:
-what is it?
-Mountain Bike Stage Race from the Pacific Coast to the Caribbean, crossing Costa Rica in (4) days & covering ~250 miles, 43,000ft of climbing.
Day 1: 108km, 14,000ft, (max alt:1170m) Pacific Jaco Beach to San Jose
Day 2: 75km, xxxm, (max alt:1856m) San Jose to Tres Rios
Day 3: 85km, xxxxxm, (max alt:3025m) Tres Rios to Turrialba
Day 4: 121km, xxxxm, (max alt:840m) Turrialba to Limon Carribean Beach

-frequently rumored by below sources + others to be one of the hardest annual MTB stage races in the world with a few scary tidbits thrown in, and also an awesome life experience:

event website: http://larutadelosconquistadores.com/info/
top endurance listings: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1869820,00.html
other articles:
http://www.adventureworldmagazineonline.com/cycling/the-17th-edition-of-la-ruta-de-los-conquistadores-is-two-weeks-away/
http://www.epic-mountain-bike.com/laruta.html http://www.naturelandings.com/articles.php?article=164
http://www.dirtragmag.com/print/article.php?ID=1172&category=features
Mountain Bike Magazine, 11/09
Velo News Race & Ride Guide 2009

This is one exerpt I really liked:
"They keep it real in Costa Rica. For how long this will continue I don't know. Probably not too long. But as of today, in La Ruta you can get really lost, dehydrated, break all your teeth, and get run over by a train. No bright orange sign with block letters will warn you of this and no lawsuit will make your heirs rich. Thank God for la Ruta and those who keep it wild, cruel and wonderful."

-photos?
there are not many, part of the challenge is that it's held during the RAINY season in the RAINFOREST, hence the cameras didn't get pulled out too often & the event only had one photographer which didn't provide numerous photo ops. What photos I do have are posted on Facebook at this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=176746&id=621536207&l=95e99d3321
-why?
1-if you know me you know the rainforest is one of my few dream trips. Along with all the inherent dangers that might be lurking, I wanted to get as deep in it as I could but yet feel somewhat safe with the structure of an event that had at least had some support in place, at a cost that didn't totally break my savings. This did That.
2-again if you know me, you know I laugh when something is described as hard. Multiple definitive sources say this race is hard. Hard means you might actually DIE trying to do it, basically if 1,000+ peeps have finished the event & no one has DIED it can't possibly be all THAT hard to at least finish!! Plus it might be fun to be really scared.
3-again if you know me, you know I am terrified of getting older & having a second midlife crisis I fear if I don't do a few things now my body is not going to hold out much longer & I will lose my chance! I decided last year a few Stage Races were something to do to combat my aging self!
-some things I proved are true/what I learned:
1-real fear IS completely in your head. No moment is ever really as bad as you think it is at that given moment. I had a few really scary and BAD moments on this trip, but now they are over and I can have some more!!
2-bikers are not necessarily your friends, they are other people that ride bikes. Period. Along with all the genuine and maybe not so genuine "good lucks" there were some 'why would you do THAT, it's something only pros would do'. Coming from people I have encouraged, cheered for, and even took to initial races, I feel bad for these ones because they have a lot of eye opening to occur yet in their own life! In addition, this is right on the event website:
Are most of the riders experts? NO! most are regular folks that train very hard and have the willpower to finish. It is not an easy race, but anyone who knows their body and listens to what it tells them can finish. If you go out too fast, you may not make it, so pace yourself. Plan on being on your bike for 10 or 11 hours with very few stops.
3-unfortunately, it proved that a bike event is something I will never be able to do 100% independantly, this of course is not a stunning revelation, but one that will affect some future goals.
-what I am thankful for:
1-JP offering to help me go when no one else wanted to go. Even though, at times, he probably didn't want to go!
2-good advice from racers who had done the event before.
3-being allowed to tag along at a stage race earlier in the year with the SVBC for practice.
4-lots of last minute help from the following:
-Tim Carson (pro bikes)-for getting in some last minute orders & super quick bike work.
-TJ Platt (top)-for home delivery service with a smile in our hectic last minute's of packing.
-Richie Rich/Bill Alcorn-Bikeflights.com-for getting their first ever international shipping quote for us in only a few days! Ship your bikes with Bikeflights!!
-how we did it:
1-of course the pro crowd has expected support the entire way, and amateurs wanting to finish follow suit and typically place heavy emphasis on having a support crew. (as we soon learned about every 10 feet on the course!) We knew this and knew we were not having, nor did we want, support people other than the checkpoint basics & ourselves. This was going to be a disadvantage, but we were willing to risk it. We made sure parts were new on bikes, packed as many of the common spare parts as we could and the things that didn't get packed we crossed our fingers were the right decision to make! That's how we did it.
-my afterthoughts:
-I did not expect to place well, and with all that went on, that part came true! I finished far at the back but am ok with it. I got to do what I wanted to do & the trip was worth it.
-I thought this before and I still think it now, I think it's more charactor to not have a constant support crew. It might mean you actually don't finish which would bite because it's expensive, but I think it ruins the self fulfillment portion of the challenge. I mean pro riding is different, they are guts out to get a good time against each other, but for the rest I would not feel as if I accomplished something if a carful of food and cheering was along my side the whole way? Not to mention the extra traffic was quite bothersome to the rider field. Most of the event I was riding more/less alone, lots of time to focus on myself & really challenge myself on every obstacle that came up and make it by myself. That was sweet.
-Would I do this event again? It is a great event, but hhmm, for a few reasons, probably not.
I was disappointed in the amount of road.
The RR bridge crossings were a little much for me to cope with.
I would rather do this again as a buddy system, as I will write about later on why.
-Would I do another stage race again? hhhmmm, for a few reasons, yeah most likely.
The constant go-go-go day after day is like a different time zone. Nothing matters except sleep-eat-ride-mechanics-eat-sleep-eat-ride, repeat.

So now you know all that, on to the gory details!

La Ruta Day #4

Well, this day is supposed to be roll-out-of-the-mountains & RAIN-to-the-sunny-coast day and everything will be golden. I knew that couldn't be true and of course it was not. This is what turned out to be what seemed at the time, a string of bad scenes. Even though the climbing total was less than any other day & all bunched in the first half, it was steep gravel that went on & on & on.....in the pouring RAIN. I took all this day's climbing a little too easy not realizing how much time it was taking, but feet were sore and I thought it would be ok since the end of the day was flatter. Once at the final top, it was fast gravel/road descending in blinding pouring RAIN. I didn't see many people here or get passed much, so I figured I am pretty close to the back. agh.
This continued until we got out of the mountains & went through a huge banana plantation (a jungle in itself!) and several small 'ghetto'-like countryish towns that were scary enough you did not want to go very slow. Hoofing it through these I saw lots of racers here and there so wasn't too worried, I just tried to keep others in sight since I figured I was near the back and didn't want to get stranded out here alone for some reason.
BRIDGES!! I hit the famous railroad bridges, one after another, 6 total, each scarier than the previous. Pictures don't do these any justice, they are much sketchier than I imagined. Although local kids are running on them barefoot and I come up on lots of racers boldly walking across, I slow to a snail pace as I recheck my footing continually for fear of slipping to my real death. There are no sides on the bridges, the ties are wet, not all straight, some are rotting & some are soooo far apart I doubt my legs can reach let alone take a step towards & make it, and multiple feet below are raging muddy rapids and we all know if you survive the fall by some odd chance, downstream are waiting 15 foot crocodiles(!) I use my bike for balance with each step. Just when you think you are the end of the pack since for the last 50 miles you've seen few racers, suddenly a million people come up behind me on these and....seriously.....they NEED TO PASS! This frustrates me to no end. In their rush to cross many take the optional 'bike taxi' device across when it's available. This device sits on the tracks and is pedaled across, not much safer but faster and you don't have to walk. So the taxi wants to pass me, but there is not actual room to pass! They hold on to my sleeve so I don't fall in, I rudely state 'if I go in, so are YOU!' I really want to cross all these by myself and just take my time, but on the two big ones with the taxis I could not tolerate the bike taxi continually passing me, so on these two after about half way across I ended up jumping on it to get done. That was disappointing to do, but I really thought it passing was going to cause me to fall! The other 4 bridges had no taxi but were not soooo long so at least I got to be scared and almost crap my pants on those ones! JP later tells me he attempted to ride across all the bridges and made a few.....he insists that a bike could not possibly fall through the ties, I completely disagree along with the other 1000 peeps that walk across! Needless to say, I need to check the safetiness of rides before he is allowed to go on another one!!
So, that finally being over, back to the ghetto beach towns, riding off and on the tracks suddenly I am riding & talking with 5 costa rican-like boys. I am happy to have some people for a bit. Other than them I don't see anyone else around now. I begin to check the mileage, there should be a checkpoint at mile 64, I am at 62, I ask them if they have the same mileage and if the checkpoint is near. They report 'oh, we don't know anything about the course, we are not racers, we live here and just riding this section'. I glance at their bikes.....NO RACE PLATES(!) OMG. We were very warned to not trust or listen to locals not related to the race. The next word out of their mouths is asking me all kind of personal questions, like who I am here with, what I know about where I am riding to, etc. I get a puke feeling and try to not make it obvious as I keep checking to see if any racers are coming up behind that I can get with. No such luck. Agh. They all just passed me on the bridges! So now the mileage gets past 64 & no checkpoint, I wonder if I missed a turn again. Inside I start freaking out figuring I am now lost in the caribbean coast jungle with strangers I do not know & there is nothing I can do to fix it. And if I miss the checkpoint, I am DNF. Why am I here??? The statement, 'This was crazy' crosses my mind again.
Suddenly, an arrow!! I AM on course, but the mileage/checkpoint issue is confusing me. I make the turn and ahead I see two racers making the next turn onto the last dreaded stretch of the tracks of death that are supposed to be super bumpy and lots of miles. I take off to keep them in sight and ditch the locals ASAP. I know the end is not far off now. Once on the bumpy tracks made with cement rails I keep going as fast as I can to catch the two racers, I am looking down and look up....they are gone! huh? I can see the tracks for miles, and I see nothing else. Geez, they must have speeded up so I speed up, a little bell going off already that something is not right. I am desparate to NOT get those locals by me again, this section is deserted jungle coast, with swamps everywhere, and I am still not quite sure why I never saw mile 64 checkpoint. Not where I want to be with a group of strange boys. Eventually, a track section is covered in sand....but NO bike tracks. Oh crap. Big bells are going off now. How I have done this again?? I hesitate on backtracking, afraid of seeing the locals, but in a few minutes I see them through the swamps and they yell that I missed a turn and they will help me. I tell them NO, keep going, I will find it. I trudge back looking frantically for YELLOW arrows, scared to death the locals are backtracking too and I will be stuck with them. For the second time on the trip my eyes well up, and something I don't do often I start hysterically bawling my eyes out as I walk along. There are no racers on the tracks anywhere, there are strange animal noises everywhere, there are huge salt water swamps on both sides of the tracks, & I see no marks!! More than anything, I am now at mile 70 and wonder if I am not going to get to the finish on time on the final flipping day?!?

As I look around, one thing is nice though, the tracks parallel the ocean here and are only like ~8th of mile from it, it's all black sand & the palm trees grow right out into the waves. It was one of the prettiest calming beach scenes I ever saw. I was so happy to be getting to ride through such a wild part of nature that I otherwise would never get to do.

Ok, back to reality, look for the arrows!! Back to bawling, I look up, there is a racer!!! I RUN towards him, hysterically telling my story of getting lost & have no idea where the turn is. Thank god he is a nice guy from Belgium and has great English!! He calms me down, and points to a telephone pole right beside me.....GREEN arrows!! Geez, they switched the colors here (?), and in my defense, I am a little color blind so the green barely stood out on the dark pole. He agrees I should not be in this section alone, he is riding slow with some mechanicals & he has done the course before. He is unsure of the checkpoint issue too, but he is sure we are on course. He escorts me down the stretch of black sandyness & through the deepest salt water bogs I ever thought existed! Several miles later, ~74 miles, we hit the check, somehow it was moved but we made the time cutoff with no worries!! whew, that was close.

So, now a few more miles to the road, and then a nice finish right out to the Caribbean Sea at Limon Beach. Did I mention that it is still RAINING! Yep, the one year I do the event, even the notoriously sunny finish seems to vanish.

So, JP knows right away something happened as I got in sooo late, so he is there with my damp duffle bag & helps me get all situated for cleaning up a little and eating. We opt for the late shuttle back to San Jose which ends up being very late! We arrive to the hotel beat and hit the hay. We have a few days to relax & pack our bikes up before our flights home.

In our last few days there we tried to do a few things, but driving directions are bad here in the city areas so we didn't get much done. On one RAINY afternoon, we did a touristy hike around Paos Volcanoe, which is 'transitional forest', it was ok but we would have like to do a lot more with the time we had. During our trip home, we repeatedly said:
'never again'
'too much aggrevation for a bike ride'
'too stressful'
'jp has to worry too much about my bike stuff that he can't spend time on himself'

Needless to say, now all recovered, we are already planning a next adventure to somewhere! hehe.

La Ruta Day #3

Arriving at the start, the Giant locals come through with the wheel! I am SO glad & keep bowing to them because I can't say anything they understand. In the back of my mind I know anything could go wrong with a borrowed wheel, but at least I have a chance.
Day #3 is not so intimidating on the elevation chart as Day 1 or 2. Although we climb lots and go from 1200m to 3000m total with some false downs in it, the day is basic up a live volcanoe (Irazu) via some double track and then ongoing forever switchback pavement. It is RAINING. RAIN gets harder and a little cooler as we near the top. Everyone stops to put on jackets, etc. I have a jersey and arm warmers and only pull the arm warmers up on the false downs. At checkpoint 1, I see most all the midpack girls taking a huge rest, I wonder why? I figure to just keep going I feel good so I head up the start of the long road stuff first, just figuring they would all catch up. I get to the top, where the terrain is known to change drastically and only 1 girl in sight. It is windy RAIN, I pocket some sandwiches, lube a little, and tear off for what I know is going to be a super bumpy slick rock long descent. The volunteers all attempt to hold me up for several moments, claiming it will get colder on the descent and I NEED my jacket on. Finally I get across to them that I have one in my pack, but if it is not colder than now I don't need it. Finally they get it and let me continue! It's like freakin 55. Down the other side of the volcanoe is all old volcanoe rocks everywhere, yet it is like a road to them here. It's wide, the rocks are big and covered in mud but you can really pick a line and just keep bumping downward. I get 'out of control' fast & just keep bouncing along, don't see any girls the entire time and pass a lot of guys walking. I almost collide with freerange cattle, horses, and chickens. I hit the bottom checkpoint thanking god for no flats or chain issues & onto the continuing descent to town on fast smooth wet pavement. The RAIN is so hard I can barely see but keep going. I finish ok this day and this was a super fun day!

This day ends in a country club, JP is there all cleaned up & helped me get everything done and ready for the shuttle on time back to our inner city mountain town hotel. It is still POURING RAIN. Once again, we prepare our damp duffle bag items for the next & final day.

La Ruta Day #2

This day is shorter than day #1 and does not have the mud mess, so the start gets to be at 6AM, yippee! Roll out right from the hotel sitting in town at 850m & STRAIGHT UP until we reach 1800m, within 10km. Nasty stuff. Some was smooth, some was not. There were portions I had to walk but I rode all that I could, I'd say a good portion of it. At last check my garmin was reading ~37-39ish grades & that was not the steepest, but the garmin didn't catch it all. This put us up in some country farm areas as we started to descend on country roads, some very steep roads down(!), in which the people were really cool. As you pass by small schools, children walking to school/playing, and farm workers, everyone cheered in spanish. I don't know what they were saying but it sounded nice, and it was like having your own little tour de france ride! Some kids had out hoses to squirt you when it was hot.

The second big climb hit long paved switchbacks to 1800m again, it was humid HOT, I got passed a lot here as I was tiring out and trying to take some pressure off what were becoming sore feet. At the top I took a few kodak moments and savored the valley views which were so lush green and peaceful. Hard to believe they are also some cow pastures? weird. So my mileage says the end is within an hour, I am ok that a few more girls passed me & are now barreling down the road/gravel descent, I know there won't be THAT much time between our finishes. Then my first disaster, suddenly I come to a intersection with NO COURSE MARKINGS!!!! oh no, so far the course has been marked very well so I know right away I missed something yet I refused to believe it. I go a little further, I continue to second guess my decision to turn around and waste some time. Eventually, after what I find out later is about 6 miles off course, I high tail back desperate to find the turn I somehow missed. I am frustrated as I check my time, I have 3 hours till cutoff but I am not sure where I am and what the last climb could be like. Then disaster two strikes, I feel gears slipping and within minutes I got nothin. Rear hub has died. The vision flashes before me that I am not going to finish on time today, and not make the official finishers list. My eyes start to well up. With all the preparation, how could THIS happen?? WHY did it happen?? HOW could I miss a turn that other people found, and my hub temporary miracle fix no longer works. This is not meant to be, everyone was right, this trip was a dumb idea! I am just about ready to burst into tears when I look up and see the missed turn!!! Suddenly it's all better! I figure it's about 5 miles from here to walk and I have 2 hours to make it so off I go walk/running/fred flinstoning it as fast as I could. A motorcycle support guy goes past a few times, he thinks I am just walking from being tired & I just give him the thumbs up and he takes off. About an hour later I reach a town, and figure about 2 miles to go, he comes by again. This time I realize I know him, (he is Roberto Haras' rico suave spanish support friend & helped JP with mechanicals on day 1) he asks more questions, then insists he get me to the finish line rather than walk. I refuse the offer kindly as I DO NOT want a DNF, he looked sad, as he is a formor world champion moto guy from the 80s & is here lovin' scooting around rescuing lives during the race! He grudingly says 'have it your way' and revs away. 10 minutes later he is back, he has news for me. He told the organizers what happened & where I am, they said it's a bad section to walk in alone and he can tow me in and I will not get a DNF, I will have legitimate finish. (The rules state is you ignore organizers direction for sag, you will get DNF) So ok, I get ready for a 5mph tow, but that is not what he had in mind. He slaps his hand on my back and revs it up, flying through tight city streets & corners where stops are optional for everyone and passing can occur in oncoming lanes, we weave in and out for 2 miles at 40kph!!! I hit the finish line that fast! whew, that was fun in a sick sort of way:-)

So, I know it's late, and today's set up is to get shuttled to a hotel from the finish. Dinner, shower, mechanics are here and everything will shut down very soon for the night and the last shuttles will leave. This leaves little time for figuring out what I can do, if anything, about my bike. We did not pack extra wheels/hubs. I frantically start eyeing the clearing out lot for JP. He is nowhere. I Spanglish the best I can to the mechanics and they start to tear my bike apart. I grab some grub while still rushing about, finally I find out JP had seen I didn't come in at a time he expected and all the other girls did so he got over worried & is out on the course with a ride looking for me. They have radioed to tell them I am back, but it seems to take forever until they get back. I fill him in, we get our options, and rico suave offers to be a translator and the local Giant Demo guys end up saying they can get me a loaner wheel to use it will be there in the morning. I cross my fingers as I head to the shuttle. It is pouring RAIN.

This has been a stressful day, I lost over 2 hours time & feeling emotional blah because there is nothing I can do to guarantee even my start the next day & it makes me very uneasy. I did find some comfort in that Tinker & others missed the same turn, he got off course far enough that he decided to bail on an official finish. Shuttle to a trendy city hotel suite, get a young tico-turned-american roommate, have major difficulties getting checked in, hang in the restaurant iwth racers, & prepare all our damp duffle bag items for Day #3.

La Ruta Day #1

JP and I have been 'getting ready' all summer for our chosen big bike adventure, La Ruta in Costa Rica. You'd think we would be organized and ready to go, but it's never that easy for us! So we start the trip off with me misreading our flight departure time, forgetting my license at home, and hitting the airport just in time to RUN for our first plane. whew, that was close, we proved that you CAN get from check-in to plane in about 14 minutes.

We leave a few days earlier than needed due to most likely not all luggage will be on time and this is the case. So after a long day of flights & shuttles, I end up stuck with no bike & no clothes for two days. At least it's warm & we are on Jaco beach, the hotel also has some really crappy free bikes you can take so that is about all we could do. We explored what we could on them.

(riding along Jaco Beach area)

Having an extra day to relax, we decide to check out the jungle on a suspended bridge hike. We figure it's a short drive, main highway, let's just rent a economy car (fiesta like). We know we were told by lots of friends the roads require 4-wheel drive to get anywhere but seriously we were only going up the road 20 minutes! Anyhow, you can imagine what happens next, one turn off the highway to the destination and we are four-wheeling on extreme mountain roads & across waterfall runoffs in a Fiesta!! I even got out at one point to not be directly involved in any damage! So once we reach the spot, of course the pouring RAIN starts, the park people tell us it's REALLY DANGEROUS to venture out on a hike NOW that mudslides occur, etc, etc. I ask...'could we die?' they say '....yes.' hhmm, I blurt out 'then yep, we are still going!' So they drop us off at the entrance, warn us they are NOT responsible for us & lock the gate behind us, and we venture along. About 6 bridges to cross, kind of scary being so high but JP the naturalist is able to spot a toucan since we are up in the trees at times. The trail quickly turns to a gushing river & popping around in the water I see little flourescent treefrogs, my favorite and what I wanted to see! We observe them closely......but do not touch or lick. We manage to get the Fiesta back without apparant damage:-)

(eating lunch outside in the jungle restaurant during a RAINFOREST RAIN)

So the day before the race start, the place is crowding with riders & the race meeting is on. We get lots of information, and are quickly introduced to Spanglish, the conversation method we will hear & get a little tired of for the next 10 days. Every communication takes three times as long & everything is printed twice. Before we start meeting & greeting my bike is here, some damaged needs repaired & we head out with others to check out the prologue to the first climb before the afternoon RAIN begins.

(checking out the prologue start)

Race Day #1
The rumor is day #1 is SO hard & that if you can finish it, the other days will seem easy. To be fair and make sure everyone has a chance this day, it is necessary to start at 5AM. Freak. Stuff all your belongings for the next 4 days into a duffle bag, throw the rest of your luggage into storage for the week, and we are off totally dependant on the race organizers to come though for us. This day is good for me, after a ton of gravel climbing & some nasty downhilling in some huge rutted out packed trails, we get to the famous mud crap miles in the jungle and it starts to RAIN. When we hit it I LOVE it, I am ready to hike-a-bike all day if I have to! Everyone is whining & people start to slow down as they get frustrated with bikes packing, weighing a lot, etc. Thick mud at some points is over my knees and rocks are in it so footing is careful. I have carried my bike from the mud start so it never gets too heavy & when I do coast a few down hills I can hear the river crossing at the bottom so know I can rinse & lube which I do at every crossing. A few are deeper with fast current but not too hard. Finally out of the jungle, I am excited for more. But the excitement fades quick as I find out we are in for a 20 mile ROAD climb, followed by some extra gravel climbing to the end. Agh, about 1/2 up this all the peeps that hated the mud start to catch up to me and they like the road! Bummer. Anyhow, I finish this day with an ok time and nothing was too much of a pain in the butt, I didn't feel over pressured to meet the check point times, even without having a race pace for any long areas. This day is finished by rolling right into the night's hotel, sweet set up with dinner & bike cleaning waiting. JP is there all cleaned up and helps me get settled in & we get our stuff ready for Day 2. Unfortunately, he did not have such a geat time, with chain issues early on and the realization that in packing somehow part of his chain tool was missing, it took him some extra time to get going again after lots of walking. Once back, he got rooked on the price of a badly needed new chain:-(

We both had packed a little more than planned for this day, still skimpy, but not knowing how the stations would be a little more was safer. Now we know, so we both pack a little skimpier for Day 2. There was enough food, drinks, mechanical help, bike wash, etc at the stations. You really just needed to have stuff for about 15-20 miles on the trail with you and bike know-how.

MOM 2009-Raccoon CX + Tandem CX!

MOM is the local series you just gotta support by doing a few races. These races makes me think about how the scene really changes over the years. When I started, Diane Blackburn was done racing, but Beth DeSanzo & Abby J-Platt were always up front duking it out.....women were all Open, which I did not mind at all. If anything, it taught me how much better I needed to try to get if I wanted to catch up to those two! The first few years I got a little closer to them, at least sometimes around some of the other mid-pack girls (Paula, Maggie, Mary), but never fast enough to catch those two! I do miss them at races, not only were they good racers, but also good sports & tons of nice karma all around! I wish Beth is doing well since injury earlier this year & I know Abby is out enjoying the outdoors just not on the course:-) But now there are new girls on the scene, and with some riding under their belt & some souped up new technology bikes they are so excited about racing and it shows as they are doing great and giving it all they got, nice job to Ryanne & Becky this year!

The second race in the series is what everyone calls the dreaded cyclocross, yet SO many people show up! This year's race had more juniors alone than I have ever seen in one race....16!!!

Just doing the Rattlesnake the day before, I was not sure about this race but decided to force myself to put in some fastness. I don't have a cross bike so JP rigs up my carbon Trek 26er to a 69er, with some thicker tread cross tires. This bike is light, but didn't realize the tires were really not the right choice this day. These tires held to nothing on the slick mud & I biffed it 3 times before almost giving up! I also felt super crappy trying to hold a faster pace, esp running up the steps. Shortly into the race, I realized this, and thought I am in no shape to battle & I do not want to cause a wreck so I backed off and just rode it out the best I could without wrecking again! Good 50 minute workout! JP has a good day after also a good day in Saturday race, he is currently 1st place in SS for the MOM series!!

Right afterwards, the new TanDUMB CX challenge was up. Now, Gunnar & Betsy have got this new fancy schmancy cx tandem, all shiny & they have been testing it out for this. They somehow talk us into trying it only one day before. So this morning, as we rushed out of the house, we strapped our old beaten up, often neglected MTB tandem with big knobby tires (ie: the Red Sled) to the bike rack. What the heck are we thinking we thought to ourselves? We have never raced this thing, and have never even thought about how we are going to get through a cx course on it! Oh well, we look at it as basically a fun thing to try out and give Gunnar & Betsy maybe at least some sort of competition, although quite frankly, we obviously expect to get our butts kicked!

them hot on our tail! our barrier skills! (photos: JMatta)

So, we quickly do some initial attempts at barriers, having no clue what to do but that's all we had time to try. The staggered start is great we have the course for just us two initially. Smack, our timing chain pops off right at the start. Shoot, that has never happened before, we scramble to get it back on (poorly misaligning the pedals!), while the Shogrens graciously hold up about 100 yards ahead for our sorry butts! How nice:-) Wow, I think, we have NO idea what else is going to happen on trying to go fast on this bike! Get going again and suprisingly as we hit the first muddy section, we get through fairly easy & we see they have a little issue with slipping. As it gets worse for them on the bends, they quickly compromise for this by Bunny using her quick dismount/mount skills to get off and run instead. Plus, they kick it on the barriers, FAST! I am really worried they can run it out faster than we can ride (!), but it seems each muddy turn keeps us upright and gives a few seconds edge until at one point in a grass straightaway, we take a pass. Continuing to gain a few seconds on each muddy turn, I think we did 5 laps(?) and come in just seconds to the finish before them! It was a super exciting race to try this the first time. Thanks to everyone that took all the pics and cheered for the race! I think we have also sparked some extra comp to come out, as rumor has it the TANDUMB CX showdown will have a total of SIX wheels this sunday at Grove City!!!! I also hear Gunnar is up to no good and trying to switch up bike parts for improved traction!!

Nice job to everyone at this fun course and thanks to organizers and of course GBywaters. Thanks for letting us all try to the tandem too, even though it was technically not on the roster!
Full Results: http://monthofmud.org/

A few other mentions:
-First year racer Josh Matta also did BOTH the Rattlesnake AND today's expert cross! Huge effort!
-Ryanne and Becky schooled me on MTBs today! WTG!

2009 Peanut Butter Festival MTB

I cannot tell a lie....I LOVE the annual Smucker's Peanut Butter Festival, New Bethlehem PA.
We have been to this every year since 2002, it was my first MTB Race date ever with JPOK, only my 2nd XC race ever, & my first experience of making a wrong turn! This race has had a slew of girls show up, including Tiff Kenny who holds the course record. So depending on the crowd, I've always managed to snag an overall 1st-3rd spot. This year the race was the third/last in the new Bike the Wilds Series too!

The race is in conjunction with a community festival, a 5K, and a parade, so good food is around, along with some cool craft sales to get your holiday shopping started, and of course Peanut Butter is available by the case!!! 18 miles of varied terrain await, most on private property which is really nice, and a few piles of cow chips!

This year as we line up, it's just myself, Nina W. (who is super duper training this year & not to be taken lightly), and XXXXXX. I know Nina is tough, and XXXXX is on a SS. SS can only mean two things, either super fast or not so fast. I am worried.

The road strech is better than previous years, thins us out a little. I really want to keep behind XXXX to see pace, but with the SS that won't work out. I have NO idea where Nina is at, but I get in a jumble at the first bottleneck and find myself cursing under my breath. I struggle a little to get going in the BMX course area, but then finally get a rhythm after that and feel better. Not until the first big climb ~30 min in do I see Nina ahead of me walking up the power line. I struggle to catch her & decide to pass. She catches me on the next downhill, and we enter some new singletrack together, something catches her pedal and I get a chance to get out of her sight. Now, for the rest of the day I see no signs of XXXX, I know she is behind me but never know how far. I plug thru some wet sections, and hit the final few miles and play cat and mouse with a friend who is setting a good pace, Spencer Clark, until he eventually pulls away, but it helped me to keep moving that last bit.

I come in first, followed only minutes by Nina, and XXXX is just XX minutes back.
Justin also had a good day, as he not only won, but he also set the new course record!!! He was happy about that.

Awards here are fun, on the stage and everyone gets their trophy/prizes, pictures taken, and the local paper is here to write a story too. I definitely always recommend the event to new racers or experienced!

Bike the Wilds: Nina gets first with 3 races completed, I get second due to 2 races completed.
See full results: XXXXXXX

2009 Roaring Run/Strongland Races

This is a local area summer event ran by the Strongland Chamber of Commerce with RR MTB at Apollo trails followed the next day by the RR Road Race near Lower Burrell. Event info & results are at:
http://www.strongland.org/bikerace.html

RR MTB:
Usually this two lap rocky, tight trail race is a hoot & most likely you can bet you will be up against local RR rider extraordinaire Liz M. She flies through these trails faster than a bat with dead on radar. Last year, I felt good here, so good that I miracleously got ahead of her until almost the 1/2 way point.....where I screwed up and flatted & then double flatted as I watched her coast off to yet another RR victory:-(
So, this year, I am not feeling quite so technical savvy and somehow my usual love of climbing is dwindling, yet it's me & her once again. The start said it all for me, after the open wide sprint in which the pack of guys drops me like a hot potatoe, I usually starting catching and easily passing several in the first trail section & then first short rocky climb. As soon as I reached the climb this year, there was no one to pass! I could not believe it, this was a bad sign! I attempted to hoof up the hill in my usual manner, but was not making progress....I looked up to see Liz was making it up pretty darn well and took off into the rocky bliss before I even reached the top this year.

I keep trying but don't have it. I can only pedal to finish today & really just prayed to not wreck or get lapped!! I finished this year with my slowest ever final time at this race. Bummer, Liz gets the trophy.....AGAIN:-(

RR Road:
So I have some doubts on doing the course this year, and I do it on full-on MTB as there is actually a class for it here. The course changes a lot, so I checked it out previously and have to say, I had some concerns about it for safety, so I figure the MTB will keep me out of close riding with others & I can keep an eye on traffic easier that way too. I ride the 10 miles to the start from my house, get lined up with the mass start pack, and before you know it we are mass flailing down an initial 'S' shaped curve only minutes in to the race. I feel nervous and ahead of me I see some commotion. As I get closer it seems like trouble as the pack is moving sideways & people are yelling. Suddenly some inpatient riders pass me by going far into the oncoming lane, only to careen with some stopped traffic around the bend, which has already brought down a few previous riders.
I hear horrible crash sounds, people now screaming, I hear bikes collide behind me, more people screaming, I see someone careen under the front end of a car, it's all I can do to peel my eyes away and hold my bike steady in the jumble. I am pretty sure it's only a few seconds before it will be my turn to hit pavement. I hear a voice say to me 'just keep moving, keep up your pace, don't slow down'.....it was my rider friend Brad right beside me. This kept me a little calm and we coasted out of the mess together.
Like most people I wanted to stop and go back, see what happened, who got hurt, etc. But I realize Emergency people will be there to tackle everything & really I cannot do anything. Even so, I feel a gut wrenching twinge as I ride on, most race-like energy just sucked away. I guess my bike felt the same way, as just moments later I flatted. I fixed it, and rode out the course, but was the back of the pack alone after this happened. I rode, got the exercise, and was really cautious on the rest of the course about traffic!
I stayed for awards to watch all the local peeps get their overall or age cat awards. The Global Ride Wmn Team did well, as Nina & Liz took off right from the start! Then I packed up the backpack & rode home, still counting my blessings to come through the road clump unscathed but feeling very unsure about racing on the road again.

2009 Shenandoah 100-The Ladies Keep it Real.

For a second time ever, we opt to forego the local MTB scene this holiday weekend which is the annual 24 hours of 7-Springs. After SO many 24-hour races in the last decade, this isn't exciting for me so much & having done the Shen 100 before & knowing the area (Geo Washington Forest) from other trips, I am stoked to get some epic & classic trail riding on.

There is a little glitch to using the long weekend solely for getting ourselves to and from the Shen. JR Petsko & Gina have planned their wedding this weekend.....at Snowshoe!! This was going to be rough. So, our plan is to volunteer to head to Shen Friday, set up camp & save enough space for about 10 peeps that say they can't go early, ride Saturday AM, drive the ~3hrs to Snowshoe, drive ~3hrs back to Shen, then race on Sunday. agh.

So everything gets messed up ASAP as usual for us. We leave later on Friday than planned, at the last minute JP notices my bike of choice should have a new bottom bracket slapped in, so it gets quickly put in, luckily we always have spares on hand. Once arriving to the camp, it is aready getting dark so picking a spot becomes an issue and seems to take forever. Finally we settle in, only to realize in the morning that we see a better one & repack all our stuff and hoof it over to a new site. Then we finally get started on a little ride later than planned, as we head out, JP contacts Gunnar to verify the wedding time. We assume it is 4:00, Gunnar verifies we are wrongo......it's at 2:00. Crap, it's like noon, there is no way we can make it! We grudingly shorten our ride & in the hastiness I do not do a good job of testing the shifting due to the bottom bracket swap. I fail to use most gears & never realize I didn't test out the big ring. I will realize this bright and early just after the race day start!!

We speed demon to the wedding, missing the church part, but getting to the reception in time. Congratulations JR & Gina!!! All is good and the wedding is set up nicely, we all try to not drink too much & regrettingly have to leave rather early for the drive back & a good night's sleep. We get back to find Lochner/Mahokey/Schmalzer/Powers/Cohen got to the camp ok, although one didn't like our choice of spots and ditched us! We squeeze in the Shogrens and McGill & our full camp is finally off to sleep.

The typical AM scene, then last minute I want air in my front tire, Gunnars throws an ancient pump my way & I can't get it on the valve. He does it in a rush, low & behold rips off the valve stem......how does someone with SO much experience do that?? seriously?? Chris Scot is booming the countdown through the megaphone off in the distance. Crap....JP, Gunnar & I all start the fix it process and the fastest flat change I've ever seen occurs & we all make it to the back of the pack just as the gun goes off. We got to some road sprinting prologue stuff asap & this is where I realize my big ring just ain't gonna work. I spin along losing ground, then as we start doubletrack climbing, I see McGill passed out trailside. He says he does not feel well, I immediately hit him up to check out my front shifting......he says just a cable thing so keep adjusting the barrel. Each time this works for a short bit, but eventually needs tightened again. I figure just keep going and maybe at a check stop I can get it looked at. I can probably get away without a big ring, but would rather have it.

In some initial climbing I am having fun and try to keep a good spot in the pack I am with & begin barreling down one of the first tight long rocky decents, I want to go fast here so no one on my tail causes an issue, yet this is flat zone city, and before I know it I hear the dreaded hiss. Once pulled over, I get the change done quick but as air goes in air comes out??? Oh geez, I must have missed a thorn, I rip the tube out, recheck the tire and there is nothing in it?? So, I only carried one tube & now realize that it must have gotten bad somehow rubbing stuff in the seatpack or something. I have a long super rocky descent to coast on my rim so I take it very slow, hoping a check at the bottom and I could score a tube. Several people with 26 offer, but I decline. Once at the bottom, I see the check is another 10 miles on the gravel road. I decide I can't ride 10 miles on the rim, so I hesitate and sit on the side of the road deciding how I am going to bail. The end of the pack is coming through and another offer of a tube comes along, this time I take it knowing he can use my damaged one to get a new one at the check. Finally I am ready to go, although finding it hard to get motivation now because I have lost about 2 hours time with this issue.

I struggle this flattish 10 miles out wishing I had a big ring, so when I reach the check I choose the option to have someone look at it. This takes over 20 minutes, the fix is good & was more than cable work, but I wonder if worth the stopping time at this point. Now I am off my pace by 2.5 hours, I have not packed lights because I didn't anticipate 'just finishing' and taking that long. I have done the course before and lots of 100s so my feeling today was if I wasn't going to do better, I just probably wasn't going to do it at all. I rode on with this feeling knowing that no matter how fast I went there was no way I would finish with daylight & that meant I would have to DNF at the last check, at mile 86. Darn that was a bad feeling, but I figured to ride the 86 anyway.

A rider I know from Dirt Rag, Karen Brooks, was here today checking out her first 100 mile race. She was pacing herself well, taking breaks at the checks, & had packed lights just in case. She was keeping up a good pace, while I was starting to slack off. Being her first one, her goal was to finish. So we rode together for portions up until the 86 mile point, at which time she grabbed her light to get the last climb and descent under her belt. She offered that I could ride along and attempt to use her light too, but I really just was disappointed and didn't care to finish so I declined and she went on to get her first 100 done in pretty good time!

Overall, another good ride, sad not to finish but got to ride the epic Shen trails another time which is always good! Justin had a good time, ending up 5th SS class & 36th overall. There were more women than I've ever seen at a 100.....37!! That is amazing, as just a few years ago it would be lucky if 10 women started! I do notice it is funny, as more women enter, the age range widens, the rider's ability range is more varied, girls enter on SS, etc. yet I have NEVER heard one women complain about wanting classes, unfair competition, etc. such as the men continually squawk about & attempt to justify their limits by entering just the right class! The Ladies Keep it Real!

Shen Mt Touring is always a great event host, check out events/results/etc:
http://www.mtntouring.com/mountain/htm/home/page_home.htm

2009 6 Hours of Power, Ellicotville NY

This is a popular course, lots of peeps from pgh go up, just an easy 4 hr drive north. Runs a short, fast, smooth ~6mi loop within Holiday Valley Ski Resort, up the mountain, along the ridge and then back down. Ellicotville Bikes is always a cool place to stop by, and so is the Ellicotville Brewing restaurant.

Past years we have crashed on some local floor space, this year we decide to primitive camp near the transition area. Also, different this year....JP and I do Coed Duo. In the past, I have done Womens Duo & Solo here, but never the Coed Duo. Reigning champs Gotch and Bittner, will be the target! Paula and I have battled back & forth constantly over the last few years, so I know our times will be close! We leave the boys race up to them!

There was an awesome turn out from pgh this year on the podium spots! DH took overall Duo and lots of pittsburgh first timers came out to give it a try and made it look fun!

In the end, we got the champs by moments. This is only the second duo JP & I have ever done, our first was 12hr VKnob back in 2002, a race that goes into the night, against all men & we won! Between these Duos & a 24hr Duo with Eric Kriberney in 2007 (got 2nd against all men!), I can say it is pretty stressful to do these with someone WAY faster than yourself! The extra pressure can be a little overwhelming, but both of these guys are super nice good sports about it & made it a great experience to have done! If you ever have to chance to pair up with someone such a different pace than yourself, give it a try & have fun!!

WVMBA-Big Bear Ultra 2009

So, it's a week after the Wilderness 101, I am not sure what I have for a 50 mileish course but this is one I really wanted to do so head on down to Big Bear to see what's up. Unlike the miles of doubletrack and maintenance road I envisioned, Race Director extraordinaire had gotten trail work underway and had miles of brand new very technical singletrack for us to test out! This was super duper, I can really say I think this course rivaled the reputation of the often talked about WVMBA Rattlesnake course in terms of 'toughness' factor!

There is a decent group of women, and right from the start my pace feels great but I am not with the girls I expect to be. I am right behind Betsy on her SS through the first gradual incline, I think about slowing down but decide to just go with it. The course hits the newer technical stuff and even though slippery/damp roots/rocks, I manage to hold my place in the pack without much dabbing and I know I've gained some in that section. The next one, Voo Doo Rocks, is a repeat, I flow about as much as I could in there no dabs although I do jump off to skip over a few 'dangers'. Big climb, I still feel good, strike a few passes of boys near me, and wonder where the other girls are and how they are making in through. I know I am second to Betsy but wonder if that will last all day. Eventually we get to another new technical stretch & to the checkpoint and still no sign of girls. They tell me I am about 5 min back from Betsy, I know she is having some trouble with her chain falling off today, but also know I feel better than usual so just keep going as hard as I can. I won't catch Betsy (!) but I sure hope I don't slack and get caught myself. The last portion of the course is easier terrain, I have eaten/drank all day & still feel good. I finish in 2nd, glad to have held off almost all of the competition for an entire 5.5 hours!!! I spin down the road, get a quick rinse off, pass the next girl finisher on the road and surprised at what she had to say about the course "THAT was hard!". Ironically, that was about the last thing I would have said, I was thinking more like "THAT was a super fun course!"

See iplayoutside.com for full recap/results.

2009 Wilderness 101

coming soon.

2009 Tour de Burg

coming soon.

MASS 9hr Relay

MASS 9hr Relay
So we head to the MASS 9hr relay with a few WV cohorts in crime and after much deliberating, decide 4 of us are all going to do the relay as solo. There is also a night time trial the night before which we do as well, after getting our camp/pit area all set up.
The night time trial proves tricky, as I never saw the course at all and it's VERY twisty & tight, although exciting it is hard to carry speed and easy to not make some bends. There are a few quickly approaced obstacles and steep ups that surprise you. Dirt Rag was here and Karen Brooks did the time trial too, we know that sometimes we are kind of the same pace so we use that to judge how we do. Karen comes in 20 seconds faster than me (Time Trial Results) and we are about midpack of the 7 girls going for solo the next day. This sets a little perspective on how things will go. There are some familiar names on the girls listed and I know a few are fast and they prove this to be true! Final Relay Results of our group:

JR Petsko-25th out of 31 starters with 6 laps
Chris McGill-SS-1st place with 10 laps
Justin Pokrivka-2nd place with 10 laps
Ruth-5th out of 11 starter with 7 laps

This is a really nice private property course, highly recommend for the drive from Pittsburgh.

1/2 Trail Run Marathon-Rachel Carson Challenge

Rachel Carson Challenge
So, I still do like to trail run a lot, just that it gets put aside due to time in the summers. I decide to change a workout/race plan this weekend and attend the RC Challenge (informally), attempting to run 1/2 the course (14miles) and then ride my SS road bike back to the start area. The RC Challenge includes lots of vertical, my portion was 3300ft total. This goes well, I finish in 4hrs, feel ok except some foot & hip soreness from not running a lot. The bike ride back is a little slow but still ok.

Double Weekend Fun!!!

Saturday-West Va Road Race Series, Davis WV
Sunday-Massanutten XXC, VA

I don't do many road races, mostly just I don't like drop bars or riding close to people like these require or the thought of getting road rash or even worse!! But I need to pull a few double race weekends, and this is good op. So JP has a good knack to put together a 'road' bike out of what's laying around the basement and made a bike I used in the Dirty Dozen last year. It's a trek carbon 26 mtb frame, it will fit 700 rims and road tires, but has flat bars on. I ask the race director if gears or handlebars are in the rules, he says, NOPE, this is an 'anything goes' event. Super Duper! Off I go with high end disc brakes to a real roadie race, I think I will fit right in:-)

I chose to do THIS road race not only because of the laid back nature, but also I saw and heard the course was good and hilly in it's inagural year last year. I enter the open women fast group, there is a CAT 4, but whatev, I'd rather go for it. So off we go DOWN a somewhat gravely hill to get to the start......typical west virginia thing to do:-) We start in our groups, it was all I could do to stay on the back on the women group. I fell behind a few times, catch back up until we reach the first climb. Everyone just split up badly and from then until the last final long grunt climb, I was alone. That was ok with me! I ended up last of the fast group by 10ish minutes or so(?) but did beat a few of the cat 4 girls so being on a mtb & knowing I still had a hard race to do Sunday yet, I was ok with that.

Thanks WVMBA and wonderful town of DAVIS, WV for the always good time in your awesome backyard!!

Right after catching some sweet Hellbenders Burritos, we start the mountainous 4 vehicle caravan drive to Massanutten. We got a nice condo deal to squeeze 7 of us in for the night. In the past, I've only done the Mass XC, it's a USA Cycling so often crowded and with Pros. This year I wanted to do the XXC. I wanted the extra miles, and I incorrectly thought the fastest girls would be in the XC. Ooops. Just so happens this year the XXC got a little more attention and the women cat was loaded. Oh well, off we go anyway. Now I have ridden/hiked here a lot and I knew the trail was going to be god awful rocky and require some hike a biking but I REALLY underestimated this aspect!! After completing the backcountry out & back that was just gnarly and unrideable for quite long stretches, I finally reach the event area, I see JP and some guys standing there already changed. I am SO happy this is over! But I am very confused as the mileage my garmin is saying does not seem right. I yell to JP AM I DONE??? He yells back NO! go back UP the mountain again! I gasp!!! I am exhausted and beat, haven't seen another girl ALL day and really not wanting to slam over these rocky downhills for another hour, but up the mountainous switchbacks I go trying to be happy! Up and then this time straight down the DH course, but then some rocky singletrack seems to loop around FOREVER before FINALLY popping to the last DH and finish. Holy crap, that was long and rough. I was glad it had not been an all out pedal fest, the terrian here is adventurous to say the least and I am glad they put it in the course!

Thanks to MASS, WVMBA, etc for another cool event well worth the drive from Pgh!

Mohican 100

Since the initial flub races I have, I have taken a few weeks just to focus on my equipment and myself. I have some pretty big goals for myself and not correctly focused on getting ready for them. Yoga clears the head, so that's where I'm at!

JP still in a cast, I head out to the Mohican 100 with a racer carpool & camper friend. We are both focused on just doing our best, racing for so long now, we pretty much know where we will finish it's just a matter of how bad we will feel when done!

This year the course is rerouted with miles of new singletrack put in and the venue located in new start area. The camp area is nice, the start was good. The prologue was a WAY too short & fast road section for this large pack, and led straight to the new trails right away. So the beautiful new 25 miles of flowing singletrack turned into no more than a cluster of frustration for most people! Even though there was a road hill, a hike a bike and few other things it was just not enough to get the field spead out. This cramped everyone's style for the first quarter of the day.

I leave the 60/100 split with just a few peeps, glad to get some quiet time!! Then quickly I regret it as I end up not seeing anyone for miles and miles on the 40 mile out and back. I am stoked to get to the 'out' checkpoint, in bad need of a pbj. But then quickly in dispair as it only has oranges out. I am not prepared for this! I was counting on the food stops in this event and had nothing with me excpet a few gus. I now have to ride another 20+ with no food. I am so screwed. I head off and decide to get it started. This is the best part of the trail for me, it gets a little more backcountry-ish and I like that. So at least I had that to look forward to. Eventually back to the park trails and to the 60/100 checkpoint again, and SO looking forward to a pbj. Again I was told there were leftovers, which was watermelon and heed and all the drop bags were packed up! ok, NOW I am not just frustrated, I am outright mad. I check my watch, I clarify that the station was open until 7 in the rules and it is only 5. They tell me it closed at 5, I pull out the printed rules from my pocket, there is silence. My drop bag is pulled out, I get my drink mix, and refuse the offer to wait for a sandwich to be made. I don't have 10 more minutes to hold up the entire show. I take off for the last climb disgruntled but not really feeling THAT bad except my damn bunion feet are really hurting. The last checkpoint was GRAND! They were jovial to be helping and HAD FOOD and were in no hurry to pack it in as they stated they knew more people were still behind me! Finally some happy helpers and some food:-)

By now, my time is a typically 12 hourish route for me. The course ended in some disheartening hike a biking and climbing but was obviously close to the roll in finish and some good grilled food.
Overall, I was hoping to improve on my typical 100 time, but didn't. I did improve on my first Mohican time, which was also my first 100 in 2006. I am soon getting custom orthotics and hope that will help with feet issues, other than that I need to just keep focused on 'training' & having fun!!

Congrats to my baby bro for doing his first 'long' race, the 100K, and on SS.

Thanks to Garth, Ryan, OMBC, etc. for the event.

2009-Dirt Sweat Gears (DSG)

Heading down to TN for the USA cycling DSG. Long drive, big field, Open Women full of Pros, costly trip. Why am I going here? Fun road trip with a good racer friend and a chance to check out a private trail system and get a long 12 hour solo day in. Decide it's worth it.

Parousing the event set up, I coincidently run into a race counterpart that I forgot lived in the area. She fills me in on the course and a few things, no matter, with the girls here I am just doing whatever to get a good ride in!

So, we start in some misty rain, just enough so the short prologue is slick. Peeps are wiping out and we are not even to the trail! Priceless! Once in the woods, it starts pouring buckets. Within minutes I am followed by bad karma and a rear flat in the pouring rain and mud. AGH. I get out of the mud area to some grass, get it changed in the storm, jack it so full of CO2 air since I am still mad at myself over the flub flat fix at Greenbriar two weeks ago. I am also a little excited, this is the most challenging flat situation I have had in a while and it went fine, I love when the weather gives me a test for what it might be like in Costa Rica this fall(!) So back on, I am now behind the pack and the trail is getting bad. Very bad. A combination of things make the course not hold up to rain and traffic. It falls apart, bikes pack with mud...BAD. I push, scrape mud, I carry, scrape mud, I push, roll a few feet, carry, scrape mud, it's fruitless. I decide it's a DNF, I have been out here for 5 hours to get a lap in!!! The front pack gets through one lap ok, they hit the crap on their second lap and have just as much trouble, but the tough ones stick it out mostly carrying mud packed bikes on their backs. I DNF and hit the tent for some relaxing! My carpool bud gets in two laps, her second also being a 5 hour lap and she is also done. Craziness, I have not seen anything like this in my travels!

Other than not holding up to weather, the course is nice, the event set up is nice, and if your up for a race, some of the best competition gathers here!!

WVMBA-Mountwood

Mountwood Park is an old fav. But also usually a muddy fav. I was not sure I was wanting to deal with Mountwood or any course in the spring mud again. After 4 years of racing with rim brakes, god knows how, but I am finally tired of it. I want to have brakes that work ALL the time!

Regardless I head down the night before, camp out at Mountwood with some WV peeps in the rain, do a short evening ride, and get up ready for a mudfest. It is just as suspected, a slippery mess. I hang in for awhile, back and forth with Mandi R. and Meredith while the faster chicks are already way ahead. Eventually I fall behind to the point that some sport men that usually don't pass me are passing me. That doesn't even get my butt moving, I know something isn't on, so I settle for just finishing for today and even that proved to be a struggle. Well, so far this year is not going too well! Can only get better:-)

Thanks to WVMBA for another good event, despite bad weather!

2009-Greenbriar Marathon

Among my goals this year sat the Greenbriar Marathon (USA Cycling Point Series). Having a feel for the field and knowing what I like to do, I had my eyes set on WINNING the Marathon.

Justin has a cast on and has to bail on this event, but he still goes out with me and helps me get ready, watches and cheers, takes a few photos that I swear are turtles but he says it looked just like me going by(!).

This course is short laps for 4hours. The course has just enough small climbs, short rock sections, and flat sprints that it's hard to tell what strength is the best to have here. But typically, anyone going for USA points is in the XC race here, making me feel that I will do ok. I approach the start with crossed fingers, hoping my assumption is right! Although there are WAY more girls than I anticipate, I do not see anyone recognizable fasties. This is good. I like the OPEN WOMEN categories, even though I am always at a disadvantage by age and skill.

The start is me a bike length ahead of a few girls, the rest are starting slower. Immediately as we hit the doubletrack I think about slowing down, I freakin' do not want to be in front NOW. As we crest the hill which is where I can usually gain on someone, I let the two on my tail get around and plan to keep their pace. Before we finish a lap they have both dabbed and even with space between us I can't help but pass them back up. I decide screw it, I am just going. The worst that can happen is I bonk with hopefully a small lead that I can maintain and they get tired. So this works for the entire 4 hours, as more and more peeps are on the course for the XC, it gets hard to keep track of who the girls are coming by and with more people in some spots it gets congested with some hold ups. But it's all good, JP tells me each lap I have gained a few more minutes lead!! I am SO excited I am going go make my first goal of year and it's only my second race this year so far.

About 15 minutes from the end of the entire day, PPPSSSSSTTTT. Just like that, did a little baby launch off a rock on a downhill and it was all over. I quickly get everything fixed up, but make a boo-boo and don't get enough air in with CO2. I do not have a pump and am too proud to ask to borrow one. Number 2 girl passes just as I am getting the wheel back on. I quickly ride to catch her, the low air being very obvious. Not a few minutes later it pinches again. It's over. I am so mad at myself for not carrying a pump, I refuse to DNF, and tote my bike over my shoulders to the end, while one by one all the Marathon girls come by. The 15 minutes leading to fame turn into 40 minutes of failure. As I get to the end, JP is quick to announce how I screwed up a flat.

Thanks Brad for passing me in style, coming to find me on the course, walking it out with me, chit chatting and getting my bike and me back to the camp.
Thanks JP for handing me new bottles and the pictures even though I swear it's not me:-)
Thanks JR for cheering & WVMBA Team & Pro Bikes support.

WVMBA-Big Bear

First race, used a demo Cannondale Scalpel.

The bike is nice, smoothest ride I ever had for rocky downhills, but being used to stiff ride I couldn't get the hang of climbing on this, and just myself did not have the patience to keep trying. Otherwise, a very nice 14" deal is sitting down at the shop:-)

Overall this race went crappy for me. I was not motivated from the get go, had some bad karma following me around, and the demo bike and me were not bonding. I knew this all from the start so just dealt with it in order to force myself to get an initial 'race' under my belt and hopefully jump start my motivation for the year a little by getting to see some race friends and chat for a bit.

Congrats to all the peeps who did well! This is a large turn out since close drive to the burg.
Thanks to Race Director Mark for the Big Bear trail system as always, and WVMBA.

Time For 2009-Let the Fun Begin!!!!

Spring is officially here and bikers are out in full force. This is always exciting because first races set the bar for yourself, and can end up affecting your entire season plans if not as expected. This year I have set a few different types of goals, and so have not yet been racing the few options that have come up already.

My largest 2009 Goal is to finish the LaRuta 2009. Since this is not until November, the whole year will pretty much be centered around getting ready for this.

If there is one thing I always pictured in my mind to be perfect bliss, it would be a long foot/bike adventure through a jungle (or possibly other dangerous terrain) doing as much self-support as I could. Although LaRuta is notoriously brutal, it does have a large field & some support, so I feel it's a safe venue to attempt. If this goes well, I hope to next spring attempt a more multi-day events. Thanks to Justin for agreeing to go on this trip with me even though I don't think it was ever on his list of thing to do!

Looking forward to April now, as in a few weeks I will finally hit a few races and start getting the summer schedule logged in.

2009 MTB Team

Thanks to Barry and Dirty Harry's for great support over the last few years as part of the DH Team. It has been awesome time and fun waving the DH jersey and dealing with the shop:-)

For 2009, I will be hangin' with the newly formed WVMBA MTB Team, headed up by JR Petsko. Team WVMBA officially is supported by Blackwater Bikes, Cannondale, & Rudy Project. Since I live in the burg, Pro Bikes has agreed to provide shop support in conjunction with the team. Thanks to Pro Bikes for arrangement!!

I am looking forward to the new change, and getting ready for the biggest bike adventure I might ever have a chance to try!