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