Carey's Cycling Chronicles

Snake Creek Gap TT Race Report

2012-01-08T17:11:00.000-05:00

8 years running, 298 racers present, the only race with a women's record-breaking bonus (that I know of), 57 degrees in January ... what more is there to say about starting the 2012 season!

Nervous? Heck yeah, I was. This race was going to gauge my fitness 2 months post surgery. I know my coach knew what was needed to do to get me back on track, but after a less than stellar 20 minute power test a couple weeks ago, I was lacking confidence in myself. With my 43rd birthday looming, had I reached my performance peak? Or with all that transpired last year, maybe the climb back up was going to take just a bit longer.

I was going into this race carrying some fatigue from the previous 2 weeks' training. Knowing this, I was just hoping for a sub 3:45. With an unsettled forecast, I packed just about everything, from shower cap to embrocation to mud fender, hoping that if I prepared for a deluge, it would not happen.

The start was a balmy 52 degrees. Cloudy, but no real threat of rain ... awesome! I was one of the first to go off the line so I had a clear path before me. With my legs achy and barking, I rode conservative at first, hoping they would come around by the time I hit the first single track. They didn't. Granny was my best friend for the first 13 miles.

Once I reached the ridge of Horn Mountain, my legs woke up. Finally I was able to go! Those final miles down to the aid station at Snake Creek Gap parking lot flew by. In the parking lot, I swapped Camelbaks and started the long arduous climb up Mill Creek Mountain. By this time, I was able to happily stand and hammer. Although I was on gears, I rode that climb like I was on my SS.

The miles leading to the last techy single track went by uneventfully. The double track climb up to the last 8 miles was smooth and fast! It is so nice not having to pedal through energy-sapping red mud. The last 8 miles are usually pretty fun for me as I love dancing through the rocks. However, having not ridden much single track in the past two months, my skills were rusty, and it showed. I bumbled most of the way, running more sections than I wanted to, but knowing I would be faster on two feet as opposed to two wheels.

As I popped out onto the pavement for the last downhill stretch, were my eyes playing games with me? Could it be? Finally! In all the years of doing this race, I have never been able to find some big racer dude to pull me down the mountain. Today was my day! I raced up to him, latched on, and sped down the pavement faster than I ever had gone.

I rolled under the Finish banner with a time of 3:34:58. I accomplished both my goals: had fun and a sub 3:45. Good enough for 2nd.

Once again, the NWGA SORBA folks put on a wonderful event. See you back in March. There is a bounty that needs to be collected!

Catching My Breath

2011-12-07T18:48:00.001-05:00

Wow! This past month has been a whirlwind of activity. Here is a synopsis of my acitivity.

I am almost 6 weeks post Morton's Neuroma surgery on my left foot. Walking barefoot is almost completely bearable; every now and then I get a little electrical jolt if I slam it down too hard. I think it will still be a while before I am back to running and doing jumping jacks on the hard wood floors. But ... I can ride the trails again!

No nerve pain, but soft tissues still healing.

A couple weeks ago I participated in Mulberry Gap's Turkey Shuffle. After 4 hours of riding trail and gravel, my feet were happy and I even won a raffle! I got a cool little item from Topeak!


Only 48 grams and small enough to stuff in a hydration pack.

Last month my Avalanche got really really sick (the transmission died). After a heart-breaking mind- wrenching session with Charlie (and an all-day head-to-head battle with the dealership), we traded her in for this:


Lil' A

No, we are not rich, just back in the land of monthly payments and working an extra shift or two per month. But with a 5-Star crash rating and close to twice the fuel economy, it is worth it.

Finally, I am not just gluten intolerant, I have celiac disease. It has taken me almost 2 1/2 years to determine the cause of my ill health and confirm it. It sucks! But at least I know now. And I can take the necessary steps to avoid getting sick. I even happen to be in the 10% of celiacs that cannot tolerate oatmeal. Avenin, the protein in oatmeal, is very similar molecularly to gluten, and unfortunately my immune system sees it as gluten. Only took me 9 months to figure that one out!

The only good thing that has come out of this is that I have one of the best diets ever! Lean meats, fruits, vegetables, and chocolate! I am staying the heck away from restaurants and most processed foods. That being said, it does make it difficult to eat away from home. I basically have to pack all my food with me ... and the stuff to cook it with when I go on my mountain bike adventures and vacation.

I have been enjoying laying down a base for next year. Long rides and Core Performance, baby! This Tennessee weather has me longing for this. It is not even winter yet and I am so over the cold and wet and cycling layers and hand/foot warmers and Reynaud's rearing its ugly head!

16 Days Post Op

2011-11-13T17:13:00.001-05:00

On Friday, October 28 I had surgery to excise a Morton's neuroma. The first week about killed me, as I could do very little. But this past week, I have been back on the bike, slowly building up time in the saddle and assessing how my foot performed afterwards.


No foot model future for me.

I started off with an easy 45 minute spin 7 days post op. No problems. Then on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week, I rode for 2, 4 1/2, and 3 1/2 hours. I had no issues while on the bike. I was even able to stand and pedal up some of the more steeper climbs; no pain whatsoever.

I did experience a weird feeling immediately off the bike on the two longer rides. With each placement of my foot on a hard surface, I had a mild electrical jolt shoot through my surgical area. Not really painful, but not pleasant either.

Today, I was planning on riding for 2 1/2 hours, but after the first hour, I began to feel a slight bit of pain in the foot on the down stroke. So I decided to end it early at 1:45. Upon walking after this ride, there was no electrical jolt or pain ... small victories.

This week while off the bike, I still have a small limp. The surgical site is tender and thickened = inflammation still present. Walking barefoot on hard surfaces is still uncomfortable. I wear my Keen sandals a lot; they keep my foot happy.

But with almost 12 hours in the saddle, I feel confident that my recovery is going as expected. Now I know that this is the experience of only one person. I tend to push the envelope when it comes to proper recovery. But I am hopeful that my surgical outcome will be as I wanted ... to ride for hours on end, pain free. And to be able to run down my daughter ... while I still have the chance!

I Can Ride Better Than I Can Walk

2011-11-06T15:36:00.000-05:00

It is now 9 days post-op and I went out for my second road ride since surgery. Kitting up took a bit longer as I gingerly put my left foot into my cycling shoe and adjusted the straps so that there was no tension across the top of my foot. I hobbled over to my bike, pushed it out the garage door, and stepped aboard. The most painful part was clipping in as it takes quite some pressure to engage the pedal.

But once in, a transformation happened. No longer was I a cripple; the bike freed me from the pain of walking. Pedaling was effortless and pain free; I only felt pressure at the surgery site during the down stroke. My trusty steed carried me away from the doldrums of the past week and allowed me 100 minutes of pure bliss!

Upon returning from the ride, I unclipped and hobbled up the stairs to stretch and take a shower; oh well, it was fantastic while it lasted. And it should only get better from here.

6 Days Post Op

My podiatrist said that the neuroma was 1.6 cm long and 0.4 cm wide. Pretty average for a Morton's neuroma, he commented, but that the widest part of the "little bastard" was right where my 3rd and 4th metatarsal heads touched. From his description, I imagine it probable looked like a Mezcal worm, you know, that icky little creature in the bottom of certain bottles of Tequila.

My "little bastard."

The hardest part of the healing process is not going hard on the bike. I have energy to burn and want to stand and hammer. But I am following doctor's orders ... there will be plenty of single speed sessions soon enough. As luck would have it, I sustained a mild right hamstring injury at the Berryman Epic. This has helped to keep a governor on my engine.

At this point, I am not sure if I will have surgery on my right foot. I will just see how the left goes, get a lot of training under my belt for next year, do a few races, and then make a decision.

Coach, This One's For You

2011-10-31T15:07:00.000-04:00

I am going into my fourth year of being coached by Lynda Wallenfels. I, as well as she, still sees the potential in extracting a few more watts out of my body for the 2012 season. I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today, fitness-wise, without her help.

The start of the 2010 Cohutta 100 ... would have been a contender for the win had she not been struck by lightning!

My relationship began with Lynda in September 2008. What prompted my decision to hire a coach was a combination of increased workload with my job and motherhood and what I suspected was over training. I had been self-coaching with this:

But as I had less and less free time, my coaching became sloppy and soon led to lots of riding with no real structure. My hard training days turned into long days at moderate intensity and my easy training days turned into long days at moderate intensity.

The "straw ..." happened at the Mohican 100 in June 2008. I suffered miserably for 100 miles. Too stubborn to DNF, I pushed on through to the end watching one lady after another pass me like I was standing still. By mile 60 I was in tears, begging sticks to jump into my derailleur and end my misery. When I rolled across the finish line in 7th place, almost an hour off my winning time in 2007, I vowed that I would hire a coach.

And I did. Enter Coach Lynda. Based on recommendations by Krista Park, Danielle Musto, and Jeff Kerkove, I hired Lynda. I also chose her because she was a working Mom who was able to kick ass in the endurance scene. I met her face to face at the 2008 TransRockies. Any reservation I had about her as a coach was dismissed as she rode past me on a long, steep climb like I was standing still. Oh yeah, she was also on a single speed!

We got to work right away. The hardest part for me was "letting go" and entrusting her with the task of creating my training schedule. At first it looked and perhaps felt too easy. It was like she had put a governor on my engine. But soon enough, I began noticing changes, especially in how I felt. Less overall fatigue and stronger on the bike.

Showing Lynda and Dave a little Southern hospitality at Mulberry Gap.

I would say my biggest accomplishment with Lynda was winning the Cowbell Challenge in June 2009 and in the process beating Rebecca Rusch, an awesome and very well respected ultra endurance racer. That day I felt like I had no chain on the bike. Despite temps in the high 90's, I rode the perfect race. That credit goes to Lynda's coaching abilities. Within 9 months, she was able to understand my physiology and tweak my fitness to an all new level.

The hardest part of being coached by her is the distance between us. She lives in Utah, I in Tennessee. At first, I was worried about her getting to really "know" me. Thank goodness for cell phones, power files, emails and internet. Never fear, her knowledge of power, acute/chronic training loads, training stress scores, and other analyses that are over my head allow her to "know" and fine tune me.

She was also the one who figured out my gluten intolerance. For that, I am forever in her debt. Although she is not a nutritionist, her knowledge of it has been invaluable to me. I am in the best physical condition than I have ever been in.

Is a coach what you need? Perhaps. If you have hit a plateau in your training/racing, if your life is so hectic, you don't have time to plan/analyze, or if you are new to the sport and have no idea where to start, I suggest you check into it.

Coach Lynda offers many levels of coaching, from coaching programs to training plans. What I really like about her is her ability to take in all the variables and fit a successful plan to my life style. I think it is easier to train a professional athlete who has nothing else to do but train and race. Where a great coach shines is in her ability to successfully train working people who have jobs and families (tons of variables!)

Thanks, Coach for a great 3 years. Hopefully, you can help me to crank out another 3 wonderful years!

ProGold Product Review

2011-10-30T09:29:00.001-04:00

A few months back, Bruce Dickman sent me a box of goodies. I feel that I am at a point where I can honestly assess them.


Otherwise known as their Xtreme Lube.

Fortunately for me, this year has been a dry one. I have had very little mud on my bikes. Where this has excelled has been on long, dry and dusty fire road training sessions. My chain has been noise free in these conditions. Last month I spent 3 days in Pisgah. Although it did not rain, there were multitudes of creek crossings. The only chain maintenance I did was to wipe the chain each night. I did not have to apply any more lube.

This product makes bike washing fun.

It is insane how well it cleans and shines your bike. I am uber picky about how my bikes look. Any amount of dust, dirt, or mud causes a facial twitch that will not go away until my steeds are sparkly clean. This product definitely decreases my work load. My Avalanche is jealous!


NOT FOR HIRE.

The shop towels clean well, yet are non irritating to sensitive hands. Ladies especially, if the only thing keeping you from being a grease monkey is, well, the grease, fear no more. Purchase a tub of these and you can wrench on your bike in the morning and then enjoy an evening out on the town.

Pro Gold rocks!

Berryman Epic Race Report

2011-10-29T11:49:00.000-04:00


A little known piece of single track heaven in the wilds of Missouri.

I had to put this on the back burner in order to get things done prior to foot surgery. Not that I am laid up for awhile, I have time to blog away.

This one was my last hoorah for the season. Seeing as how I was going to be out of commission for at least a month, I was going to leave everything out on the trail. The pre-ride went well and my legs felt rested. Coach had me doing some threshold work leading up to this race and I felt that I was ready to ride 5 hours at intensity.

Race day was brrrr! cold. I woke to temps in the low 30's; quite a shock to my system. I dressed lightly as I knew it would warm up and the start was a gravel road climb. I warmed up briefly and then jumped in line as close to the front as politely possible (I was still several rows back).

The start was fast like last year. I settled in and although my legs did not feel the best, I thought they would come around soon enough. It was hard to tell how many ladies were ahead of me. No worries though; my race was with the trail. As I hit the steeper pitch going up the gravel, I felt a twinge in my right hamstring. It lasted maybe 5 seconds; I did not think too much of it, but later it would be a premonition of what was to come.

I hit the single track with no ladies in sight. I was locked in to a train of about 15 riders. I settled realizing that soon enough the trail would open up. When it did, I tried to kick it up a notch, but nothing happened. My legs had that "achy lactic acid build up" feeling. Really?!? I was only 8 miles in and my legs acted like they had already pedaled 40 miles.

Hoping that my legs would come around, I focused on nutrition and momentum. I attacked the downhills, trying to gain precious seconds. It seemed to work as I caught up to two ladies on the descent leading to Brazil Creek. There was a bottle neck at the creek crossing. I guess they were afraid to get their feet wet. It reminded me of the Planet Earth series where the herd of wildebeest were getting ready to cross the croc infested river and no one wanted to be the first to take the plunge!

As I was waited to cross, I glanced at my watch. I was 5 minutes off last year's pace. I grabbed my zip tie on the other side of the creek, hit the pavement for a short section, and then dove back into the woods on the Berryman Trail, just behind a lady in a Trek racing kit. I happily let her pace me up the climb. Even though I was in the Ozarks, these mountains are old and eroded so the climbs are neither steep nor long. But today it felt like every climb was like Pinhoti #3.

I passed her when she stopped at a gravel road crossing. I was now in my own little bubble. I then used my HR to pace me. At around mile 16, I caught up to another lady in a black/red kit (later found out this was Laura). I struggled to stay with her on the climbs, but was able to catch back up on the descents. As I rolled into the Berryman campground, I once again looked at my watch ... 8 minutes off last year's pace. That was demoralizing, but then I realized I had caught up to a lady in a Sheclismo racing kit. This gave me a much needed burst of positive energy. I refilled my Camelbak, grabbed a gel flask, and set off on the next section of trail. I lost track of Laura during this transition.

I hit the next bit of single track with renewed hope. Even though I was off my game, having made contact with two ladies gave me renewed hope. I was able to hammer this 10 mile section of single track. I kept expecting to see Ms Sheclismo at any time, but did not make contact with her until we picked up our 3rd zip-tie at about mile 32. It was here that we exchanged names. Ms. Sheclismo was Sydney Brown. I knew that name! She was one powerful roadie who loved to hit the mountain bike scene every now and again. We took it relatively easy on the double track climb leading to the gravel road.

Sydney thought that we were #1 and #2. We decided to work together on the 6 miles of gravel back to the campground and aid station. I took the first pull. Sydney came around me and began her pull. Within 10 seconds, I knew I this wasn't going to end well. She dropped me like a bad habit. I tried to keep her in sight, but slowly watched her get smaller and smaller until she was gone.

That was an ego buster. Luckily, my ego is not that big. Once again, it seemed to take forever to reach the campground. Last year I reached this point in 3:27; this year it took me 3:48! But when I finally arrived, there was Sydney! The game was back on! She pulled out as I was reaching into my drop bag for my little bottle of happiness ... a Red Bull shot! I grabbed a water bottle and began the chase.

I knew I could best her in the single track. I had ridden the last section the day before and was familiar with its sketchiness. I had to attack and attack HARD! The last 6 1/2 miles were on gravel and Sydney definitely had the upper hand there. I was amazed that my legs responded! I felt none of that achiness that I had the first 40 miles. I caught her within the first mile, made the pass, and put the hammer down. At first she was able to hang on, but soon I could not hear her squeaky brakes any more. I figured I needed at least 2 minutes advantage in order to have a fighting chance.

The first 5 miles flew by and all was going well ... until I hit this short, root-filled climb. As I cranked down to get over the obstacles, my hamstrings locked up! I felt as if I had been tazed! Not wanting to fall off my bike, I grannied down and attempted to spin. I was able to coax my cramped hamstrings to cooperate and after a couple minutes, the cramps subsided. However, whenever I tried to amp it back up, my hamstrings began cramping.

My race was done. I suppose that was my body's way of keeping my heart from exploding! Normally at the end of a race of this distance, my HR is in the low 160's. But when I was putting the hammer down, my HR had jumped up to the mid 170's! I cannot remember the last time my HR was that high that late in a race ... probably 10 years ago.

As I was limping along, Sydney caught back up to me. I let her pass and encouraged her to reel in as many guys as she could. I thought that I was in the lead; neither one of us realized that Laura was in first.

Once again, I limped to the finish. Last year it was on a shredded tire; this year it was on shredded legs. I managed to stay on the podium with a time of 5:21. Sydney ended up catching Laura on the gravel and won with a time of 5:17:50.

Kudos to Sydney and Laura for having great races. They were both so strong this year! I was definitely out-gunned.

I must say that Zeke had an awesome race as well. He finished mid-pack in the SS class ... but, if he had raced his age division, he would have won by 13 minutes! Ursula had a good race as well, despite her cramps. She finished 5th; not bad for an old lady ;). Zeke and I are hoping that she will get bit by the endurance bug! Both Mary and Travis succumbed to the sharp Ozark rocks and got in plenty of tire-changing practice.

Enjoyed getting to know the Fowler's. Both are super strong racers!

Will I be back next year? Probably, but perhaps on a SS.

Season Finale

2011-10-19T11:00:00.000-04:00

Sweet single track!

This weekend is the Berryman Epic, a 55 mile romp through the woods of Missouri. Last year was my first time and aside from a mechanical that cost me first place, I had an absolute blast. Super fun flowy trail with a few technical bits thrown in to keep you on your toes. This would be the perfect race for someone's first foray into the endurance XC scene. Spots still available!

This will be my last race for the year. On October 28, I will be having surgery to remove the bastard neuromas in both my feet. I was hoping it was not going to come to this, but after 7 weeks of conservative therapy, the pain is still there. Granted, it is at a tolerable level, but I cannot enjoy epic rides, short runs, or just playing with my daughter without that constant nagging pain of every footstep. Nervous, but optimistic. Down time will be around 1 month per the doc. Time to focus on weight and core training anyway.

I was planning on ripping the trails off the map at the Berryman, but I got "glutened" by Charlie's mom last Saturday. Carly and I went up to spend the weekend with his parents. I was very specific and diligent about my gluten intolerance with his mom, but apparently she forgot to read a label. She prepared chili, but instead of using spices out of spice jars, she chose a chili seasoning (unbeknownst to me). Care to guess what the first ingredient on that label was?!?

About 2 hours after dinner, I knew I was screwed. After interrogating her again about the ingredients, I discovered her (and my) error. So now Buddha is back; probably for about a week. I do hope I can ditch him by this Saturday. Stomach pain, abdominal distension, difficulty with deep breathing, insomnia AND racing at intensity for 5 hours DO NOT MIX!

From my previous "glutened" experience, it takes about a week for me to feel normal again. I will be cutting it close. Oh well, that will be my handicap, I guess.

The Path Less Traveled

2011-10-09T20:31:00.000-04:00

While Daddy was in Arkansas getting some prep work done on the lease in preparation for opening day of duck season, Carly and I decided to have our own little adventure. We went to the Tellico River and "mini-bouldered."


I thought about helmets while Carly scaled this one. Next time!

This girl may fuss a little when it comes to riding bikes or hiking well-defined trail, but when big rocks and water are present, she is all smiles. We "creek-walked/bouldered/butt-slid for about 2 hours along the Tellico and one of its tributaries. I had an absolute blast! Carly has got Mountain Goat skills; she slipped only once.

This little fall was about a mile in on one of Tellico's tributaries.

We wanted to see what was just above the falls, but the two options were very tricky. Me, being "The Worrier," opted to not push our luck today. Having another adult along would have made it more negotiable. We will be back to tackle it later.

We stopped and ate lunch. The fish were pretty happy about that as they got their first taste of Cheez-Its.

The part of mothering I absolutely love!

Carly's leaping abilities amaze me. On one particular water crossing, she cleaned a 4 1/2 foot jump ... from a standstill. I opted for the easier route; I knew my limits!

As we were scaling a rather large and technically challenging rock, Carly stated that if Daddy were here, he would be saying, "Be careful, be careful, be careful, be careful ..." What she didn't realize is that what was going through my mind on auto repeat.


Not your typical girls' day out.

Wow! You CAN have fun without a bike being involved.

Morton's Neuroma

2011-09-17T07:55:00.000-04:00

Today, I saw my podiatrist, along with a bag of shoes, pedals, and foot beds. After deep palpation of my 3rd inter-metatarsal spaces, which elicited a few whimpers, my doc said, "I believe you have a Morton's neuroma in both feet. I also had the classic gap sign between my third and fourth toes where the fibrotic nerve is so large it is pushing apart my metatarsal heads.

See the space between the 3rd and 4th piggies!

Radiographs ruled out any bony pathologies. When he placed the ultrasound on the area of suspicion, he outlined the two neuromas. Basically, the nerve that runs between the metatarsal heads is normally the size of angel hair pasta. My neuromas, however, are the size of large green peas! No wonder the pain was so intense!

Doc then outlines different methods of treatment. One is a series of 5 alcohol injections over 5 weeks to kill the nerve. He sees a 50% success rate. The other is surgical removal. Two small incisions over the top of the foot, and cut out the offending portion of nerve. No real down time; I could be back on the bike the next day! The only potential complication is a stump neuroma, which he said happens about 10% of the time.

For the short term, he injected the area with marcaine and dexamethasone, bringing about instant relief! If you look closely at the picture above, you can see a needle mark on each foot at the 3rd inter-metatarsal space. I love any doctor that can relieve pain without prescription drugs!

He agreed on all my methods of orthotic management with the wide toebox, the Specialized BG footpeds with the metatarsal bump, and the XTR pedals. But he said that more than likely, until the neuroma is excised, I will have recurring episodes of pain.

He said the injections could help for 1 week, 1 month, 6 months, or maybe even a year. We shall see, I guess. But I am prepared to have those little bastards cut out if necessary. As much as I am on my feet at work and on the bike when not, I will probably have to undergo the knife in the future.

Today was the first pain free day on the bike since TNGA. I felt so good I almost cried! I did not feel every friggin little bump and for once forgot about my feet. I also tried out my modified Specialized MTB shoes. I was able to move the cleats back 1 cm with the modification.

I was able to drill out the carbon sole and move the cleat plate further aft.

Riding my SS today, I really did not notice any difference in this new cleat position or power transfer. It might be more noticeable when riding gears and staying in the saddle more. I suspect I will have to make saddle adjustments and will defer to Eddie for that.

Metatarsalgia

2011-09-15T12:49:00.001-04:00

Otherwise known as hot foot, this condition was my undoing at Trans North Georgia. 15 hours in to the race and it had me writhing in agony on the climb up Hogpen Gap at 10 pm.

Two weeks later, with a week off the bike, it is still there, a constant source of burning, tingling, numbness which is beginning to take its toll on my sanity. The pain is bearable now, more of a sense of intense pressure, but it is never ending.

I have spent almost every waking hour trying to come to some "light bulb" solution to end my misery and get me back on the bike with happy feet. I have enlisted the aid of bike crack addicts Dave Byers, Lynda Wallenfels, Ruth Cunningham, and Eddie O'dea.

I have done all the usual things: wide toe box, aft cleat positioning, wide platform. All those were in place pre-TNGA. Post-TNGA, Eddie addressed pedaling technique. Yep, after several rides, I figured out that I was pretty much following his advice during the race.

So two things are gonna happen ... soon. Tomorrow, I am going to see my podiatrist, hoping that he has "the magic pill." After much research and seeing how my hot foot has progressed over the past year, I am almost convinced that I have Morton's Neuroma.

Hopefully, the doc will give me some promising information with regards to surgery ... if indeed that is what I have. Otherwise, I am gonna ask him to cut off both feet and attach artificial feet made out of carbon fiber!

In the meantime, I have put on my cobbler hat and started to alter a pair of old Specialized MTB shoes with carbon sole. My intention is to move my cleats back another centimeter.


This plus


this plus


this will hopefully equal pain free pedaling!

I gotta run to Lowe's to get a 1/4" drill bit. I hope to give it a go tomorrow. As there are many of you out there that have this condition as well, I will keep you posted on my progress. Being in pain and not being able to pursue your passion is NOT FUN.

TNGA

2011-09-05T12:06:00.000-04:00

It is 10 am on Monday September 5. At this point I had expected to be pedaling up Strawberry Mountain, not blogging about calling it quits with only 13 hours and 115 miles into this monster of a race. I had what I thought was a solid race/fueling/rest plan but I was also mentally prepared to adapt to hiccups along the way.


Pumped at the start!

I felt great at the start. We all took off at a conversational pace. Once we hit the first gravel climb, the pack broke up. I was in my happy all day pace and slowly watched people pass me one by one. A lot of standing and cranking going on around me while I just sat and stayed all spinny, using granny early on. The roads were in good shape; there had been some rain the day before and the gravel was a bit more settled than when I had reconned this section back in July.

I slowly started reeling the others back in once we hit the climb up to Blackstump Gap along FS155. This is a doozy with steep pitches and super loose gravel. A couple times I had to get off and push a bit as my rear wheel would lose traction and spin out. No worries, though. Walking was good as it kept me from digging too deep too early.

I walked my bike down the Darnell Creek Horse Trail until I got to the purple painted tree. Here I dropped trowel and urinated. It was 10 am. I then motored on and enjoyed the gradual descent down to Hwy 441. I refilled my 70 ounce bladder at the post office; they had an outdoor spigot. It was now 11:15 am. A little over 3 hours in and I had drank close to 80 ounces of fluid.

From there I began the arduous task of climbing up to 3 more gaps before I would hit the fun descent down to Moccasin Creek State Park. I was feeling great at this point and my mantra was, "Don't force the climbs. Let the gaps come to you." I alternated between my middle ring and my granny as the terrain dictated, keeping my feet light on the pedals. I continued to drink every 15 minutes and eat every 30 minutes. I kept my mind busy by going over my refueling plan and making sure my body was taking in enough.

I never really felt hot, but was later told that temperatures hit 96 degrees. Granted I had sweat dripping from my nose and elbows, but I felt o.k. That is, until I picked up FS164 off of Hwy 76. This is at about mile 58. When I started descending, I started getting "hot foot." The pain was intermittent and more of a nuisance at this point.

I rolled into Moccasin Creek State Park at about 3:30 pm. I stopped at the campground for water and a short break. When I kneeled down to open my Camelbak, my left hamstring cramped. Yowzer! I stood back up and the cramping stopped. It was then that I noticed just how salt-stained my shorts were. After refilling with another 60 ounces of water, I ate a Hammer bar and took a few Endurolytes.

Although my chain was holding up quite well, what with all the creek crossings, I decided to do some preventative maintenance and lube it up with some ProGold Extreme. When I reached in to my back pocket for the tiny bottle, I found nothing! Apparently it had yard-saled itself in the past 3 hours. I guess now I would get to see just how good of a product ProLink has. (BTW, the chain was quiet all day!)

After about 20 minutes, I headed for Addis Gap. The climb up Wildcat Creek (FS26-1) is gentle compared to the previous climbs, but was not any easier. It was here that I had the first inkling of fatigue. I figured that this was just my 60-70 mile slump period which I usually have when doing hundies. So as I climbed, I counted calories and ounces and was right on track. However, I was continually interrupted by the nagging pain in my feet which slowly began radiating up my toes. By the time I got to the top, it felt as if someone was stabbing the balls and toes of my feet with a searing hot dagger. I stopped at the top for a moment. I dropped trowel and attempted to pee ... nothing. Let me remind you that this was about 7 hours after my first pee. Not good!

I applied more Chamois Butt'r, forced myself to drink 10 ounces immediately and began the descent. Man o man, that was some sloppy, stupid descending. Every jolt sent waves of pain through my forefoot. I was lucky to stay upright.

The climb up Tray Mountain was miserable. This 10 mile loose gravel climb did me in. What normally takes me 1 1/2 hours on a loaded bike took a little over 2 hours today. Each pedal stroke hurt and then my knees started to hurt. This was probably due to a sloppy pedal stroke caused by me trying to find a painless way to pedal. I got off the bike and tried to walk; that hurt more. So back on the bike.

This was just not fun anymore. Yeah, I love to suffer, all ultra-endurance racers do ... but not in this fashion. With night falling, I made the decision that if the fun did not come back by Helen, I was out! I got to ride Hickory Nut in the dark. Thankfully, the 4 racers ahead of me had cleaned it up a bit. As riding was less painful than walking, I rode more of it than I ever had. Got squirrely a few times, but managed to keep the rubber side down.

I stopped at the convenience store at the intersection of Hwy 356 and Hwy 75, went inside, and purchased some food to see me through to the next refueling point. By this point, it was 9 pm. My feet actually felt slightly better, so I motored over to Wendy's, eat, and reassess my body.


Hoping this would make me feel better.

While waiting in line for my food, I started getting light headed. I then began to see stars. Sensing that I was going to pass out, I immediately sat down. The dizziness subsided, but I got some strange looks from those around me. I guess they were not used to seeing (or smelling) a fully kitted dirty mountain bike racer who had just raced 102 miles through the Chattahoochee National Forest.

After eating one of the most delicious Wendy's meals EVER, I made the decision to ride up HogPen and find some place to settle for the night. I went to the restroom and urinated. A decent volume but pretty yellow. This was my second pee of the day.

My feet were still hurting a little, but I was praying that the pain would eventually turn to numbness. I called my family and told them of my plans. I left Wendy's at 10 pm.

I was feeling o.k. riding out to the base of Hogpen. But once the pavement started going up, my body imploded once again. It was taking me 12-14 minutes to ride one mile and my foot and knee pain returned with just as much intensity as before.

With no regrets, I stopped at a pull over and called Zeke. At 11 pm it was game over! Continuing would only be stupidly selfish on my part. I had not only myself to be worried about, but I have a loving husband and wonderful daughter who need me.

Looking back at that day now, I could have made some choices that probably would have prevented my moderate electrolyte depletion/dehydration. I could have stopped and layed over at Moccasin Creek or Helen, replenished, and rested. At the time, I did not think I was dehydrated. During the first 12 hours, I had drank 200+ ounces of fluid. Apparently I was sweating it out faster than I could take it in.

However, I don't think that would have fixed my foot issue. In prior races, I would have bouts of metatarsal pain, but it always went away. Today it did not go away; it only intensified. Ultimately, I would have had to throw in the towel at some point.

Then there was the fact that Tropical Depression Lee was fast approaching. Prior to my debacle, I had accepted the fact that I was probably going to have to ride for 12-18 hours in the rain. On a good day, I have the strength and will power to do that. But when my body started failing, so did the mind.

I guess my only regret is that I did not make it to Mulberry Gap. I was so looking forward to the camaraderie and Ginni's fabulous grub. Bailing there would have been a lot more fun!

Live and learn to race again!

Off The Beaten Path

2011-09-01T09:12:00.000-04:00

North Georgia Mountains

In just a couple days, I will be making about 240,000 pedal strokes through the Chattahoochee National Forest. I have been waiting for this adventure ever since the inaugural event back on September 4, 2010. This season has been centered around preparing for TNGA. Countless hours of training, researching gear, reconnoitering, and going through dozens of "What if?" scenarios in my head.

If you had asked me 2 years ago if I wanted to race hundreds of miles over gravel roads and trail, I would have said, "That's insane! I hate gravel road racing!" Fast forward to now and although single track is where my heart is, I have begun to enjoy those long gravel grunts upward to the sky. The race is 350 miles with 60,000 feet of climbing.

There will be a lot of this terrain; fortunately most of it tree-covered.

The first half of this race is mostly gravel roads. Some are really steep and with the drought have been chewed up by the vehicles. It is will be slow going on some of these: two pedal strokes forward, one pedal stroke backward. It will be frustrating at times, and that is where it would be easy for my morale to splinter. But I have a few mantras to keep me happy.

The other morale boost for me will be receiving texts from my family. Cell phones are allowed in this race and although service will be sketchy and usage limited by battery life, I will turn it on occasionally. Carly got an iPod Touch for her birthday and we are both geeked up about communicating with each other.


Zeke is somewhere in that mess.

Most of the course is open, but there are some sections that will require bush-whacking. I am hoping the wild hogs do some trail maintenance on those sections. Poison ivy and I don't get along very well.


A lot of single track in the last 1/3.

The last 120 miles will be brutal. After pedaling 230 miles on a heavy-ass bike, eating convenience store food, and lifting 35+ pounds of bike/gear over numerous downed trees, I then get to contend with The Snake portion of the Pinhoti. This is 34 miles of gnarly, rocky, and rooty single track that has 5500 feet of gain. The Snake Creek Gap TT Series takes place on this section every January, February, and March. Average finishing times for the race are between 4 and 7 hours. And that is during daylight. I am expecting to be riding a lot of this in the dark. O happy, happy, joy, joy!

Back in March, this creek was a foot deep.

The other big obstacle will be finding water. The western portion will be fine, but a lot of the creeks and small rivers on the eastern portion are dried up or just trickles at this point. Daytime temps will soar into the 90's and night temps will drop to the mid-60's.

I will be riding my 2008 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR. It weighs 24 pounds. The gear on the bike weighs 12 pounds. My Camelbak, with a full 70 ounce bladder weighs 5 pounds. That is 41 pounds of bike and gear.

Stumpy, aka The Yak!

My vision quest will begin at 8 am on Saturday, September 3. My goal is to reach the GA/AL border on Monday afternoon. I am only halfway towards my goal of raising $1000 for Trips For Kids-WNC, so if you could find some spare change in your vehicle or couch, I would greatly appreciate a small donation. Just click here

Enjoy what the out of doors has to offer!

.
Thanks to all those who have supported me in my efforts this year: Charlie, Carly, Moms, Dads, Zeke, Coach Lynda, and cycling friends. You can track my progress here.

6 Hour Race to Sunset @ Blankets Race Report

2011-08-17T17:40:00.000-04:00


Sleeping in and getting ready at a relaxed pace was nice.

Fueling pre-race was the hard part. Normally, it involves just one meal. But today I had to come up with two meals. I had the bright idea of trying to make gluten-free biscuits to go with my eggs. It was like a cross between a rice cake and a hockey puck. And that lead weight sat in my stomach for hours ... I attempted to take in a few more calories around noon, but my stomach was not happy.

Seeing as how I had not ridden here in 4 years, I took Karma (2011 Niner AC9 SS) out for a pre-ride just after I arrived around noon. This was definitely a perfect course for one gear. I rode a lap, just to make sure I chose the right gear ... and I did, a 32 x 20.

A tight squeeze ... especially at 12-15 mph!

The temperature hovered right around 90 at the start. The course was technically demanding, with short, grunty climbs, roots galore, rocks that moved with you, and stutter bumps everywhere from the super dry conditions the past month.

The race started out LeMans style, with a 1/4 mile run to your bike. Coach's orders were to ride at 90% and NOT race the boys. However, I intended to run hard so as to avoid as much of the 1st lap cluster as possible.

Loose gravel, carbon soles, and metal cleats makes for an interesting start.

The race went off at 3 pm and as I was running up the gravel parking lot, I looked down and saw a bike shoe all by its lonesome. Within seconds, the owner was trying to run against 200 race-hungry individuals to claim his lost "sole." It was quite a push and shove match to get to your bike first. I am just glad that she was in one piece when I arrived to leap upon her and be off on my 6 hour adventure.

I chose to summarize each lap in a few sentences.

Lap 1: Really, not even a mile in to this thing and I am down with a bloodied forearm. So much for avoiding the cluster. Come on people, just "ride that thang!"

Lap 2: Welcome back, my friend Momentum.

Lap 3: Wheeee!

Lap 4: I think there are more people laying trail side with cramping issues than are racing.

Lap 5: Wow! Red Bull does give you wings!

Lap 6: A 100 lumen light might work well on the TNGA, but it does NOT work well on a tight, twisty single track race. Oh, well, I will consider this my parade lap.


Karma's first race and first win.

I ended up 1st woman, 1st SS, and 2nd solo overall. And I adhered to Coach's orders. I swear, I was not racing the boys ... they just seemed to keep getting in my way, so I had to pass. I had a great day on my single speed. The legs were happy all day, but my lower back and balls of my feet weren't. The course was very jarring! I was happy to be finished. It was nice to be able to get cleaned up at night and not worry about sweating again.

The bike rode well and had no issues: powerful, yet quiet. Even with a slightly longer wheelbase than my Specialized SS, I had no issues maneuvering around the switchbacks and other tight twisty sections of the trail. Now that I have the fork dialed in, I am quite happy with the Reba.

Lisa Randall (Mountain Goat Adventures), her husband Chris, SORBA Woodstock, and the Bike Patrol executed a perfect race. Inexpensive fees, combined with lots of shwag (pre and post-race), and quick reporting of results made for an awesome race.

My podium shirt.

Zeke also rocked it! 3rd place in the SS field. He spanked some guys half his age!

SERC #10 Fontana Race Report

2011-08-12T13:49:00.000-04:00


Happy that the season is almost over.

Wow! It has been a long, but fun season! I think the racing was the easy part. All the prep work leading up to each race was a race in of itself ... especially when you have an 8 year old in tow. But I had help from family and friends and I do believe it has drawn Carly and I closer to each other. Yeah, there were times when we fought like sisters, but there were many more times when we hugged and laughed and gave each other high 5's.

Team Outdoor Store is in da house!

Fontana Village was the perfect place to have the finale. Probably because they had an AWESOME pool with an attached lazy river. Over the course of three days, Carly got in 10+ hours of pool time and countless laps on the lazy river.


How I spent 50% of my pool time.

The kids course was also the short track course. It was located between the restaurant and the pool on a grassy hillside. It included a steep downhill, which Carly bombed down ... but it also had a nasty gravelly-grassy climb, which Carly hated. This steep little grunt was also part of my course, which I had to climb up on each lap. No fun for a little girl with a heavy bike.

Carly had to do 3 laps. She led on the first, but then lost her bearings and slowed down, allowing a couple of her competitors to pass. She pushed the climb up to the Start/Finish line. By the end of the second lap, I could tell she was done. Grimacing through the 3rd lap, she persevered and finished. I was proud of her efforts. This was definitely one of the hardest and least fun of the series, but she finished strong.

The head cocked to one side is an indicator of "not fun."

Carly's biggest issue is the heat and humidity. You see, along with the orange hair and fair skin, she also got Grandmom Sandy's heat intolerance. Heat rashes, flushed cheeks, light headedness, yucky stomach ... you name it, when Carly gets hot, this is what happens. Even though she raced at 8:30 am, the sticky heat has been there. Carly can swim all day, but mountain biking is hard for her in the summer.

I, on the other hand, relish the heat. It is actually to my advantage. But one thing I have discovered this year is that is has slowed my recovery.

My course was hard. Not as technically difficult as Monte Sano, but there was a lot more climbing. Most of the climbing was on pavement or gravel. The first big descent was steep with lots of loose "baby-heads." It was easy to get hurt here. The second descent on Turkey Pen was way more fun. Smooth and fast with a few water bars that you could get more air than you wanted to. I opted to run gears as I was coming off a big block of training which had included a 28 hour ride through the Chattahoochee National Forest on "The Yak."

Single track entrance -- if I had to do 1 more lap, I would have needed a machete.

The course started out with a 0.4 mile lung/leg busting climb up pavement to the single track. I got a good start and entered the single track in 3rd, hanging on tightly to Anina's wheel. Kim was just in front of us, but slowly pulling away. I settled into a sustainable pace for me. On the first lap, I surged ahead of Anina a couple times, just to see what she had. She did not waiver and stayed up front.

Coming through the Start/Finish area, a couple spectators said that we were 35 seconds behind Kim. I followed Anina back up that steep paved climb, but could tell that she was faltering a bit. She entered the single track first, but after about a mile, I could tell she was slowing. Thinking that maybe she was playing team tactics and not wanting to drag me up to Kim, I passed and upped the pace a bit. Anina was right there behind me. But when we began climbing back out of Lewellyn Cove, she popped. (Anina had raced the short track the night before ... and won.)

The second lap hurt more than the first but I had managed to gain a little more time back on Kim. On the third lap, I went hard early, hoping that I might be able to reel Kim in, but by the time I began the false flat climb to the Lewellyn "descent of death," I blew up. I came to the realization that pushing on was only going to increase the probability of something catastrophic happening, I backed off and finished the lap more conservatively.

I ended the day with a 2nd place and 2nd in the series. This netted me a little cash, which I can finally put towards the purchase of 4 new truck tires. Carly also ended up with a 2nd place in the series as well. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

Going through her bag of goodies.

I have to thank Terri and Dave for a great season. Awesome venues, nice and low entry fees, timely score keeping, and post-race watermelon. I enjoyed racing my SS, the Specialized SJ aluminum. A responsive and "mechanical-free" machine, out-fitted with the awesome Endless Bike Co. kick ass cogs. Chamois Butt'r kept me chafe/saddle sore free, and Ergon kept my hands pain-free.

I am not sure what adventures Carly and I will have next year. I wanted to expose her to a "real" sport; hopefully she will one day want to pedal all day. But I will not force her. Whatever endeavors we take up, we both hope that Daddy can be more of a part of them. Such a busy man working for Ducks Unlimited, his hard work is what allowed us to partake in such an enriching activity.

Our biggest supporter of all -- the "Big Daddy."

TNGA and Trips For Kids WNC

2011-07-13T20:11:00.000-04:00

TNGA ... it is going to be brutal, no doubt about that. With 350 miles and 56,000+ feet of climbing in 90 degrees and sweltering humidity, I am going to be in the pain cave more than I have ever been. Along with attention to detail, fitness, and the ability to adapt, motivation is going to be the key to success.

During my recent bike packing recon, I learned that motivation will be my limiter. Let's face it; I am a single track kind of gal. Miles and miles of gravel road just does not grind my grits, especially when pedaling 40-45 pounds of bike and gear.

So I have decided to team up with Asheville local Stephen Janes and Trips for Kids WNC. I met Stephen a few years ago at the Cohutta 100. Since then our friendship has grown. His love for kids is genuine and his devotion to the Trips For Kids program is overwhelming.

What better way to see our sport grow than to get kids involved. And what better way to fuel my spirit through the mountains of the Chattahoochie National Forest than to know that I am racing for our future. My goal is to raise $1000 in the weeks leading up to TNGA.

So please, sacrifice just one Starbuck's and donate $3.50 on my behalf. That's only $.01/mile people! Let the children keep my adrenalin flowing and not the sound of banjo music and Sasquatch calls.

A link is to the right. Please click on it!

SERC #9 Huntsville Race Report

2011-07-10T20:14:00.000-04:00

Having never been to Monte Sano State Park, I was uncertain of what to expect. I had heard that it was technical and rocky; but that was about it. Both Carly and I were pleasantly surprised at her course: a mix of pavement and smooth, buff single track. What rocks?

While Carly and Zeke pre-rode her course, I went off to do mine. The first few miles were fast and had a few rocks. I was on my SS, running a 32 x 19. At first I thought I might have to go bigger. But then I encountered steep rocky climbs and steep rocky descents. These rocks were sharp and slick. And there were enough roots thrown in on top of the rocks to make it really fun. Whoa, Nelly! I would call it Pisgah Lite or Syllamo-ish. There were a couple sections that I rode over and over again, trying to find the best line. I don't think there was one. I was wishing I had brought my full suspension bike. (Shoulda, coulda, woulda.)

After the pre-ride Carly and I finished up our day with 3 hours of pool time, while Zeke went back out to get his single speed fix on. We capped off the evening with dinner at Chili's with Ursula and Jay.


Race faces on!

Sunday morning came way too early for Carly. Biscuits with sausage and gravy was her pre-race meal. Carly had a good race with no bumbling boys to maneuver around and finished strong.


Pavement start.


Totally focused 10 yards up the trail.

My race started out with 1/4 mile of flat road. My start was good and I was up front for about 1/2 of it. Then I heard the gears shifting down behind me and I quickly went from 1st to 5th. I managed to get around Paula when she bobbled in the first techy section (note: Paula raced the Tn State Championship Road Race the day before) and passed Catherine when it opened up to double track.

Kym, who won the Tn State Championship Road Race, was flying up front in first place with Gerri hot on her heels ... well, until she flatted. After moving up to second place halfway through the first lap, I noticed I wasn't feeling all that sparkly. Heavy legs and breathing way too hard, I knew that I was not on form to finish at this pace. I backed off the pace and tried to settle, but on this course it is hard to settle. The climbs are hard on a SS as they come quickly, around corners, and are strewn with rocks and roots. All of a sudden the 19T felt like an 18T. I had to run 2 short climbs (10 yards) and 1 long one (40 yards).

I actually looked forward to the final 0.8 mile paved climb as I could establish a rhythm that was not torturous. And having Jay hand me an ice cold cup of water helped as well.

The second lap was agonizingly painful. Even spinning the flats at 120 rpm hurt. I felt like a pinball in the techy sections. Dabbing became a constant on that lap. To top it off, Paula began to close the gap and at one point was only about 10 seconds back. Although I felt I was at the end of my rope, I was able to dig a little deeper on the climbs and pull away from her. Finishing never felt so good!


At the finish with a smile ... or is that a grimace?

As much as that race hurt, I would do it all over again. Because with the pain and suffering comes a HUGE endorphin rush. You just cannot beat that feeling of utter exhaustion and exhilaration, knowing you left it all out there on the trail. Why do drugs or alcohol when you can race, I ask? I friggin' love my bike!

Karma

2011-07-08T10:07:00.001-04:00

is what her name shall be.


19.02 pounds

Karma is the concept of action or deed, understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect. Some might say that my new steed is fate; others would say "happenstance." I will let you be the judge.

My troubles began back in the winter. Specialized had been great to me up until this point. But I could not even buy the bike, a 2011 Specialized S-Works SJ SS, unless I went to another shop. And that I refused to do. I even wrote a letter to Mike Sinyard and Rebecca Rusch was kind enough to make sure it got into his hands. Well, at least it made it to the desk of his secretary. The end result of that was the regional rep telling Bruce that he did not have the privilege of being an S-Works dealer.

Well, it just so happened that I finally committed to racing the 6 Hours of Warrior's Creek, after being asked 3 years in a row by the promoter. It always coincided with the Ouachita Challenge. But I was wanting to do a 6 hour on my SS and I had heard great things about this grassroots race.

It just so happened that Mike Stanley was going to be there with a van full of Niner Bikes to demo. Zeke talked me in to trying one out. I did, an A9C with a rigid fork. As much as I love my Specialized fleet of bikes, I was quite impressed with the Niner.

After much hemming and hawing and with Zeke talking my ear off about the company, I decided to get one. That was a BIG STEP for me. I have ridden nothing else but Specialized for the past 12 years. Their bikes are the best, the components and gear comfortable and durable, and their customer service and advocacy has been top notch. But ... they just seemed to be more interested in the road aspect of cycling and their "concept" stores. The small LBS's got kicked aside.

After waiting 2 1/2 months, she arrived. Bruce meticulously (and I do believe with love) assembled her. And yesterday I got to try her out at the Whitewater Center. Just so you know, I paid for this bike, so my opinions are completely non-biased.


I "cut my teeth" on technical rocky trail at The Snake.

After just one 3 hour ride, I cannot say that the bike is friggin' unbelievable or da bomb, but I must say I was most impressed. The cockpit felt perfect and racey. She soaked up small bumps; a smoother ride than my Specialized aluminum SS. Power transfer was instantaneous. And she was quite nimble through the switchbacks. I was also able to flick her through rocky sections like I was on my Specialized Era.


Westfork Trail. She begs to climb.

I will need some more time on her before I can give a complete thumbs up. Racing her this weekend at the SERC Huntsville will be a true test. I have also never ridden a Reba, so I am sure that making some adjustments will help to smooth the trail out as well. I was riding on the Specialized Renegade tires. I like them on the rear, but they wash out in sandy or deep loose over hardpack. Slapping a Specialized Captain on the front should make her rail through the turns better.


I am hoping that this relationship is only the beginning.

Mike Stanley is an awesome rep. He works his arse off. Down to earth, goes above and beyond, and loves his job. I had a good rep with Specialized, but I think his hands were tied. It might be just me, but I think the corporate leaders are more interested in world domination and sponsoring road racers who throw their $10,000+ bikes into the ditches of the French countryside. The last (and only) time I threw my bike down in anger was when I was 9 years old. And that earned me a week of being grounded.

Where is the scracth 'n sniff sticker?

TNGA Recon

2011-07-04T11:02:00.000-04:00

With the TNGA only 2 months away and I being a bike packing virgin, I decided to pull an overnighter on a section of the course.


At the start

I began my adventure at Moccasin Creek State Park at 8 am. My bike and gear weighed in at a hefty 45 pounds. That is 41% of my body weight! Having never ridden with weight like this before, I immediately felt it ... even on the beginning flat section of asphalt. Climbing up the Wildcat Creek forest service road gave me a chance to get used to the weight and how it was distributed on the bike. I think I packed Stumpy, aka The Yak, pretty good, as the bike felt balanced. The downhills took some getting used to, especially the tighter turns.

The morning hours were quite pleasant with the forest service roads offering plenty of cover from the sun. I was just at a cruising pace and had planned to make Helen by 11 am. But ...... then I made the approach to Hickory Nut Trail. I looked for it for several minutes, first going to the right and then to the left on trails that led nowhere. I then came back to the intersection, switched my GPS from breadcrumb trail to compass. The cue sheet said proceed around dirt pile and head south. So I did and entered the bushwack from hell! Poison ivy, poison oak, and blackberry briars greeted me. Nice! I finally found a resemblance of trail, only because of the wild hogs that had cleared some small sections looking for breakfast. The next 2.5 miles was a combination of pushing, soft pedaling through derailleur-eating sticks and large rocks, hoisting Stumpy over downed trees, and hoping no copperheads were lurking in the thick underbrush. A few choice words were said, including "tartar sauce!" and "pickle juice!" (Carly has taught me well.)

The last mile of the trail was rideable but not what I would call fun. Those 3.5 miles took an hour to get through! And then I had to stop at the lake, remove socks/shoes and scrub the ivy/oak resin off my legs. Was I ever glad to get to Wendy's! Although I had to wait in line due to the lunch hour rush, it was worth it. The last time I had a Wendy's burger was after the 2006 12 Hours of Oleta in Miami, Florida.

Hunger satisfied, I began the long pedal up Hogpen Gap. This is a 7 mile paved climb, with grades ranging from 8-15%. Pedaling a fully-loaded mountain bike was a far cry from riding a 16 pound road bike during the 6-Gap Century! From there it was a 4 mile descent to my next turn. As I began my descent, my speed approached 40 mph. As I came around the second sharp turn, there stood a mama bear and 3 cubs! I had nowhere to go and could not stop. I managed to wrestle the bike to the middle of the road and just as I became even with the bears, she jumped over the guard rail and the babies followed. Whew! That could have been ugly.

The remainder of the day was anti-climatic, just turning over the pedals while a steady drip of sweat fell from the tip of my nose. I was happy that I had chosen Stumpy with 120mm of travel, fore and aft. I call her my "recliner" bike and felt comfortable all day. Some of the fire road descents were pretty eroded and rocky, but seemed effortless and fast aboard my full-suspension steed.

After 11 1/2 hours, 95 miles, and 10,500 feet of climbing, I found a nice spot along the Toccoa River and set up camp for the night. The ThermaRest Neoair pad, size M (14 oz) was very comfortable and the Kelty Lightyear down 40 (11oz) kept me warm when the temps dipped down to 60 degrees. Yes, at about 3am, I got cold and had to burrow into the bag.

The next morning Loretta joined me for the ride to Mulberry Gap. We got moving shortly before 8 am and the Aska trail system was the first real bit of single track that I encountered on my HEAVY bike. A bit more pushing was involved and it was harder to steer through the switchbacks. Amazingly, my legs felt great and I was able to ride more than I thought I would. My body had finally adapted to The Yak. The descent off Stanley was fast, but not screaming XC fast.

Loretta and I refueled at the small grocery just before the climb up to Watson Gap. Unfortunately, this store won't be open when I come through during the race. This section from Shallowford Bridge Road to Mulberry Gap is devoid of stores. It will be imperative to find water to purify (easy enough) and have enough food on board to make it without putting myself into a deficit. At least on this section Mulberry Gap will be my carrot.


Mulberry Gap food!

The South Fork Trail was chewed up by recent horse traffic. We encountered a group of five horses, but the people were very congenial. Surprisingly, if you just use common sense and give the horses and their riders respect, you come to find out that they are mostly good people.

The climb up the remainder of Potato Patch from Buddy Cove was brutal. It was here that I hit my lowest point of the ride as I had expected a short journey from the Pinhoti to the 3-way intersection. Fortunately I had drunk a Red Bull which helped to see me through.


It gave me eagle wings, but I was really needing condor wings at this point.

We finished up our ride with the Bear Creek descent. We opted to skip out on the P1 and P2 as time was getting away from us and we both had families that were expecting us home soon. Mulberry Gap was fulfilling, what with a hot shower and Ginni's cooking.

A PR for Loretta ... longest MTB ride, ever!

We covered 61 miles and 7500 feet of climbing today. This was a great test for both my gear and myself. I felt sparkly the whole way, save for Potato Patch. This also had been the longest I had been on the bike this year. If I can keep my bike and body working well and the weather is good (meaning hot and dry), the TNGA is definitely doable ... and perhaps winnable!

My hands held up well, but I think I will swap out my Ergon GC2's for the GS2's. With the GS2's having a slightly longer bar end and with the grippy rubber, my hands and ulnar nerve will be happier over the long haul, especially if I get wet during the race.

The Chamois Butt'r 1oz packets did their job well. No chafing/sores, but I still had some sit bone soreness after the ride. I suppose the only way to fix that is to ride more ... which I can do.

I had so much fun than another bike packing session is being planned for late July.

Lumberjack 100 Race Report

2011-06-22T20:27:00.000-04:00

Danielle had been trying for the past 5 years to get Zeke and I to do this hundie. Persistense finally paid off as we made the journey up to Manistee National Forest to race our single speeds. However, this journey was a much a visit of childhood memories as it was a race for me.

Our travels included a stop in Lima, Ohio where I lived from the ages of 4-9. Wednesday we hooked up with Bob and Ann, who had lived across the court from us. His hobby is rebuilding Model T's and we were lucky enough to ride in one of them to dinner.


What with all the pedals/levers these T's have, it makes a stick shift a piece of cake to drive.

After dinner we drove to my childhood home. This house had tons of wonderful memories both inside and out.

The Williams household ... not much has changed except for a 2nd floor addition on the left.

The next day we opened up our legs on the local greenway. We were way undergeared as we had thought we were going to ride some trail up in Danielle's neck of the woods, but the weather was being uncooperative. That was o.k. as I happened upon one of the local parks that we would have family picnics.


32 X 20 forced me into neuromuscular endurance mode.

From Lima, we headed up to Danielle's in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I lived in "Town Grapids" (how I said it when I was a toddler) from about 3 months to 4 years of age. About the only memory of my life here was being chased around the duplex we had lived in by my Mom with a broom. She refuses to remember that memory and I have no recollection of why I was being chased. I also think I had a brief stint of taking ballet as a toddler.

Thursday night Zeke and I stayed at Danielle and Scott's house and caught up on racing, dogs, and life in general. On Friday we headed up to Manistee and got a short pre-ride in on the inner loop. Oh my God, the bugs and mosquitos! These guys were vicious! Seeing as how I had not brought any bagged blood of mine, I slathered myself with repellent.

I chose a 32 X 19 and it was spot on for the pre-ride. The trail was smooth and flowed very well. With all the rain in the past few weeks, the sand had settled and the trail was tacky ... perfect!


So green and lush, like Tennessee but without all the lung-busting hills.

Wow! 4 am came way too soon. It has been quite a while since I have raced a hundie and I forgot about those 7 am starts. XC racing has spoiled me! The start of the race was a 1.5 mile paved road, slightly downhill ... a single speeder's nightmare. Luckily I only had to do this part one time. It was frustrating as I watched half the field pass me. As I entered the single track, there was a line of racers as far as I could see. I was patient and passed as efficiently as I could, although in my head I was screaming, "Are we on a group ride or are we racing?!?" But knowing that every person was racing their own race and for their own goals, I settled. Having done enough of these, my time would come. And going slower on that first lap would keep me from blowing up.

I had no idea where the other women were. I could only assume that they were all ahead of me and I had some catching up to do. I was a little worried on the first lap that my gear choice was too easy as I easily motored up the hills ... and was really spinny on the flats. There were 3 flat dirt road sections per lap, easily totaling 4-5 miles of misery. Just when I had passed a group of racers in the single track, they would pass me back on the roads and I had to do it all over again. There should be an unwritten rule that if you get passed by a single speeder in the single track "like you were standing still", you MUST yield to them on the roads!

Towards the end of the first lap, I managed to catch several of the top 10 geared ladies. Now I was no longer on tour; I was racing and it felt great! I came through the feed zone, swapped out Camelbaks and headed out for Lap # 2. On this lap I rode with several groups of men, chitty-chatting with them, and then moving on as their pace began to slow. One gentleman was from Chicago and when he found out I was from Tennessee, he asked what I thought of these hills. I replied, "Speed bumps."

At the end of the second lap, I was still feeling great. This was a good sign for me because usually around the 60 mile mark is when I hit a slump in a hundred miler. I also thoroughly enjoyed the last bit of single track: a twisty, flowy bench cut downhill, followed by a short, but grunty climb which then rewards you with a rippin' straight descent. The remainder to the Start/Finish area is flat but fast!

As I came through the feed zone, I had a Red Bull shot and swapped out Camelbaks and gel flasks. Scott asked me how I was doing to which I replied, "I am feeling great; this is fun." I was looking for some sort of facial expression that would tell me how/where Danielle was, but he had a great Poker face. I was disappointed I had not seen any other SS ladies and almost allowed myself to feel o.k. with 2nd or 3rd. I then gave myself a mental slap; I had not come all this way to not go down fighting. How bad do you want that axe? How bad do you want a top 5 o/a? I repeated those questions in my mind and pumped myself up for that third and final lap.

On the inner loop those speed bumps suddenly became hills. Holding my ego in check, I chose to run several of them ... and was probably faster doing that. And no, my head and shoulders were not slumped over the bars as I pushed my bike up those hills. I was running them; it may have been more of a jog, but my feet were moving fast!

I happened to see a black jersey at the top of one of those hills. Could it be ...? As I got closer, it was! My good friend and stiff competitor Danielle. I was feeling good and trying to motivate her when I said, "You had better find a bigger gear because here I come!" We rode together for awhile and then she told me to go. Her legs were fried! She thought she was pushing too big of a gear, but I think she was just not used to racing her SS. Besides that she had just finished an 8 hour duo on her SS last weekend whereas I had just done an XC.

After I passed Danielle, I ramped it up to XC pace for the next 10 miles. With Danielle being super tough, she had the ability to dig deep and catch back up. Besides, she has so many axes already, she doesn't even know where they all are ;)

In the last 20 miles, I was able to reel in one more geared lady. Passing her was a bit difficult as there was this guy in front of her that did not want to let me by. I passed her as she yielded to him during an opening. Then when I asked to pass him, he said something, the gist of which went like this, "No, you are going to have to fight for this one as I want to see how this plays out." Well, thank you very much, as conversation like this ALWAYS fires me up. Needless to say, the next opening I passed him, punched the gas, and never saw either of them again.

I finished in 8:15:23. I was 5th overall. My IT bands were quite happy the whole race, so a huge thanks goes out to Benchmark and their physical therapists for getting my knees back into racing shape. The only part of my body that really hurt were the balls of my feet. All that mashing had the nerves screaming. The Ergon GS2's kept my hands happy and pain-free the whole race. Ergon needs to look at a shoe/insert set-up that would do the same.


The NUE series has the sweetest trophies!

Danielle may have not gotten the axe this year, but she took the win in the role model contest. You see, at the end of the race, an 8 year old girl (whose name I forgot) approached her and asked for her autograph. Her mother said that Danielle was her "Chris Eatough." How cool is that? Trophies eventually make their way to the attic. But being a role model lasts forever!

SERC #6 Dauset Race Report

2011-06-05T18:35:00.000-04:00


Note Carly's chipmunk cheeks ... full of bagel.

Our smiles sum up how the whole weekend went. We were busy little beavers, but managed to cram a bunch of good stuff into this weekend ... other than bike racing. But we must talk about the racing first!

Carly had another awesome course, 0.5 miles of single track, of which she did 2 laps. Her second hardest SERC course yet, the first being Winder, Georgia.

Off to a good start!

Carly managed to get into the woods in 3rd place, but ended up losing two places, she said, because of the boys bumbling in front of her. I told her that she would have to get used to that because it happens to me, too.

For just a second, I thought this was not going to end well.

Carly did not care for all the roots. I can only imagine how jarring it would be on 24 inch wheels when even I felt it on my 29'r. Somehow I gotta teach her how to stand and pedal over them ... her bottom is glued to the seat! Perhaps a job for the "Zeke-ster."

Finishing strong.

Carly did an excellent job of running up one of the steep step ups. She is a strong hike-a-biker, like her Mommy. At the finish, she managed to pass one of the boys who had caused her to bobble on the first lap. When asked about her passing him just before the finishing chute, she replied, "I just wanted to finish this race as quick as possible." Translation: "I just had to girl him!"

My race was tough and the competition is only getting tougher. My IT bands were quite happy, but seeing as this was the first race since they had flared up, I was a bit tentative. Reluctantly, I voted for 2 laps instead of 3. I swear I heard a few gasps when my arm when up for just 2 laps!


Spinning a cadence of about 130 here at the start!

The pace started off furiously fast and my quads screamed all the way up the hill to the single track entry. I managed to dive into the woods in 5th place. The five of us were in a train for about the first 10 minutes and then 4th place began to dangle. Nooo ... dangling is not good! I was screaming in my head for her to hang on to 3rd. She popped and I had no where to pass. I slowly watched them slip away. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I was able to pass 4th. I could still see the first 3 ladies, Kim, Catherine, and Carolyn, about 10 seconds ahead. I was slowly reeling them back in when we hit the first flat section and then they clicked down and were gone! I could not click and my legs were already spinning crazy fast. I had to back off to a more life sustaining cadence and hope that their hard effort and the heat would soon get to them.

I pretty much suffered the first lap. Having not raced or trained at the upper power levels for 3 weeks, my legs had gotten all wimpy on me. They were barking the whole time on that first lap. And even though the climbs were short, to my legs they felt like I was climbing Potato Patch.

Beginning the 2nd lap.

Finally my legs began to wake up on the second lap and I was able to up the pace. I caught Caroline just before the second flat section and was able to pass her before the single track narrowed and the climbing began. With about 1 mile left, I caught sight of who I thought was Catherine. This motivated me to dig deep and enter the pain cave. I thought I might have a chance to catch her, but I just ran out of trail ... and energy.

I was thoroughly pleased with my performance which netted 3rd place. More than that was the fact that my knees stayed happy and pain-free all day. I was elated for Catherine and her first SERC win! The USSC-Trek-Vantaggio lady who I had been chasing was Kim, who wasn't having such a happy day.

Now on to the good stuff, according to Carly. After the race, we went over to the Nature Center and saw all the cool critters, with the cougar being the coolest! From there we began our quest to find a Dairy Queen. Zeke had promised Carly a treat and she had her taste buds set on a Blizzard. Carly wanted the large, but I knew better. We met in the middle with a medium Heath Bar Crunch, of which she finished a little over half. We topped off our day with supper at Mellow Mushroom in downtown Chattanooga. I tried their GF pizza. It was most wonderful and I did not get glutened at this restaurant. I recommend getting the GF pizza with an olive oil and garlic base, as it adds some flavor to an otherwise flavorless crust.

All in all, we had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. I wonder what SERC #7 will bring?

16 Years

2011-05-27T08:16:00.000-04:00

Today Charlie and I celebrate our anniversary. Unfortunately he is in Quebec, working the Ducks Unlimited National Convention. But he surprised me a couple days ago with this:


Homemade cards are the Best!

Awesome! No bouquet of flowers, no box of chocolates, no silver teapots ... stuff that serves no purpose and that you forget about within a month. I get components! Yes! Hmmm ... I am thinking Reba XX 29", Stan's ZTR 29'r Race Gold, and Lightning Carbon cranks to start with. Now all I need is a frame ... waiting patiently.

Although we are apart on this memorable day, we celebrated before he left and we will continue to celebrate upon his return. After all, the 27th is just one day. We need to celebrate each and every day for we have been blessed. I have a very supportive husband who lets me run around with another man, to live my dream of racing my bike! We have a very wonderful daughter who shows us everyday how to love and be happy, no matter what life throws at us.

Thanks for 16 great years, Charlie. Hope we get at least another 16. I love you!

Frustrated

2011-05-14T11:33:00.000-04:00

The SERC XC series is at the Whitewater Center this weekend ... my home stomping grounds. But I won't be racing. I am currently nursing an IT band injury that I caused, not by overuse, not by lack of stretching, but by my own stupidity and carelessness. You see, this happened 2 1/2 years ago. The cause: worn out cleats. Back then, I changed my cleats upon my Coach's advice and voila! The IT band issue went away in 3 days. The worn out cleats caused a considerable amount of play in the pedal/shoe interface and this placed a large amount of stress upon my knees and surrounding tissues.

I am invoking this day as National Check Your Cleats Day!

Fast forward to my PMBAR recon on April 22-23. Wearing the same shoes as two years ago and more than likely having not changed the cleats since then (I have no records to prove otherwise), after 6 hours in the saddle, my IT bands flared up. I rode through it the next day, raced SS on May 1, and the following week felt not pain, but a considerable amount of tightness along the outside of my knee close to where the kneecap tracks in the femoral groove. Not being painful, more like a "pebble under your foot" kind of nuisance, I raced PMBAR on May 7. I was surprised that after 68 miles and 10,000+ feet of climbing, my knees felt no worse, but no better.

After talking to Coach, we agreed that I needed to look at the bigger picture (Lumberjack 100 and TNGA) and ditch the SERC at Tanasi. I think I shed a tear, or two. I needed to remind myself that I was not doing this race for me, but for us (Carly and I). The goal of this series was to have fun, not to chase a championship. So I will be fully supporting Carly's efforts tomorrow morning, bright and early at 8:30am.

A couple more things I have learned from this misadventure. The two times I have had this IT band issue, I was also riding my '08 S-Works FS Stumpjumper. And I have never been "fitted" on this bike; I have just transferred measurements. So, I think it wise that I hook up with 55nine Performance and get Wobble-naught fitted to "Stumpy." Afterall, this is the bike I am racing on for TNGA.

Secondly, I have been using the Shimano XTR 970 pedals on Stumpy and the 980's on my Era. There is quite a noticeable difference in float between the two, the 980's having less. As my knees don't like lateral movement, I will be upgrading Stumpy's pedals to the 980's as well as my single speed.


Shimano 970

The 980's also have more shoe to pedal contact which provides more stablity.

Shimano 980

Thirdly, I have now made a "cleat changing" chart, so that I will know when I need to put new ones on.

And finally, I have learned a lot of new stretches from my physical therapist. I thought I had a good stretching program, but Celeste has showed me how to stretch in a lateral plane as opposed to the front/back type of stretches that I had been doing. She calls it her 3D stretching program.

If any of you have any more suggestions for IT Band treatment, I am all ears.

So I will be on the sidelines this weekend. A few days ago, when I was wallowing in my own misery, I actually thought of eating a whole loaf of French bread. At least if I was "glutened," I would not feel like riding. That is the hard part. I really wanna RACE! If all goes well, I will be on the Start line at Dauset!

PMBAR Race Report

2011-05-10T20:55:00.000-04:00

The wooden nickel cost 30/100 teams a 2 hour penalty as they failed to adhere to Rule #13!

My first Eric Weaver race is in the books. And I must say that it has been the best race of the season. My first foray into mountain bike adventure racing and I am hooked! I really did not look at it as a race (well, maybe a little) but more as a fun way to spend an epic day in Pisgah learning the network of trails, dialing in my navigation skills, and using gear that I will come to rely upon come Labor Day weekend.

The day before we had talked to several PMBAR veterans who had told us that it was a mad start and the best thing to do was to race up to Pressley Gap and then pull out the map and beging plotting. At that point we had decided to try to hang with some of the big dogs and try to get an idea where they might be headed first.

My PMBAR bike, fully loaded it weighed 29 pounds + 6 pounds on my back.

Race morning was chaotic. I got separated from my partner, Todd Henne, and I could not hear the pre-race meeting. Finally we hooked up about 7:50; Todd had the Ziploc bag with map and passport inside. At 7:52, Eric said, "Go!" Fortunately for us, we had a "deer in the headlights" start, so we actually opened up the passport and map and began reading the instructions. All the rules were pretty typical, save for #13, which was brand new for this year: "Every team race packet contains a wooden nickel that must be given to the race director prior to leaving the start."

We plotted out our points, in a counter-clockwise direction, so as to get the 3 mandatories and the closest optional to those mandatories first. Then, if we were still feeling frisky, we would go for the 5th (Farlow/Daniel Ridge), which was way out there by itself. As we were dropping our nickel off, Eric stated, "There are going to be a lot of frustrated teams, including several big dogs, out there." (30 teams did not drop their nickel off).

Climbing up Thrift Cove and Black, I knew I was going to have a good day. My legs were very sparkly, and I had to keep a governor on the motor. Todd wass an awesome partner and kept me cool and level-headed. We had the same cadence, shifted gears at the same time, and knew when to get off and walk.

Our first checkpoint was South Mills River/Squirrel Gap. The trails were in excellent shape and blazing fast! I was all sh!ts and giggles on the South Mills River descent until I rounded a corner and there stood Brad and Matt. Taking my eyes off the trail, just for a split second, caused me to hit a slab of off-camber wet rock and down I went before I even realized it. I "Super-Manned" over my bike and landed just a few feet from Brad's feet. I bounced up quickly, refusing to acknowledge the pain in my shoulders and right thigh. I checked Stumpy ('08 Specialized Stumpjumper FS) out; whew, nothing broken.

photo courtesy of Brado

So I embarrassed myself in front of the "Pisgah Yeti" and the "Jeremiah Johnson of Pisgah", but I was also glad that we ran across them; it reassured us that our route and checkpoint order was a good plan.

Once we got our stamp from South Mills River/Squirrel Gap, we then headed towards our second checkpoint, South Mills River/Bradley Creek. Here is where we made a mistake and did not take Horse Cove to Cantrell Creek but rode Squirrel Gap to Mullinax. Oh, well, Squirrel was in such fantastic shape that I was not too disappointed. The work done on this trail was very minimal but vastly improved the quality of the ride.

We boogeyed to the second check, passing a lot of teams on the way. So far, the route we took, along with my sparkly legs, made it seem like it was "all down hill." Todd was feeling great as well. I was quite surprised, as he had put in a podium effort at the Cohutta 100 the weekend before.

Our next checkpoint was North Mills River/Lower Trace. Sweet! I had just ridden the Trace Ridge area 2 weeks before on a recon mission. Lucky call ... I knew exactly how to get there. I had even ridden a section of Bradley Creek that intersects with FS1206. That was fantastic as I knew exactly how many creek crossings there were.

Unfortunately, Todd took quite a digger on one of the Bradley Creek crossings and landed right on his hip. Soaked our passport as well, but luckily it held up the remainder of the day. The cold creek crossings worked wonders on my legs and feet, but they shut Todd's legs down. He had a hard time on FS1206 as his legs were not wanting to cooperate. We passed by Stephen Janes station at Yellow Gap; looked like a party! We refilled our Camelbaks at the North Mills campground. Used to racing with a Camelbak, I had emptied most of it. Todd, on the other hand, still had quite a bit left ... our second mistake as he was under fueled. I should have been telling him to sip every 10-15 minutes.

The single track seemed to bring Todd back to life and we crushed the Lower Trace descent and the hike-a-bike out of there went by quickly as well. It was here that I did not know Wash Creek; it may have been the better way to go, but Trace Ridge is such a blast to descend. Once again, no regrets. As we climbed up out of that lollipop loop, we were now going into our 6th hour of racing. For once in a long time, I was feeling great on the gravel grinders. My bike felt chainless. As we hit Yellow Gap again, we stopped to lube our chains; Todd's bike had become the "squeakinator" in the last hour. Stephen gave me some homemade hummus which was to die for!

As an aside, Stephen Janes used $150 of his OWN to provide delicious and tasty snacks for the racers. Talk about a morale boost: grilled cheese sandwiches, ice cold cokes, hummus and chips, cookies, etc. I suggest we return the favor in giving to his non-profit, Trips for Kids WNC .

Our next check was Laurel Mountain/Pilot Rock Connector. Getting our single track mojo back, we were able to motor to the checkpoint. I always forget how long Laurel really is. Up the last steep hike-a-bike, my bike suddenly got HEAVY. Man, was I glad to see the volunteer and get the passport stamped. But unfortunately I left my mojo because I absolutely sucked going down Pilot. I couldn't clean anything! I don't know if it was the super loose trail conditions, fatigue, bad fork/shock set up, or the lingering memory of my crash on South Mills. But my mind and body were at war ... and the mind kept winning. Todd, with his big wheels (Specialized Epic 29'r) did not have any problems.

Partners in Pisgah

Once we popped back out onto FS 1206, we made the decision to head back to the Start/Finish with 4 checkpoints. We figured that attempting Farlow/Daniel Ridge was gonna take 2 2 1/2 hours. But we were risking a catastrophic failure in the form of a crash or bike mechanical that could cost us the race or more time. With Todd feeling the Cohutta fatigue monster and I nursing an injured knee, we made the right decision to finish with 4. No regrets!

We were the 2nd team with 4 CP's to finish in 8:40 and that put us in 12th place out of 100 teams. Not bad for two middle age out of staters.

Finishing with grins ... not grimaces!

Kudos to Eric Weaver for this race that tests your mind as well as your body. Thank you, Todd, for being a wonderful partner. I hope to be able to race with you again!

SERC #4 Winder: Carey's Race Report

2011-05-08T20:19:00.000-04:00

After Carly's pre-ride, I went out for mine. Once again, I chose one gear too easy. I guess this either means I am either getting stronger or I am underestimating my level of fitness. I hope it is the first. The course was 10.5 miles of fast, flowy, endorphin-inducing trail. There were 4-5 short climbs spread throughout, 1 creek crossing, and the Monster Mile, which ran you through some tight, twisty stuff and several deep ditches. Once ditch required some skillful braking so that you would not be pile-driven into the opposite bank.

Gearing up for the pre-ride.

After the ride, I changed my gear. We then spent the rest of the evening playing Monopoly and relaxing in the rocking chairs at the Jameson Inn while Carly ran laps up and down the exterior corridor.

12 ladies lined up for the start. I fumbled a bit at the start, my right foot not wanting to clip in, but managed to settle in behind the lead group of 4 which included Geri, Kim, Catherine, and Jamie. The beginnning always hurts as I am spinning a 120-130 cadence to keep up with the leaders and their "road runner" starts. But I know that eventually everyone settles down. Kim attacked just as soon as we settled; knowing I could not sustain that tempo, I soon lost sight of her. Catherine, Jamie, and I rode together for quite some time but once I realized I was going too easy, I passed them on a climb.

Towards the end of the first lap, just before the creek crossing, I came upon several 40+ expert men. The first couple passes went smoothly, but I got all stupid and squirrely passing the third man. I attempted a pass between a tree and a grape vine and became a human slingshot! The grape vine hooked my right bar end at a speed of about 12 mph, lifting my front wheel up in slow motion as it gave ... up to a point. It then proceeded to sling me backwards with a rubber band effect, dumping me on my a$$ with the bike on top. The crash probably took all of 3 seconds, but it felt like 30.

Catherine was right on my tail the whole time and was kind enough to stop and make sure I was o.k. Kudos to her for being a class act! I quickly rebounded and remounted; only my pride was hurt. Soon thereafter, I passed the guy again ... at a much more open spot. Perhaps one day I will learn patience.

The second lap was pretty uneventful. I finally managed to pull away from Catherine ... must of had something to do with the fact that she raced the Twilight Crit the night before. This gal is gonna be super strong very soon! I saw Mark walking his bike out of the woods; he didn't even give me the chance to pass him on the trail this race.

On the third lap at about the 2 hour mark, my legs began to bark on the climbs. This race ended up being almost 30 minutes longer than the first two SERC races and I was feeling it! With the legs being heavy, I soon found myself settling in behind the expert men and riding their pace rather than pushing my own. Funny how your mind wanders when the fatigue monster is on your back.

I still managed to finish second, 1:30 behind Kim. Seeing how it is still early in the season, I feel pretty confident that I can improve upon my XC race pace single speed sustainability


photo courtesy of Carly Lowery

.
YABA did an awesome job of getting the trail in prime condition. They even pressure washed the slab of rock in the creek crossing to clear of it algae that would have ruined the day for many racers.

Carly and I could not do these races together had it not been for our awesome pit crew. Thanks Mom and Doug ... you guys managed to learn a thing or two from TransRockies.

Love you, Mom!

SERC #4 Winder: Carly's Race Report

2011-05-04T09:11:00.000-04:00

Carly and I arrived early on Saturday. We pre-rode Carly's course, a 1/2 mile single track loop, which was pretty intimidating. We got off our bikes on a long rooty section and together decided the best line through it. After practicing it a few times, Carly had the line down pat. After that was a 100 yard loose and somewhat rooty climb followed by a fairly steep descent with one "hole" to go down and back up out of. The first time it came upon Carly so quick that she did not have time to get scared. This deep ditch was about 4 feet deep and 10 feet wide. Momentum was definitely your friend; if you hit the brakes you would not make it to the top and would most likely fall back down to the bottom. The lap finished with a steep climb back up to the Start/Finish.

After her pre-ride, we registered and got our schwag bag. Carly loves this part. She pulled out a Jet Blackberry Gu and devoured it. Next she pulled out this:

And then she asked me, "What does this taste like, Momma?" I about fell backwards I was laughing so hard! Once I told her what it was for, she got this disgusting "I can't believe I was about to eat that!" look on her face.

Once Grandmom Sandy and Grand-Doug arrived, I went off on my pre-ride while Carly took the grandparents on a hike of her course. My Mom later told me that she had asked Carly if she wanted to race with a bottle of water or sports drink. Carly's response (with the most serious face, according to Mom), "No, Grandmom, that adds WEIGHT."

Sunday morning, Carly's race went off bright and early at 8:30 am. The day before she had showed us our positions out on the course: Grandmom at the root garden, Grand-Doug at "the hole," and I at the road crossing.


"Go to your position, Mom, you are getting on my nerves."

Carly's race was 2 laps. Once the gun went off and she was out of sight, I went to my position. Whereas on the pre-ride she was "on the brakes" on the descent, today she was flying today!


Intensity!

On the second lap she had lost a position. She later told me that the girl (in the picture above) had passed her on the climb, causing her to bobble. But she said she ran the bike up to the next level spot and hopped right back on.


Finishing!

When asked what the favorite part of the race for her, she replied with a big smile, "The downhill!" Awesome. At the previous two races the answer to the question had been, "the finish."

Other than the competitor-induced bobble, she executed a great race. Doug said that she made "the hole" look easy. He helped a lot of kids up and outta there by grabbing on to their handlebars as they just barely crested the summit.

All the kids are winners.

Now, if I can only figure out how to make L4 and VO2 max intervals fun for her!

I've Been Glutened!

2011-04-29T15:16:00.000-04:00

Sooner or later it was bound to happen. Fortunately for me, it fell at a good time: in between races and early in my gluten-free lifestyle.

After the SERC XC race in Spartanburg, SC where we both podiumed, we treated ourselves to a post-race victory meal. As Carly loves their lettuce wraps, we stopped at PF Chang's in Asheville. I had done my homework and discovered that they have a gluten-free menu ... and the lettuce wraps were on it!

Carly's Favorite! Mine is on the right, no wonton crisps for me.

Our waiter seemed to be very knowledgeable and quickly exchanged the sauce tray to a gluten-free one. We had our fill with just the lettuce wraps. Carly also had the egg drop soup.

Later that night (about 6 hours later), I should have known something was not quite right when I did not get hungry again. I just assumed that the race had curbed my appetite and that the hunger monster would strike in the morning.

The next morning I awoke with no hunger pains. Hmmm. After I drank my usual cup of coffee, my abdomen blew up and I had discomfort in my stomach. Oh no! As the day progressed, I felt worse. By noon, I came to the conclusion that my body had been contaminated.

Now I cannot be 100% sure it was from the restaurant, but for the week leading up to the race, all the food that went down my gullet was made/prepared by moi. So I am 99% sure. The only conclusion I can come to is that I had ingested some soy sauce that contained gluten. It may have come from Carly's plate, but I had ordered hers GF as well. After researching a bit more, the chicken lettuce wrap recipe does use 1 tsp soy sauce. Perhaps some one in the kitchen made a mistake or there might have been cross-contamination.

I definitely learned a few things from this experiment.

I was just as miserable with this slight poisoning as if I had eaten a loaf of bread. It only took a fraction of gluten (1 tsp soy sauce) to set me back full force.
Bloating, stomach discomfort, fatigue, headaches, irritability, constipation: all the signs I experienced.
It took 6 days for my GI tract to normalize. (Thank God as it took 6 weeks when I decontaminated myself the first time.
I felt like crap on the bike!
YOU assume the risk when eating out. People are only human and do make mistakes. No hard feelings, PF Chang's.

What I am interested in learning is the time it will take for my on the bike performance to return. Will it be the same as the return to GI normalcy or will it take longer?

Since that fateful day, I have not eaten out. I am scared too! Having to go through the gluten demon exorcism was most painful and not an experience I want to repeat. So for all you racer and non-racer friends, don't be embarrassed if I brown bag it when going out to eat with you all!

SERC #3 Spartanburg -- Carey's Race Report

2011-04-27T10:31:00.000-04:00

I needed to get this one on the books as the next is only day's away. It had been 5 years since I had last raced here and forgetting most of the terrain, I chose to easy of a gear when pre-riding. Having been gluten-free for 6 weeks, I felt strong enough to race SS in the women's field. The first half of the course was flat, flowy, and fast. The second half had some short punchy hills and lots of roots. At the end of the ride, I changed out gears and headed to the hotel for the night.

Carly's race was not as near nerve-racking this time, so I was able to save a little adrenalin for mine. 20 ladies lined up at the start, the largest field ever at the StumpJump. It was also the largest field I had ever raced XC in. It was awesome! Of course, I was the only one with one gear, but did not have any second thoughts.

I got a good start and was off the line first, but very quickly ended up towards the back as the start did not suit my gearing. I entered the single track in 11th position. This was a new experience ... being in a train of with some very fast ladies. I bided my time and slowly began working my way up. I thought I might be at a disadvantage on the first half of the course where it was flat. I guess being able to spin a cadence of 120 has its advantages.

Most of my passing took place on the short power climbs. Interesting thing I learned is that those with gears take it too easy on the climbs, gearing down and subsequently slowing down. And it was these same climbs where I accelerated because I HAD to. Hopefully I can remember this the next time I race gears.

Towards the end of the first lap I had caught up to the two leaders. I was sandwiched between them as we finished up the first lap and started off the second. Just before the single track entrance, while Carolyn was feeding, I jumped at the opportunity and passed her. Thinking that she would be on me quickly during the first flat section, I let her know she could pass when she needed to. I looked back once shortly thereafter and saw them some distance away. That was the only time I looked back and did not see them again for the remainder of the race.

I finished the race with consistent laps. At times, I felt like I was not going that fast or pushing myself hard enough. I suppose that when your fitness is at a good level and your body healthy, the effort can feel easy. It doesn't always have to feel like your eye balls are going to explode and you are going to choke on your vomit!

For my 1st place I earned a $200 payout and a free lactate threshold test at the Carmichael Training Center in Asheville, Tn. Now that might be an eyeball exploding/vomit choking experience. But one that I will look forward to!

I was extremely pleased with how this race unfolded. It further emphasized just how bad the gluten had been poisoning my body for the last 1 1/2 years. I hope that this is a new beginning ...

SERC #3 Spartanburg Carly's Race Report

2011-04-22T20:00:00.001-04:00

We arrived to blustery conditions Saturday. A necessary evil; it helped to dry out the trails, but made for a miserable pre-ride for Carly. 20-25 mph winds + freshly mown stobby field + loose gravely climb = MAJOR frowny face for the kiddo. After Gainesville's sweet single track kid's course, this course was lame according to Carly. Unfortunately, this venue was just not suited to using any of the single track for the kid's course. So after a couple laps and a mother/daughter "fuss-fest," Grandmom Sandy came to her rescue and I went off to pre-ride my course.

We made up that evening with a home-cooked meal heated up in the Hampton Inn microwave. Topped the evening off with a good game of Yahtzee. Sunday morning came early, but Carly was in good spirits again. We rode a lap before the race and I do believe I saw a tiny bit of a game face on Carly.

5 lined up in Carly's race. I did not see the start as I went up to the top of the 50 yard gravel double track climb to cheer everyone up a pretty steep hill for the young 'uns. Mom said that Carly got a good start. Imagine trying to hop on a 60 pound bike with flat pedals in a soft field and get it up to speed. Well, that is equivalent to Carly and her 25 pound bike. But she did awesome!

At the top of the climb.

She was second to the top of the hill, with me wildly cheering her on. And no, I did not embarrass her, she said. She actually enjoyed her Mom rooting for her. As she turned around the last pylon and headed back down, I could hear her clicking down her gears. Good for her, as in the Gainesville race, she never shifted.

The second time up the hill, I think she was in the pain cave, but pushed through it and then hammered back down the hill. I followed behind her, at a distance that was pre-determined by her before the race. As she turned the corner and headed up a slightly off-camber hill toward the finish, a boy tried to pass her and "bumbled." I immediately had deja vu (see Gainesville race report), but fortunately Carly held her line and the boy hit the barrier. Only his pride was hurt, especially after seeing Carly pull away from him.

Carly finished second, got a cool medal, nice T-shirt, and some nice schwag. I will have to teach her to smile when standing on the podium.

We will have to work on podium etiquette and save the stare-down for the start.

I think the bug is beginning to bite!

Warrior Creek 6 Hour Race Report

2011-04-08T20:21:00.000-04:00

I love hand made podium awards!

The thing that impressed me the most about this race is how prideful and devoted BMCC is to their trails. On Friday, I pre rode the course. There had been rain leading up to the event and on Thursday night. This trail system was so well thought out that it was mostly dry, save for a few squishy spots here and there. As I rode, there must have been 10 volunteers out with their trail machine and tools, fixing those spots! Awesome! They take better care of this trail system than most parents take care of their children. And they were out again on Satuday, just before the race, fixing a couple areas and removing some downed trees. Yes, on Friday night there was only a 20% chance of passing showers, but when I woke up Saturday morning, there were standing puddles of water everywhere.

This was going to be my first 6 hour on my single. I was both excited and nervous at the same time. Just 2 weeks ago I had raced gears instead of single at the first SERC XC because I did not feel strong enough at that time. Time would only tell if I chose the right gear and if 2 more weeks of being gluten-free was working.

Endless Bike Company had me ready to go with their cogs and socks! Both Shanna and her friend Laura were there in their usual garb ... flaming tutu's. Nope, I don't think I will ever go there, no matter how good a deal there might be!

The Start

No LeMans start (yea!), but about 3/4 of pavement to sort out some 230+ riders before we hit the 13 mile loop of single track. Just another reason why I love this race ... a nice big loop. My gearing was good enough to enter ahead of most of the pack. It was slicker n snot, that first lap. Thank goodness for 29 inch wheels and Specialized Captain tires. They kept me hooked up even during the steepest sections of the course and at an RPM of 40 as I followed behind several trains of gearies spinning and slipping wildly about.

The course was beginning to dry out on the second lap and I was able to open it up a bit more. I rode for awhile with Ruthie's husband. Very cool! I had known about Ruthie for some time but was able to hook up with her after the race and talk a bit. Rarely do I talk in complete sentences when I race, but today I was feeling quite sparkly and enjoying life.

Laps 3 and 4 seemed the fastest. The trail was so hard packed now that my tires "whrrr'd"; you know, like when you hear those silly lifted trucks with their huge gas guzzling off-road tires. This trail is best described as a perpetual pump track. The berms and whoop-de-doos were so well placed that if you knew how to carry your momentum, you could spend quite a bit of time just coasting and pulling "G's." It had almost sort of a roller coaster feel as you would climb for a bit, nothing too steep, and then enjoy a blazing fast ride through dips and tight turns. And, if you were fast enough, could go horizontal!

Silly me, I thought, at the beginning of the race, that I could get in 6 laps. After that first lap, however, my goal quickly changed to how fast could I get in 5 laps. Even though my time on the last lap was within 1 minute of the previous lap times, it seemed WAY HARDER than the previous. My calves were the most tired; hmmm, might have had something to do with them getting sore when I hiked a portion of the course on Thursday. I was thankful that the significant amount of mashing I did on the climbs did not send them to "Crampville."

Speaking of mashing, why is it that most single speeders listen to either their egos or their SS buddies when choosing their gear? Me, it is a collaborative effort involving my LEGS and my BRAIN. Yes, I may get dusted in the beginning, but slowly, but surely, I pick them off, one by one, when they are all mashed out. Oh, well, I have only been doing this crazy one-gear thing for a little over one year, so maybe there are some things I just haven't learned yet.

We turned around to face the setting sun.

5 laps in 6 hours was good enough for 1st in the Open Women's class. No money, but a HUGE amount of usable schwag, in addition to the super cool coffee mug. And most of the clothing fit, save for a pair of Specialized Pro shorts, size Medium. Come on, you guys, sizes run BIG in women's clothing. Clothing manufacturers try to make every woman FEEL skinny. I could get two of me in those Mediums.

This was my first race with the Ergon GS2 with the rubber grip inserts on the bar ends. Quite "gecko-ish," I must say. I absolutely love them. In the wet and mud, my hands never once slipped.

The post race barbeque was most excellent. Thank you, Sledgehammer Charlie's.

I give this race an A+, in all respects.

1 in 133

2011-04-01T10:11:00.000-04:00

I entered my 5th decade full of promise and high expectations. I was the healthiest I had ever been and with a phenomenal coach, I was ready to tackle the world ... or so I thought. After I had won the 2009 Cowbell Challenge, I was ready to win the 100+ division of TransRockies with my super strong training partner Zeke. Things did not go so well for either of us. Zeke injured his knee on Day 1 and I hit a brick wall on Day 5. At the time I thought my poor performance was just due to late season fatigue.

However, even after a recovery period, my form for the remaining races never re-materialized and I ended the season wondering what was wrong with me. In addition to fatigue, new signs began appearing, in the form of bloating, stomach discomfort, and the beginning of a "buddha" belly. After taking 2 home pregnancy tests, I breathed a big sigh of relief.

One doctor told me it was related to following a modified Paleo diet and getting 30-40 grams of fiber daily. I began to worry about the Big "C" so I had my primary care doc order up a bunch of tests including blood work and a cat scan with contrast. They all came back normal.

My primary care doc then sent me to another doctor who said, after a brief palpation of my abdomen, said it was my gallbladder. I was not ready to be cut upon, so I asked if we could confirm it with testing. A Hida scan performed a couple weeks later, showed a poorly performing gallbladder. I, believing the numbers (more so than my clinical signs, which were atypical for gall bladder) gave the o.k. for it to be yanked out.

I had the cholecystectomy performed in January of 2010. After recovery, initially I thought I was doing/feeling better. But by April/May, I realized that my body was still "just not right," I was told by professionals that it was just related to my body getting adapting to life without a gallbladder. Bullshit! That's a cop out! I think that we, as athletes, are better in tune with our bodies than your average joe or weekend warrior. Something was still amiss. Along with my little "buddha" belly that never really went away, my power numbers and recovery time were not on par with my training or my early 2009 numbers. Even my coach was puzzled and concerned.

Then a new clinical sign appeared: constipation. This was most unbearable! I have always been regular; you could set your watch by me. So in September 2010 I went back to my primary care doctor I went. My blood work was still normal, so he punted me to a GI specialist who after palpating my abdomen said I had IBS with constipation and placed me on Amitiza.

Although the Amitiza did help with regularity, I still had all the other signs: fatigue, bloating, stomach discomfort, and Buddha. Even Coach was concerned with my "numbers" and especially my RPE with each of my training sessions. Mind you, throughout 2010, I was doing my own research. I thought it might be related to a food allergy. So I began performing my own food elimination trials: dairy, artificial sweeteners, chocolate, caffeine, peanuts, etc. Nothing worked.

Then, through my coach, other endurance athletes, and even FaceBook, I began hearing about gluten intolerance and celiac disease. So I ordered this. Ding!Ding!Ding! Lights went on! Fireworks went off!

Beginning in March, I began scrutinizing labels and eliminating everything that contained wheat or gluten. Voila! Within a week, I began seeing changes with my body. Now, 4 weeks later, I am getting closer to normal. I am losing Buddha, my fatigue levels are within reason, bloating/stomach discomfort has almost subsided, my "regularity" is returning, and my power numbers are improving.

So, whereas 4 doctors never had gluten intolerance/celiac disease on their differential list, my fellow athletes did. Hmmm .... what's wrong with that picture? 1 in 133 people have celiac, and even more than that have gluten intolerance. The average time to diagnosis for celiac disease or gluten intolerance is 10 years. I was lucky; it only took me 1 1/2 years.

I have taken blood tests to rule out celiac disease; they came back negative. However, that does not necessarily rule it out. At this point, I don't want to pursue any more diagnostics, i.e. stool testing and intestinal biopsies. Mainly due to time constraints, finances, and potential for false negatives. I am happy with a self diagnosis through food trials. I also went back on gluten for a few weeks when I had the blood testing done and all that "crumminess" came back immediately.

Did I need my gallbladder yanked out? Probably not. Am I angry at my doctor for yanking it out? Angry, no. Frustrated, yes. I am just happy that I finally figured it out and can now move on with my life, training, racing, and hopefully kicking some ass. I have also learned, that as a patient, you have to be pro-active with your health and question your doctor's methods/madness!

Do I have celiac disease? I dunno. But for now, I am assuming so and therefore being incredibly thorough and picky about what I ingest. Going gluten-free is not so bad. The biggest thing I miss is my post-ride/race PB&J.

SERC #1 Race Report

2011-03-21T21:19:00.000-04:00


A job well done, both by racer and support crew!

The first one is in the books and what a nail-biter it was! The Lowery Ladies finished respectively in their categories. Both the girls 6-11 and Women Pro/Cat 1 had 12 racers each ... what an awesome turnout. Charlie got an A+ for his support roles: chauffeur, photographer, cheerleader, and soigneur.

Saturday Carly and I pre-rode the course. I first rode several laps with Carly; her course was the first 1/2 mile of my course and 90% single track, which was really cool. Tight and twisty it was with sandy berms and even a log crossing! She experienced her first crash when her front tire washed out in a sandy turn (there were even more crashes on race day in this same corner).

Afterward, I did two laps on my course. Coach had told me to do one lap with gears and one lap on the SS. However, after my geared lap, the only way I was going to race my SS was if Indy ran away in the middle of the night. With long flat stretches broken up by short, steep punchy climbs, I knew I was not at the fitness level to be able to power up those ant hills in a gear where I could be competitive on the flats.

Come race morning, the butterflies were furiously fluttering in my stomach! I really did not care how my race went so long as Carly enjoyed hers. Our rules for racing are pretty simple: Have fun, race smart and fairly, and then and only then do we worry about where we finish.


Carly was the youngest in her class.

I could tell Carly was nervous at the start. But when the whistle blew she was all focus and determination. I stayed at the Start/Finish while Charlie went out on the course. Carly's race was 2 laps. When I saw Carly come through on her first lap, I think I finally took a breath. No tears or blood, just heavy breathing!


Looking strong and focused.

On her second lap, as she came out of the woods towards the finish, she was just ahead of Lydia. However, there was a boy (different class) ahead of her. As he turned the corner to enter the finishing chute, he crashed hard! The chute was narrow and he completely obstructed Carly's path, which allowed Lydia to catch up. After what seemed like an eternity, an adult pulled the bike off the boy and got him out of the way. The whole time we (the parents) were shouting, "Run it in! Run it in!" Lydia got a head start on running her bike in and just beat Carly by a wheel length.

Competitors and friends!

What an epic battle as these girls were neck in neck the whole way! Afterwards they hung out with each other and rode bikes the remainder of the day. They will be seeing more of each other as Lydia is racing the series as well.

My race went off at 11:30am. It was 80 degrees at the start! I forgot just how ridiculously fast an XC start is! I got a good jump and headed into the single track in 4th position just behind Kym Flynn. It was like trying to keep up with greyhounds when you are a dachshund. I barely hung on to Kym's wheel for the first half of the first lap. Knowing I could not maintain that redline pace, I popped off and settled in to what I felt I could sustain for a 2 hour race. I also hoped that the front runners could not maintain that madness for 4 laps.

I love rocks!

On the 3rd and 4th laps, true to my consistent nature, I started gaining time on 3rd place. But it was too little, too late. Although I managed to see Shelly quite a bit on that final lap, I was unable to reel her in.

Stay focused on the trail as the fall just might kill you!

I was most pleased with my 4th place, as it has been a long time since I have raced highly competitive XC race. I see I am going to have to train this engine a bit differently than I do for the all day races. I need a hybrid engine: diesel for TNGA and high octane for XC's. Coach is gonna have her hands full with me this year!

Feeling the single track love!

I did enjoy the Haile's Trails. They are so radically different than what I am used to. Smooth flats, super tight and twisty flats, sharp rocky descents down into quarries, followed by grunty, loose rocky climbs out of them, chunky ups/downs with sketchy off-camber sections, and multiple ant-hill climbs made for a good "shock" to the anaerobic system! My back was sore after the race and not because of the rough terrain as I had my Era to smooth things out. I really used my back muscles to power up the steeps and negotiate through the tight twisty ups and downs. It definitely helps to have a solid core for these types of races.

After our races, it was super cool as we both discussed our race, our competition, and our finishes. Nothing makes a Mom prouder than to see her daughter perform well and have fun doing it. I think she is beginning to like this mountain bike thing! Next up for the Lowery Ladies is SERC #3 in Spartanburg. I cannot wait!

Snake Creek Gap TT Race Report -- March Finale

2011-03-10T16:17:00.000-05:00

Cold and raining during the awards.

Well, who would have thought that the January race would have had the best racing conditions. March has always been sunny, warm, dry, and FAST! Not this year. With muddy conditions expected and my fitness level not exactly where I wanted it, I chose to ride gears. Indy got the call up and she performed amazingly well.

Me, on the other hand, not so well. Legs were not sparkly. I was not sure if it was a combination of the previous week's training, my less than stellar health, or the fact that pedaling through soft terrain and soupy mud drained what power I had pretty quickly.

I was able remain comfortably warm in my Costa Rican weather gear: shower cap on the helmet, 16 gallon trash bag over my torso, and Gorilla tape on my shoes. I contemplated wearing my high dollar Gore-Tex rain jacket. I would have acquired more style points, but also would have burnt up in it. I chose the "better to feel good than to look good" Glad attire.

This time I was able to start with only a handful of racers in front of me and most of those I never did see until the finish. I pretty much had the trail to myself ... no energy lost in passing 30+ people. My drive train held up extremely well; it was a silent as a single speed and the shifting was impeccable. Kudos to my mechanic and Specialized!

At the halfway point, my time was 1:37. Not good! At this rate, I was going to have to slay the second half if I had hopes of winning. I have done sub 2 hours on the second half before, but it had been dry and I had been in good form. Today it did not look good for me, but I accepted the challenge and dug deep. I was descending well and the Specialized Captain's were hooking up quite well on the rocks and in the mud. As I crossed Snake Creek and began the final climb up to the last techy bit of single track, my hopes of winning were dashed. This fire road climb which, just a week ago had been dry and SUPERFAST, was today a slog through sticky mud.

What little time I may had gained was quickly lost as I suffered through. By the time I entered the single track, my watch showed 2:42. Oh well, I did the best I could and enjoyed the ride. The Era rocked the chunky trail as I held on for dear life. I happened upon Mr Hardrock again, this time walking up The Wall. If you recall, I met Mr. Hardrock in January as I pulled his 30 pound bike off of him as he lay in the trail, unable to clip out of his pedals. This time he was doing much better and was able to keep the rubber side down!

I finished with a time of 3:41:07, slightly better than January's, but 2 1/2 minutes behind Jamie's January time. Good enough for 2nd place and $500! This was money well spent as I used it to purchase Carly's new bike.

I will be back next year. I hunger for The Bounty!!

Thanks once again to all of the NWGA Sorba volunteers who made the 7th running of the Snake absolutely fan-friggin' tastic.

Better Than Southern Cross ... for me

2011-02-26T18:25:00.000-05:00

As much as I would love to race every weekend, that would be counter-productive to my training goals and motherhood. So instead, Carly and I met up with Zeke at the Whitewater Center for a day of skills work and riding.

I am Carly's training/racing partner and NOT her coach. She listens/learns better from the non-parental units. So I shut up for the first half and let Zeke have the floor ... or should I say the campsite. Zeke worked with Carly at the Thunderock Campground for about 30-45 minutes. Cone drills, board drills, and weaving in/out large rocks.


Zeke looks amazed that Carly is actually listening to him. Probably because I do not!

Working on standing while riding over obstacles.

After a picnic lunch we then headed out on the Rhododendron Trail. Nothing too technical or steep with a fairly wide path. Needless to say there was still a danger element as one side of the trail dropped off to the Ocoee River below. As we pedaled out to begin, Zeke's exact words to Carly were, "Be careful. If you fall off the trail, you just might DIE!" Thanks, Zeke. The height and the steepness of this side cut trail did not bother Carly, but I think I was terrified for the first few minutes, ready to leap off my bike and catch Carly in mid-air should something happen.

One of the few spots on the Rhododendron Trail where falling didn't mean dying (according to Zeke).

At the Whitewater Center we piddled around a bit, giving Carly a brief respite. The trail leading from the campground to the WWC is mostly uphill and with Carly's 22 pound, tall-geared (equivalent to 32-18 on a 29'r), bike with what seemed like 120mm crank arms, she needed to unload the lactic acid.

Skipping rocks.


This beats any $500 payout!

Today was fun, but without the pain. I am so glad I did not race. Spending time riding bikes with my daughter is priceless. Zeke was an excellent coach and Carly gave him an "A." She is progressing well. The best part, the part that made my heart warm with intensity was when Carly descended the last hill on the trail, she pedaled super hard, tucked down into position, and gave a great big, "Whoo hoo!"

I can't wait for her new bike to arrive. I am going to have Bruce upgrade it with a few parts: DT Swiss 240s, SunRingle' rims, Magura brakes, SRAM shifters/derailleur, Thomson post/stem, Specialized carbon bar, and an XTR crank if I can find 165 mm crank arms. This bike is gonna be SWEET!

Camp Lynda 4.0 Day 3

2011-02-09T10:52:00.000-05:00

The Black-eyed Peas song, "The Time," accurately sums up today's ride. Prior to the start, the campers sung "Happy Birthday" to me. Today I would enter my 43rd year exploring the wilds of Utah (little did I know). I chose gears today as gravel/dirt roads + SS + Carey = no fun.

Ergon GX2's, Mountain Feedbag with 1000+ kcal, GPS, and Carly pic; CHECK!

I couldn't get my GPS to work so I hung on to Lynda's wheel up to Starvation Point. I attempted to find the problem as I thought it was most likely human error, but trying to look down and punch buttons while trying to keep "Speedy" in sight was both difficult and dangerous. Not knowing where exactly I was on the course, I thought the climb up to Starvation Point was just a prelude of rollers prior to the "real" climb. For some reason, I envisioned Starvation Point to be like the Potato Patch climb back home. My legs were pleasantly surprised when I reached the top and realized that was it. Whew! I don't think I could have done a Potato Patch today!

I followed Sarah's line on the descent. Even with a healing collarbone fracture, she was rockin' it! She is deceivingly powerful. The descent was littered with sidewall-slashing rocks, so we were all riding a little more conservative.

As we hit the long flat section out to Joe Blake Hill, Lynda told me to try rebooting my GPS. Presto! The breadcrumbs appeared. The stress factor immediately vanished. With Lynda having "Go go gadget" legs today, I was worried that I would not be able to hang on to my live GPS. Over the next hour Lynda, Dave, and I hammered the flats.

The forecast called for a chance of rain later in the day, but dark clouds loomed in the distance. They were pretty ominous looking. I was glad for layering a bit more today and carrying my Gore-Tex jacket and shower cap. With the potential for getting wet looking probable and carrying 3 days of Lynda-induced fatigue, my core was most grateful for the extra layers.

As we turned onto the road to "Redneck-ville," aka Joe Blake Hill, the road turned up and I popped off Lynda and Dave's wheel. After miles of flats, my legs revolted. I backed off and waited for their return. Of course, when my cohorts are just out of site around the upcoming turn, I slash my front sidewall. Fortunately, I had put two tire boots in my pack this morning. Unfortunately, my tire levers were lying in the bedroom at Dave's! Yep, that brought about the first expletive of Camp Lynda. Thankfully, the slashed tire was a Specialized Captain, which can be changed by hand. I took my time with the repair, running my hands along the inside of the tire for what seemed like an eternity. I did not want to fall victim to an evil goathead thorn.

15 minute break repairing and having lunch.

300+ hand pumps later, I had to make a decision. Should I cut the ride short, increasing the probability of a successful return home but missing out on some spectacular scenery and trail? Should I continue, risking the chances of getting cold, wet, and stuck out in the wilds if I had another mechanical. Let it be known that I was running a Specialized Fast Trak on the rear, which is impossible for me to remove by hand.

Thirty seconds later, realizing that I had traveled 2000+ miles to ride "new-to-me" terrain, I was not about to send up the white flag. Besides, I had a SPOT and the "God of Tech-Assisted MTB'ing" was watching over me. So I continued on the full monty route, albeit a bit slower and with more caution. I did encounter a couple areas along the single track that were tricky to GPS navigate. After a bit of wandering, I found the correct way.

Joe Blake Hill climb

View from the top of Joe Blake Hill

Once getting over the initial fears of riding solo, I had an absolutely wonderful time. This is the essence of mountain biking. It is not you versus the terrain, but rather you accepting the ride for what it is and melding with the environment.

I met a strong headwind on the flats back to St. George. That, combined with some chamois rub, made for a long haul. But I was rewarded with more single track: the Bear Claw Poppy Trail and the Stucki terrace climb. These trails were enjoyable but would have been funner had I had more gas in the tank.

The horizon is where I had been on the day's adventure.

Lynda was awaiting my arrival at Dave's. I do believe her maternal instincts extend to her athletes! Dave and she had been diligently watching my SPOT.

Today's adventure reminded me of my childhood explorations on our farm and the surrounding area. On the weekends my brothers and I would get camo'd up, grab a canteen, pack a sandwich, and go out exploring the farmlands. We would follow a creek for hours, traversing many barbed-wire fences and passing through neighboring farm lands. This was back in the day when it was safe to "trespass." We would be gone for hours, only turning around when we got hungry or the sun began to drop over the horizon.

The best birthday ever!

I am beginning to like this navigation thing ...

Camp Lynda 4.0 Day 2

2011-02-06T07:40:00.000-05:00

Distance: 47 miles
Elevation: 6400 feet
Temperature: 33-63 degrees
Ride Time: 5:10

Single speed or gears? I mulled over this for several hours the night before, especially after making 5+ trips up/down the stairs at DH's. Prior to camp, the longest I had ever ridden my SS was the Snake pre-ride at 3:45. And I had never done epic back to back SS days. But the "loves to suffer-me" won over the "wimpy-me," TKO-style.

After a short bit of pavement which was not near long enough to wake my sleepy legs, I began a short, but rather steep single track climb up to Barrel Roll. Oh, how my legs were desperately wanting to hear the "clickety-click" of changing gears. Nothing but the heavy breathing of the owner of those tired legs. After much begging, the legs were there.

And the trail opened up and swallowed me whole! Being relatively flat, it was one of those trails where as the speed increased, the fun factor rose exponentially.

Mustering of the troops on Barrel Roll

The 20 minute pedal up Cove Creek Wash was at a steady L2 pace, so ordered by coach. It was nice to dial it back a bit and eat/drink some. Several guys passed and normally that would get my competitive juices flowing, but I was enjoying riding my bike so much, I could care less.

Cove Creek Wash, 4% grade.

The final push to the top was quite steep and I encountered a section of freeze/thaw. My bike went from sub-20 pounds to >25 pounds in two pedal strokes. It was DSG-like mud! Just a little taste of how bad the desert could be when wet.

The Stucki Trail was the world's longest pump track! Aside from a few brief out of the saddle climbs, it was a 4 mile stretch of gently descending whoop-de-doo's. Some mud was encountered but was quickly shed at high speed. It was here that I got nicely acquainted with the Garmin as there were off-shoots everywhere. This breadcrumb trail was most delicious!

The climb back up to Gas Tank Hill was like a series of terraces. There was a lot of grinding and grunting on my behalf. At the top, I met up with some other campers. After I caught my breath, I was able to speak a greeting. One gent was kind enough to lift my bike over the barrier..

After more to eat, I began the descent to Racecourse. After some ups and downs I caught up to the front runners. DH had a massive tear in his tire and the group was wanting to see MacGyver in action.


With 2 boots, the tube was still sticking out through the 1 1/2" gash.

It was most unfortunate the he had to bail, although his handy work did get him home.

At the first Barrel Cacti descent, JK was filming. The video really doesn't do justice to the difficulty of this section. Being on a hardtail, today's ride down was a bit different and more heinous. It was just about beyond my and my bike's ability. I rocked the first half, but towards the end, my rear end became a pogo stick, I got a bit squirrely, and took the wrong line. As I was careening toward destruction, I heard a collective gasp from the crowd below. Luckily, with my cat-like instincts, I was able to save it. A collective sigh greeted me as I rolled up to the group.


And where is the trail?

Zen was fun, but a bit tougher today. There was definitely more hiking involved. However, I did manage to clean this section.

A combination of 2 days on the single plus hairy scary descents drained all my energy. The fatigue monster was on my back and I felt it from my shoulders to my toes. I was definitely in the pain cave towards the end, but managed to get in a zone and crank out the last bit of climbing.

We gathered at the food trough, aka Golden Corral to fill empty bellies and drained bodies. I won the Ninja Bike Skilz Award and walked away with a bag of CarboRocket 333 and Smart Wool socks. Zeke won the "True Grit Award" for passing a kidney stone, more like a boulder, and then doing the ride. For his painful effort, he received a bag of CarboRocket as well. Which he then gave to his BFF!

After today's ride, I am happy to report that I am feeling more like a desert rat with decent GPS skills.

VJ Jazzy Jeff's footage of Day 2:

Camp Lynda 4.0 Day 1

2011-02-05T20:51:00.000-05:00

Distance: 38 miles
Elevation gain: 4800 feet
Ride time: 4 hours
Temperature: 30-60 degrees F

I was riding Solo today, my 2010 Specialized SJ SS, with a 32 x 21. Today was my virgin ride with what will become my two best friends during the TNGA race, SPOT and GARMIN. At 9:30am we campers congregated in the Albertson's parking lot. Wow! It was a Who's Who of ultra-endurance phenoms. It was going to be super cool to ride with these giants in a non competitive atmosphere.


Eszter, Dave, and Lynda: National Champs and Enduro Junkies

Today's course was an out and back. A short uphill pavement pedal helped to get the juices flowing and awaken the legs. The fun began with desert single track. The Pioneer Trail was first on the list. I shed my windbreaker before starting. With bluebird skies and a big ball of fire in the sky, I was already quite toasty. I could not help but smile as I meandered through the flowiness, watching the line of campers stretch out in front of me to the horizon.

The Powerline Trail was a rough jeep road with a series of big descents and climbs. It was pretty rough and required concentration to hold your line. Unbeknown to me, my camera decided to yard sale on one of these descents. All was fine and dandy until I stopped along the mile long stretch of ankle deep sand to take a pic. After my initial "Oh, crap!" thought, a calmness came over me. For some reason, I just knew I would find it on the return.

So I continued to plow through the sand. This obstacle was about 1 1-1/2 miles long and 2-10 inches deep. Glad I was on big wheels, because it was all I could muster to pedal through on this slighty downhill stretch of sand. Turning left, I encountered a pretty imposing dune of sand to climb; I made it almost to the top before I buried my front wheel.

Prospector Trail, photo by Adam Lisonbee

The Dino and Prospector Trails were "whoo-hoo" fun. Fast, flowy, and with a few rocky sections to negotiate, the giggle factor was at an all-time high! I have never ridden such grippy rocks. During this section, I was sandwiched in between Lynda, Eszter, and Cat. Eszter was pushing a 34 x 20; I don't think I could have turned over that gear on any of today's climbs. For those of you who do not know her, she is the 2010 CTR female winner. This race is a multi-day, unsupported 470 mile race along the Colorado Trail. This lady has one big diesel engine! Cat was a little more sensible, riding the same gear as I. Cat is the 2009 CTR female winner and completed the 2010 edition on a single speed! And there is Lynda, my coach, who is a phenom, with a laundry list of accomplishments, including a few multi-day unsupported events. I was riding with GIANTS.

Eszter on Prospector, photo by Adam Lisonbee

The turnaround point was Cottonwood Creek. We stopped for a bit and pulled out some grub. I had my measly little processed granola bars. Eszter and Cat whip out these 2 pound loaves of homemade bread slathered with peanut butter and jelly! Mental note: the food choice of multi-day racers.

The return seemed to be all uphill. But the sand dune climb turned into the sandy ski descent. This was the closest I have been to skiing in 10 years; to me, much funner in balmy temps and on a bike. On the slightly uphill sandy section, my 32 x 21 suddenly felt like a 32 x 18. I spent some time on two feet on this section.

I began to look for my camera during the low cadence/snail's pace Powerline climbs. Karma was good to me and I found my camera on the third climb, tire track on the LCD display, but still functional! Thank goodness for my crush-proof Olympus. Just a bit sad I did not get any pics from Day 1.

Thank you Jeff, for your video skills:

Camp Lynda: Day 1 from ergon on Vimeo.

Since today's ride was pretty straight-forward and with campers all around, I did not learn much about my GPS. The big skies of Utah also make it a bit difficult to see the display ... something I will probably not have to deal with back home under tree cover.

We refueled and rehashed the day's ride at Baijo's that evening. I met some FB friends in the flesh and some soon to be new FB friends. A great day in desert! More to come ...

Camp Lynda 4.0 Pre-ride

2011-02-04T21:11:00.000-05:00

Zeke, Ursula, and I, aka the Southeast Contingent, arrived in St. George on Wednesday, January 26. After settling in to Dave's bachelor pad, which rivals Zeke's abode, (hmmm .... potential future post topic), Lynda and her kinders drug Ursula and I to yoga. This was my first official class; I have done some yoga at home, but never in a formal setting. Needless to say, Emma put me to shame right away with her stretchiness. My body was just not meant to contort into those positions! Emma made it look easy.

On Thursday, whaddya know! Ursula, Lynda, and my training plans were exactly the same: 2 1/2 hours at an easy to moderate pace. At 10am and a crisp 32 degrees, we headed out to preview some of Day 2, along with a smattering of trail that we would not ride during camp. I chose gears for today's outing while Lynda was on her SS FS.

We rode Racecourse which had techy, ledgy climbs through washes followed by doubletrack descents with spectacular views of the Pine Valley Mountains.

Ursula would agree, by no means is this area flat! It is just so wide open that it appears to be.

The Barrel Cacti Trail was all me! Rocky climbs and descents where it was good to follow the leader as I kept wondering where the heck the trail was. It was just rock drop-off after rock drop-off after rock-drop off. Being able to follow Lynda's line was most beneficial during the "Descent of Death." I was happy to be able to clean it, albeit with big eyes and white knuckles!


No room for error on the Descent of Death.

Once you commit on this one, there is no getting off ... voluntarily. I think I surprised Lynda, but Indy ('09 Specialized Era) overcame the forces of gravity and held on to the trail, although I think it a bit of a stretch to call that "trail."

Zen Trail courtesy of Adam Lisonbee

The Zen Trail reminded me of the large granite rock section at Conyers. Huge slabs of grippy sandstone. I was climbing grades that would be impossible back home. There were many cairns guiding you over the vast expanse of rock. Momentum was key on this terrain as there were quite a few punchy climbs. Earlier Coach had told me that you should session a section no more than 3 times; after that, you just learn the wrong line. But then she had to tell us about this one particular climb that she tried the weekend before. After 18 tries, she got it! Do as I say, not as I do??

Toward the end of Zen, I was feeling the day's effort. As I suspected and Lynda confirmed, we were going harder than the plan called for. Fortunately, the fun factor out ruled the training plan. I do have one question: how can there be so much POWER in such a little tiny frame? I think Coach's L2 is my L3!

Not knowing what to expect over the next 3 days, 2 of which would be on my SS, I spun my legs out on the way home. Today's effort was 3 hours, 20+ miles, 2500 feet of climbing, mostly upper L2, but with plenty of L5 spikes to give me a good swift kick in the pants!

How cool to be able to access such a vast network of trails right outside your front door!

Coach and her understudies.

Looking Forward

2011-01-14T16:14:00.001-05:00

In a little over 7 weeks, the racing season is going to kick off. With it will hopefully come warmer, drier weather. I have set a new all-time trainer record, with 5 days in a row of going nowhere fast in my basement. I can honestly say I was not looking forward to each session, but now that it is over, it was very productive. These trainer days help to improve my mental fortitude.

The kick-off to my racing season will be the March Snake finale, followed two weeks later by the first SERC race in Gainesville, Florida. While most of my competitors will be racing brand new 2011 bikes, I will be on bikes that have already seen a couple seasons of epic racing. This has been dictated mostly by my finances, but also by the fact that my bike shop is unable to acquire any S-Works bikes. Even though Bruce only sells Specialized, he can't get an S-Works Epic or Stumpjumper for me. I am not sure why; Bruce says it has to do something with volume.

Now don't get me wrong; Specialized has been great to me the past few years of my racing career. I love their bikes; I don't think I could ride anything else. And their support has been great! But it is quite disappointing that just because The Outdoor Store doesn't do a certain amount of $$$$ with Specialized, they don't have access to their top of the line bicycles. I could always get one of their non S-Works bikes at a killer deal, but why would I want to? Not only would it be heavier, the componentry would be less than what I am riding now.

My bikes ('08 S-Works SJ FSR, '09 S-Works Era, '10 SJ 29'r SS) have taken a beating over their life, but they have never failed me. So rather than ride a lesser model, I am going with what has taken me to many podiums over the past 3 years. It is not the bike that makes the racer, but rather the racer that makes the bike, right? Performance is 95% racer and 5% bike, so I will just let that be my handicap. Anyways, I already think I have made that 5% up, what with the killer strength sessions Coach has been giving me.

Regardless of what I ride, I am looking forward to a fantastic season of racing my SS in my regional XC series and throwing in a little endurance racing here and there. My daughter will be racing the SERC kids series. I am stoked! Earlier this year, I told her that she was going to try a sport and her choices were basketball, soccer, or MTB'ing. I was quite surprised with her decision. She loves to play sports, but does not like having people watch her, especially team mates that might judge her abilities. Hmmm, I wonder where she got that? (I was really never a team sport kinda gal, either). Zeke is going to be her coach and I will be her training partner. I hope that Carly will enjoy it as much as I.

So although I won't be racing on a shiny new bike or in a shiny new kit, I will be racing with my daughter. And that is what really matters!

Snake Creek Gap TT Race Report

2011-01-09T11:36:00.001-05:00

Still wear them all, 2005 edition is my sleep shirt.

I have been doing this race since its inception and it just keeps getting better. Back in 2005, it ran January through May, it was run in reverse, the entry fee was $50, and I won $45 for first. I remember saying to the promoter that the race was so much fun that I would do it if the entry fee was doubled. Fast forward to yesterday, and I am gunning for $750 and a shot at the bounty. My, how times have changed. With 5500 feet of climbing and 34 miles of rocks and roots, it is always an epic battle between the racer and the trail.

Speaking of times, I will have to chalk up yesterday's race as a good SS training ride. With the many challenges I had to overcome, it was not going to be a PR. First up was the week of training leading up to the race. I am currently in a strength phase with multiple days in the gym. Coach said I was going to carry some fatigue into this race. On that first fire road climb, I indeed felt it! Darn it! Coach was right again.

Secondly, our plan to do a private shuttle in order to get off the line first failed when the people we were going to shuttle with got pulled over by GHP en route to the race. I probably started behind 100 people. I do like carrots, but that was a bit many for me to digest. Single speed realization #43: it is excruciatingly painful and detrimental to overall performance to have to pass 40+ people, most of which took place going uphill. That was like a serious Force Rep training session. Most everyone was super nice about being passed, though.

Thirdly, nothing like crashing your brains out on the first mile of the race! Yep, I bit it hard on the gravel road section. I was attempting to pass another rider. What I thought was just branches from a young sapling turned out to be a murderous grapevine, that wrapped around my Ergon GR2 Leichtbau carbon bar end. The bike stopped ... I didn't. Luckily, it all happened so fast, I didn't have a chance to put an arm down and break my collarbone. But my whole left side took a digger at 15 mph. It took a couple minutes for me to regain my senses and realign my handlebars.

The first 17 miles hurt the most. I was about 10-12 minutes off my PR pace. I think the climbing, especially on a single speed, is much harder than the second 17. I also had to run more sections as there was a constant line of people ahead. I do believe there were a record number of racers for January. My guess: 250+.

The second half was much more enjoyable, although I still entered the pain cave numerous times. My legs had finally come around and my 32 x 22 felt like a 32 x 22, not a 32 x 20 like the first half. I always love the final rocky ridge; it is at this point that I can "smell the barn" and am usually able to dig a little deeper.

What made it even better was a little motivation by a fellow racer. He allowed me to pass him, but as I was doing so he said, "I will probably need to get back around you, but no worries," ... Did he just say what I thought he said?!? You think? O.k. let's see what you got! I kicked it up a notch and entered the first techy rocky descent. I will have to give him some credit, he did hang on longer than I thought he would. But after 5 minutes, all was quiet behind me.

With about 4 miles to go, I saw a fellow racer down on the trail, quite a ways in front of me. As I made my way towards him, he still was not getting up. Oh, no! I was thinking that he might be seriously hurt and I was going to have to abandon my race to help him. As I came upon him, he was still lying there. I asked if he was hurt. He said, "No, I just can't unclip from the pedals." So we had a little trail side lesson. He was trying to turn his heel inward to unclip. I don't know if he was a beginner or maybe being upside down got him turned around, but I told him to move his heel outward. Once he did that, he magically popped free. I then made an attempt to lift his bike off him. I swear to God that bike weighed 30 pounds. I then realized that it was a Specialized HardRock! Hats off to this gentleman who probably had the heaviest bike in the race. He was hardcore! He did look like he was spent. I encouraged him that we were almost there ... he probably hit 45 mph on the road descent.

I finished with a 3:42:27. I will happily take it. My post-ride recovery meal was Ginni's famous cookies. I would have loved to hang around as the post-ride chatter is always great, but with 33 degree temps and a wind chill of 25, I was cold as soon as I stopped pedaling. Once again, thanks to all the volunteers for braving those brutal temperatures to keep us racers fueled, on the course, and motivated.

Looking forward to February and getting closer to the Bounty!

Back To Some Sense of Normalcy

2011-01-07T08:33:00.002-05:00

The past 6 weeks have been enjoyable, but insanely hectic, too. The holidays were definitely funner when I was a kid. I did not worry about how many cookies I ate and I giddy in anticipation of what Santa was bringing. Now 1 cookie equals 1 trainer workout and I dread January's credit card bill.

I host Christmas as Carly wants to make sure that Santa knows where she is. What that means is although we don't have to do any holiday traveling, I am in charge of preparing the Christmas Day meal for the grandparents and us. Turkey and all the fixin's was the menu for this year; about 8 hours of work that was demolished in about 45 minutes. I have already decided for next year that the menu will be Tony's frozen pizza!

Well, o.k., I might have to upgrade the pizza to Papa John's or homemade, but you get the point. No slaving in the kitchen for me next Christmas.

Carly had a great Christmas. The two most favorite things she got were a Razor scooter from Granddad Jack and a Wii from Santa. Since the weather has been most uncooperative for outdoor scooting, she has been all over the house with it.

I have been using my Professional Kitchenmaid Mixer to make healthy breads for everyone, including myself. Banana Nut, Apple Walnut, and Pumpkin have been favorites.

I have yet to craft any yeast breads, but hopefully will soon get the chance. Yeah, I know it is not Paleo, but ... a nice warm Foccacia is mmmmm.... so good. I will reserve the non-Paleo items for the hard work out days.

I should have probably opted for the Garmin GPSMAP 62St as my gift, but did not think I would need it for several months.

However, after signing up of Camp Lynda, I might be sorry I did not get it sooner. Oh, well, I will just have to keep up with someone who has a GPS. As for riding in Utah, I am so looking forward! I have never been to that state. I just hope/pray that the weather improves.

I have been diligently training through the holidays; lots of time spent in the gym with the hopes of acquiring Katie Compton-like strength. Tomorrow is the first Snake TT. The weather is definitely going to make it interesting. I don't expect any PR's, just a good solid SS workout.

Last year I told Carly that she was going to pick a sport to try in 2011. Her options were soccer, basketball, or mountain biking. She loves to play sports, just not in an organized way. I think she is afraid of not being good in front of a crowd of team mates and spectators. She told me last week that she wants to mountain bike. Hell, yeah!

So our 2011 plans will include the SERC series: Carly on gears and me on a SS. I just wish I could get her a bike that didn't weigh 30 pounds. That would be the equivalent of me racing a 55 pound bike, something I just can't fathom. Oh well, it will just make her stronger, right?

2011 Prep Work

2010-12-05T11:25:00.000-05:00

My 2011 racing schedule is finalized and got Coach's seal of approval. My big event will be the TNGA, the Trans North Georgia. This is a multi-day, self-supported/partially supported race across Georgia through the Chattahoochee National Forest. 350 miles and over 56,000 feet of climbing. 2010 was the inaugural event which took place over Labor Day weekend. 18 started and 12 survived.

I started my prep work for this event last week by riding sections 6, 7, and 8. Zeke was a big help as he is very familiar with this area. On Thursday, we shuttled my vehicle to Buddy Cove Gap and then started our adventure at Shallowford Bridge. Starting out in 24 degree weather was definitely not my cup of tea, but with layers and hand/toe warmers, I managed to stay warm as long as I was pedaling up.

It had been a couple years since I had last ridden the Aska trails. Stanley Gap is definitely more difficult going in this direction = lot of short hike a bikes. I expect that come race day, these trails will be ridden in the dark, so I hope to be able to come back at a later date and do a night ride.

Once off Stanley Gap, there is a lot of pavement/gravel road pedaling. I passed a lot of churches, but no outside spigots were available. I thought that was kind of unusual as in my neck of the woods, I have several churches I stop at to refill bottles on my road rides.

Close to the turn onto Bushy Head Road, I saw an automotive mechanic shop that had a hose bib. Hoping that will still be there in 10 months. Further on down the road, I saw the barn where Eddie had a couple hours of fitful sleep.

I was back in familiar territory when I hit Watson Gap. From there I rode part of the Cohutta 100 course, down to Jacks River Fields, then entered the South Fork Trail. Zeke had painted a bad picture of this trail as well as the most eastern section of the Pinhoti; think wet, sloppy, and horsed-up. Aside from just two muddy sections which we were able to skirt around, it was actually a very pleasant ride. When we came to the 15 foot long, foot deep creek crossing, we pondered for a few minutes. Seeing as how the air temp was only 37 degrees, we did not want any wet body parts. Zeke found a good line, neither of us bobbled, and we were dry upon exiting the other side. Whew!

The climb up the Pinhoti to FS 64 was slow and soft, but kept me warm. We ended our day with 6 hours on the bike and roughly 46 miles ridden.

On Friday, we shuttled my truck to Dalton and started our ride from Mulberry Gap. Up P3 to a brief pedal on Hwy 52, then on P4. This was my first time on this section. Let me tell you, it was a hoot. The funnest part was descending Tatum Lead. As I was flying down this section, all I could think was how fast I would really be going at this point in this race with a belly full of Ginni's finest cooking! Which then led to the thought of how hard the P3 climb was going to be on a belly full of Ginni's finest cooking.

Back on to the Pinhoti, this section of trail was really steep and loose. The leaves made it difficult to see what lay ahead so I took it nice and easy. Once it flattened out along Rock Creek, it was a beautiful ride to FS3. FS3 was a stark contrast to the previous trail, what with strewn beer cans and fast food trash.

A few more miles of gravel and then the remainder of the course was pavement into Dalton. Pretty uneventful once we found our way onto the correct road across 411. The cue sheet was a little confusing so I went up 411 instead of just crossing over it. Oh, well, that is why I am reconning.

Feeling a little frisky on the paved roads and trying not to get bored, I saw some road kill up ahead, a guinea fowl to be exact. Upon trying to bunny hop it, my rear wheel grazed the bird and I swore I heard the thing make a noise, a weak squawk! Being a fresh kill, I must have hit the thoracic area, forcing air out of the bird. Hilarious!

Airport Road was FOREVER so I can only imagine what it will feel like during the race. We ended our day at the Walnut Square Mall with 4 hours and 40 miles in the saddle.

So now I am familiar with Sections 6-9. Only 6 more sections and roughly 220 miles left to go!

The Swank Race Report

2010-11-12T15:06:00.000-05:00

Now that's the way to end a fantastic, fun-filled season! I was worried after my Berryman fiasco that I would repeat, either with a bike or body mechanical. I left everything out on the trail and could not have raced it better.

2008 S-Works SJ FSR with Ergon bling!

I chose Stumpy to race, for the stability and extra travel. I raced her at The Pisgah Stage Race and was in awe how she responded to the technical terrain ... I can only imagine how a 2011 model would perform!

Upon arriving at the venue, it was 21 degrees. I must have muddled around for an hour or so, trying to figure out what I was going to wear. I started out with several layers, but as the sun rose and warmed the landscape, I shed most of it.

The start was Lemans style; I took my time and spared my ankles. I hit the first bit of single track probably in the top 30-40. It was a pretty mellow pace climbing Thrift Cove. I was wanting to go, go , go, but I also did not want to spend precious energy passing people or throw a stick into my derailleur. I do believe this 20 minutes spent warming up Thrift Cove was in my best interest.

As it opened up onto some double track, I was able to let the reins loose and fly. Indeed I did fly by a lot of people. My legs were sparkly and it felt as if there were no chain on the bike. I had not ridden the first section of Daniel Ridge since '08 so I did slow a bit to negotiate the tight, twisty turns and multiple bridges. But once out onto FS 475, I gunned it. One fellow I passed said I was in first place, to which I replied, "No, I am not. There are quite a few guys in front of me." He then proceeded to tell me I was probably in the top 20. I took that as a top 30-35; not bad this early in the race. I usually am pretty consistent throughout the entirety of the race, while a lot of guys seem to blow their stack about the midway point. I had multiple carrot opportunities in front of me.


The top of Butter Gap Trail

Butter Gap was a hoot. Having ridden it the day before, I was able to rail it, despite the leaves. There was one sketchy area where a natural spring follows the trail; it was slick and muddy, but I managed to keep the rubber side down.


You ride down this rocky section; may not look it but traction is superb.

Long Branch is a 2.5 mile climb back up to FS 475. Although super steep in areas, it flows well. I was able to ride it all, despite having a couple guys in front bobble. The next bit of fire road was climbing up to Farlow; all I know is that it is much easier to race up this steep section when you are fresh as compared to seeing it on Day 3 of the PSR. There were a few downhillers at the top getting ready to ride Farlow. As I passed one of them, I earned a new nickname, "the goddess of internal combustion." Quite a compliment, thank you very much Mr. Downhiller.

I do believer all the leaves on Farlow made it easier to ride. It made the trail appear smoother; I leaned back onto my rear tire and let Stumpy do the work. I did dismount in several areas, fearing death or dismemberment. Hey, this gal has gotta work come Monday! One guy on a Gary Fisher SS 29'r blew by me like I was sitting still. He was awesome! But I did ride more of it than during PSR. I also ran the hike-a-bike sections faster. I was able to hold my own within a group of guys during the hiking. Let's remember, I am having to push/carry a greater percentage of my weight than the men.

On the final descent down the last bit of Farlow and Daniel Ridge, I did let a few guys by me. They were rockin' it. I also had vivid memories of that dreaded sidewall gash at Berryman and did not want a repeat on this rocky descent. I stopped at aid station 3 and grabbed a bottle to get me through the last 10 miles or so.

I treated this last 10 miles like an XC race. Knowing that the last few miles were descending Thrift Cove Trail to the finish, I rode the last 7 miles like a scalded dog! After big-ringing FS 475 and Davidson River Trail, I TT'd up FS 475B and FS 225. This 4 miles of climbing I had done earlier this year while on a recon mission so I knew just how far I had to go. I put the hammer down and passed ALL the guys who had passed me on Farlow.

I did let Mr. SS Phenom by on Thrift Cove. This last bit of single track was over before I knew it. I could smell the hamburgers grilling on the final 0.5 mile descent. Oh, that was mouth watering! I rolled under the Finish line in 4:15:03 ... 1st lady and 18th O/A (out of 150). Whew! A perfect season ender!

Coach dialed me in perfect for the last two races. I am most grateful that I was able to perform well at both; that definitely gives me the confidence I will need going on into the winter preparing for 2011. Hmmm ... now I get to start planning my 2011 season. Exciting times ... exciting times indeed!

Berryman Epic Race Report

2010-10-28T10:08:00.000-04:00

Schwag bag was also the drop bag.

Once again this year, I was able to escape Mother Nature's wrath. The forecast was 70% chance of thunderstorms Friday night and on into race day. I woke up to cloudy skies and a temperature of 60 degrees ... yes!

I managed to line up within the first few rows (250 racers in all) and patiently waited for someone to yell, "Go!" Instead, I was momentarily stunned by a blast from a cannon, which I swear to God was right next to me, although I never saw it. I will remember that next year.

The start was FAST and hectic. I rubbed wheels with more than one racer. How I managed to stay upright I don't know; perhaps it is my "cat-like" skills. There were 3 gradual miles climbing on loose gravel before the single track so I settled into a slightly higher effort than I wanted, but knew that I could recover from. Catharine passed me pretty quickly, but I managed to stay within sight of her and slowly reeled her back in. As we entered the single track, I was a few racers behind her.

Settling into "stealth" mode I took it easy and watched my competition for any signs of weakness. I really knew nothing about her, other than she raced road and cross. The first section of single track was wide, smooth, and rolling ... big ring territory!

After about 10 minutes, I realized that although I was not as powerful as her, I had the upper hand in the technical stuff. I made a pass when she bobbled on a sketchy climb, dug deep to open a gap, and settled into a 5 hour race pace after about 15 minutes.

All smiles on the pre--ride.

The race takes place on the Ozark and Berryman Trails. These alternate between ridge tops and creek bottoms. The topography is gently rolling; the longest climb was probably 0.2 miles and at a relatively easy grade. This, combined with dry conditions, made for a superfast course. I spent a lot of time in the big ring. What made it technical in areas was the loose rocky soil, horse damage, and erosion on some of the climbs/descents.

On one of the side cut sections in the first 11 miles, my front tire washed out and down I went. After a quick assessment of bike (o.k.) and body (few scrapes/bruises), I remounted and raced on. After a few more miles of finding my rhythm in the loose terrain, I became one with the trail.

I rode most of the horsed-up switchbacks down to Brazil Creek and the first checkpoint. 11 miles in :58:47; on pace with the pain cave no where in sight. I grabbed my first zip-tie and motored on.

The next 10 miles flew by on this sh!ts and giggles trail! I love the Berryman; no hour long granny gear climbs followed by foreverish descents. Just a constant up and down and carving through the "S-curves." Momentum and brake feathering are your friends. I rolled into the Berryman campground at the second checkpoint in 1:57. Mia told me that I was 17 minutes off the leaders and roughly in the top 25. I grabbed my second zip-tie, went over to where my drop bag was and grabbed another bottle and once again was off.

This next section of trail was perhaps the most difficult. I encountered a 30 yard sand trap (which I ran through), a couple steep loose climbs, and a lot of "horsed-up" sections of trail. It was here that I slowly began reeling in guy after guy after guy. Some jumped onto my wheel after I made the pass, to which I then asked if they wanted back on by. They responded that they were just trying to hang on and within a few minutes, I heard them no more.

After popping out onto a jeep trail, grabbing my 3rd zip-tie, I then hauled a$$ back on 5 miles of fire road. I felt great on the roads and was able to enter the pain cave with a smile on my face. I made the 1.3 mile paved climb back up to the Berryman campground with ease and grabbed my final zip-tie. I glanced down at my watch and it read 3:27:14! Oh yeah, a sub-5 hour was on the horizon. I had 16 miles to go, with 6.5 of that being a slightly rolling to mostly descending fire road back to the finish. I refilled my Camelbak and was off on the final 10 miles of single track.


The single track from the Berryman campground where I pre-rode the day before.

The first couple miles was technical with ledgey drops and lots of roots. I had ridden this the day before so I was able to fly through it today.


Nowhere where I live can you ride a one trail for 36.5 miles. Gotta come back and go explorin'.

I had just made it through the rough section and was rolling along a creek bed (mile 41) when I heard the dreaded Psssssss! and saw Stan's spewing out my rear tire. Noooooooo! As calmly as I could, I changed my tire. Checking for thorns and sidewall cuts, I found none, put the tube in and attached my CO2. And nothing. Grumble, grumble! I then attached my hand pump and made the 300 strokes to get it up to an appropriate PSI. I pinched the hell out of my palm with the pump! (Later that evening after the race, I found out why my CO2 did not work -- a broken valve stem was jammed up into the head -- WTF?!?)

Several guys had passed me, but not Catharine. Whew! It took a couple miles to get my mojo back and get back up to speed. But I did and soon began passing those that had passed me. Then at mile 46 my rear tire exploded!! Not again! The Gods must have been angry. I stopped and saw this:


From the tread almost to the bead! The "white" is an empty hammer gel packet.

I had managed to lose my patch during the last tire change. Fortunately a racer named Rock stopped and gave me one of his patches. It barely covered the gaping hole. This time I pumped 250 times as both the patch and tube began to bulge out. Crap! I got back on and rode like an exhausted beginner, fearing another flat and not having any more tubes. At about mile 48, I found an empty Hammer gel packet. Thank God for litterbugs! I deflated my tube, popped the bead, and inserted the Hammer get packet. For the third time I pumped 250 strokes! Unfortunately for my upper body and mental soundness, I did not seat the patch perfectly and it poked through the hole. I let the air out again, repositioned, and pumped 250 more times! Can you believe not one swear word was uttered?

At some point during this fiasco, Catharine had passed me in stealth mode. I kind of figured this was going to happen as now I was 45 minutes into screwing around with my rear tire. Rock came by me once again and this time gave me his only tube; I had refused before as I did not want him without. He did not give me the opportunity to refuse this time, saying as he rode by and dropping the tube at my feet, "I am tired of you passing me." What a man!

Fearful that my tire would not hold up under a lot of pressure or speed, I limped on into the finish, taking nearly 30 minutes to cover the last road section. The last thing I wanted to happen at this point was me taking a digger at 30 mph on the descent if my tire completely disintegrated or having to run the last 5 miles to the finish. The last time I had a DNF was in 2003 at a SERC XC race where I double-flatted and I was NOT going to here.

Still smiling and taking $100 home for 2nd.

I rolled in at 5:33:04, 15 minutes behind Catharine, but still good enough for 2nd. It was frustrating, but if I am going to lose, I would rather it be a bike mechanical as opposed to a body mechanical. Knowing that I was on par to a sub 5 hour is empowering to me, my efforts in training, and my coach's ability.

This race was awesome. Kudos to Scott and Ryan for a fun well-marked course, great venue, food, band, and raffle. I am already planning on the 2011 edition!

A big thanks to Steve Mathews at Paceline Products for the support in getting to Missouri. Perhaps if I had used the Chamois Butt'r on my tire as well as my behind, the outcome would have been different.

The Little Guy (or Gal)

2010-10-13T15:03:00.000-04:00

I am very happy that my record of 286 days with out a saddle sore will have the chance to grow since Chamois Butt'r is going to continue to sponsor me in 2011. It might actually be more than 286, but I only officially started keeping a tally on January 1, 2010.

I am only a team of one, but whenever I have called Paceline Products to request product or to give an update on my season, Steve Mathews has ALWAYS taken precious time out of his busy day to chat with me for a bit. That is way too cool! It tells you a lot about a business when the president will talk to the little guy rather than passing him/her down the line or sending them to a general voice mail. I feel very honored to play a role, no matter how small, in his business.

So if you see me out riding or racing and want to try a product that I believe in 100%, let me know and I can hook you up with some samples. Even if I wasn't sponsored, I would still be using Chamois Butt'r Eurostyle ... it does my butt good!

Rocky Raccoon's Revenge 8 Hour Race Report

2010-10-10T13:20:00.000-04:00

I was told by Coach to put the governor on for this one. So instead of being a sporty 6 cylinder, I was an efficient little 4 cylinder. The course was 10.5 miles, with 3 sections of pavement, the longest being just under a mile. I was happy to be on gears for this one, making sure that "Indy" was ready for the BTE.

The start was a super dusty bottleneck for about 1/2 lap. Once I got through the masses, which included some carnage on the techy rocky sections, I was able to settle and just ride. The first two laps were still a bit faster than I was told to ride, but I wanted to open a comfortable gap.

The next 5 laps were more consistent and "coach-approved." I focused on maintaining a steady cadence and without too many power surges. I was told not to race the guys, which was hard for me to do, especially when I could see "carrots" ahead. But I just kept telling myself, "Just two more weeks and you can suffer your little heart out."

With a win secure as I completed my 7th lap, I was able to finish an hour early. I felt a bit guilty, like I had not completed my homework assignment, but I was also tired of breathing dust and smoke (there was a forest fire on the other side of the river).

Thanks to Brad Cobb (Village Volkswagon) and Greenlife Grocery, I walked away with $500 and a nice clock from reCYCLE Jewelry. And true to my word, I made a donation to the Raccoon Mountain trail fund.

I have always enjoyed Gone Riding's races. They are kind of where I cut my teeth on MTB racing. I look forward to racing the SERC series again in 2011.

Giving Back

2010-10-07T21:13:00.000-04:00

This Saturday is the Rocky Raccoon 8 Hour race for which I signed up. This is not a high priority race, but one that is fine tuning me for the Berryman Epic. After I signed up, I started receiving quite a few e-mails from SORBA-Chattanooga about trail work days this same weekend.

Guilt set in. While I will be having fun, with a bit of suffering thrown in for good measure, a group of volunteers will be putting in hard hours laying the final stretches of trail at Enterprise South Nature Park. I think the last time I did "official" trail work was several years ago at my local park. None since then ... Yeah, I have excuses: work, family, training, but if everyone made excuses, there would be no trails.

I am now thinking I already know what my 2011 New Year's resolution will be. But until then, I will continue to make donations to various groups. I am committing now, that if I am blessed with a good race and am able to podium, I will donate a good portion of my winnings to the Raccoon Mountain trail building fund.

I know I am not the only racer in this boat, so if you are racing the Rocky Raccoon's Revenge 8 Hour, I challenge you to make the same commitment.

Pisgah Stage Race: Stage 5

2010-09-29T17:55:00.000-04:00

Distance: 43 miles
Elevation: 9500 feet
Temperature: 62-84 degrees
Conditions: dry
Time: 4:57:45


Anybody know which trail this one is?

I awoke this morning with mixed feelings. I was tired so a part of me was glad that today was the last day. On the other hand, the little bicycle demon inside of me was sad that this would be my last Pisgah adrenalin fix ... for a while. Today I was ready to empty the tank; there was more than just fumes, as opposed to last year.

The first 7 miles, which was pavement, was brutal, because I pretty much suck at it. Or perhaps I am at a disadvantage with the little wheels. I managed to hang on to the second group until the last mile and then popped. On the Turkey Pen fireroad climb, I regrouped and weaved my way through several racers.

Vineyard Gap was rippin' fast. I would compare this trail to a roller coaster ride. I thought I heard the "tick-tick-ticking" as I was approaching the top of the climb. Then, the trail just dropped away from the bike and I. And whoosh! down I went.

I had gotten ahead of David on the final climb, so when the trail turned downward, I shot down it faster than I had intended because I did not want him to catch me and spoil his ride. I got a bit to pogo'ey on one section and was just about jettisoned from the bike. Somehow I managed to save it and reached the river unscathed. The 7 river crossings somehow seemed quite tame as compared to last year when temps were in the 40's and the water was chamois deep.

After taking a beating from FS 5015, I descended down FS 1206 to Laurel Mountain. Ah, what a beautiful trail and an awesome ride. No freezing winds, no sleet to contend with, just a glorious blue bird day. On the hike-a-bike section, I met several Army officers coming down the trail. I asked them ever so politely if they could just form a line and shuttle my bike to the top. No takers.

Pilot Rock was gnarly and ready to eat your tires and bones if you chose the wrong line. I acquiesced on several of the switchback; really do need to work on swinging my ass end around on those tight ones. One of my mini goals I wanted to accomplish was to ride the boulder section towards the bottome ... mission accomplised, other than the huge downed tree I had to crawl over.

The remainder of FS 1206 seemed like an eternity but my legs were happy. One more time up Club Gap and then on to Avery Creek, another one of my favorites. Everything was rideable for me, save for the downed trees that hovered off the ground. Once back out on FS 477, I had to stop and wait as a caravan of horses passed by. I was just happy that none of them spooked as their passengers were children.

I grabbed a PB&J at the last aid station, had my picture taken while stuffing my mouth with said PB&J, and pedaled up FS 5058 and FS 5022 for the final time. Once again I set a blistering pace down Black Mountain, scrubbing off another minute. My fastest time on that final section of it, including the climb, was 16 minutes.

I rolled through the Start/Finish, happy that the stage was over, but sorry that it was the end of such a wonderful week of riding. Todd and Company really listened to the racers' feedback from last year and put on a great race this year. The post-race festivities were awesome: a never-ending supply of Poppies-catered food, a fun and well-attended kid's race, a pie-eating contest, and cash for all divisions. Indeed, I think everyone went home with some money.

Watch out! Those ladies next to me can hammer!

I know Todd had to have taken a big hit this year, what with the low attendance, but kudos to him for not canceling. I must say that has been my favorite race of 2010. I am not sure how to attract a bigger field for next year, but we MUST. Todd has plans for 2011; I just hope they can come to fruition.

As for me, I increased my knowledge of Pisgah ... to a point that I am going to tackle this man's events next year!

Pisgah Stage Race: Stage 4

2010-09-27T20:18:00.000-04:00

Distance: 40 miles
Elevation: 9000 feet
Temperature: 60-83 degrees
Conditions: dry
Time: 5:29:58

By this time during a stage race, I usually wake up a little slow, stiff, and not as eager to begin. This year was different, however. I awoke feeling as good as I did on Day 1. It was probably due to a combination of fitness and better recovery techniques. Unfortunately, I missed the cool movies (Ride The Divide, Race Across The Sky, and Stars and Water Carriers) that Todd played during the evening festivities.

This stage was going to be the toughest as it had 90% single track. And it started out by going up Thrift Cove to Black Mountain to Turkey Pen. Anytime I mention Black Mountain, just think "hike-a-bike of death." Once again, I was able to hang with Sue until the trail pitched so steeply I had to get off and push. Sue managed to stay on two wheels longer and eventually gapped me.

There was a train of bike pushers up to Turkey Pen. Then the fun commenced. Turkey Pen is mostly downhill with a few short grunty steeps that required more hiking. This trail was like riding through a tunnel of rhododendrons, sometimes so thick the price for speed was lashings ... across the arms, face, and neck. I lost count of how many times my eyeballs were saved by my glasses.

Towards the end of Turkey Pen, one of the single speeders was about 20 yards ahead of me pushing up a climb when he grabbed his calf and yelled out. I thought he was cramping, but then he grabbed his thigh, then his butt, still yelling. He cried out that he was getting attacked by yellow jackets. I slowed my pace down a bit, but pretty soon was where he was. I expected an attack, but it never came. Whew! One advantage of being slow. I guess those little buggers had their fill of vengeance on the first 20 or so racers that came through.

Riding Squirrel Gap backwards from Stage 2 was fun. Just after coming off Mullinax, there was a climbing section that was short, steep, and rooty. A couple volunteers had staged themselves midway along the climb with cowbells going wild. I loved it! A great motivator to push on when your quads and thighs are like tree trunks. One fella even ran with me for about 0.1 mile. Awesome!

I kept running into this Sycamore Cycles rider most of the day. I would catch him at the tops of all the climbs; he was always stopped and refueling. But then he would leave me on the descents; David is his name, me thinks. I had fun following him down FS 5018. The grasses along this double track turned single track made it difficult to look for obstacles, but with David in front, I was able to follow his lines and use less brake. I eventually got in front of him after aid station 2 and did not see him again. I suspect he was having cramping issues.

South Mills River and Buckhorn were not near as long as they seemed during Stage 1. Riding Black Mountain opposite of the day before was not as bad as I had expected = less hike-a-biking. The volunteer that directed us at this turn up Black Mountain told me I was only 4 minutes behind the women's leaders. I believed that for all of 2 seconds! Sorry, but a volunteer's sense of time and distance is indeed warped. Take La Ruta, for instance, where 2k is actually 5 miles. Or during TransRockies, where the last hike-a-bike section was actually the 3rd to last one. I learned my lesson long ago about heeding the time/distance advice of volunteers.

Buckwheat was mysterious. Having not ridden it before, I wasn't too enthused about the thick undergrowth, but it finally opened up with some nice riding. The descent down to FS 477 was harrowing, but the Magura SL's kept me from crashing my brains out. Couple sketchy, ledgy drops where my butt was acting as the emergency brake for the rear wheel. It was good seeing Kim at the bottom, all smiles and hoots/hollers.

FS 477 was not fun; I swear I have gone twice as fast down that fire road when conditions have been tackier. Dry, loose gravel, powdery dirt, and I mix like olive oil and vinegar.

Mr. Rattlesnake decided to make an appearance on FS 5022. I tried for a couple minutes to encourage him to move, but all he wanted to do was coil and rattle. Finally I had no choice but to make a wide berth around him through the weeds and pray that his buddies weren't lying in ambush. Safely around him, I continued up the climb.

For the third time I made the short hike up Black Mountain and then bombed down the backside to the finish line. Cut another minute off that "Super D." It is like your favorite rollercoaster that you cannot get enough of.

One of the best "comfort" drinks that Todd and Co. had at the finish line as well as at each aid station was ice cold Cokes! He also had PB&J sandwiches which I developed a taste for during this stage. My stomach was nice enough to tolerate a 1/4 sandwich at a time. I had gotten tired of the gels I had been carrying and by Stage 4, my HR was within the range of "sandwich acceptibility."

Pisgah Stage Race: Stage 3

2010-09-26T09:41:00.000-04:00

Distance: 45 miles
Elevation: 9000ft
Temperature: 60-80 degrees F
Conditions: dry
Time: 4:58:20

I awoke in good spirits and with happy legs. I had plenty of time to think about how to go out on this stage. Barring some sort of bike and/or body catastrophe from Amanda and Sue, I realized that I was not going to win this thing and that was o.k. I want to win based on my performance and not because my competition ran into misfortune. As long as I finished, I would earn back my entry fee. So, with that in mind, today and subsequent stages were all about racing my shadow.

The start involved a shuttle to Kuykendall campground. While waiting on the others to arrive I warmed up. Thom P. interviewed me and below is my 90 seconds of fame ... ah, the life of a semi- pseudo mountain bike pro.

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The start involved more running along with 1 somersault between the orange cones. I think I bruised my kidney with my tire pump that was in my jersey pocket. I have not done a somersault since 3rd grade! I am going to have to practice up for the Swank. I was headed up to Farlow Gap, but to get there would involve a 12 mile climb, 11 of that being on gravel. The forest service was nice enough to have just graded and graveled 6 miles of it so instead of asphalt-fast, it was loose and soft.

Farlow was fun; I made it most of the way down the rock chute, but decided I liked my teeth more than my ability to negotiate the 26" holes that dared to swallow my front wheel. Anyways, it was just about as fast skirting down some of that stuff. It was pretty much ride a bit, walk a bit for the first half. A couple sections were even difficult to walk down ... they were potential ankle-breakers. Once I got past the short uphill hike-a-bike, the remainder was fast and fun, well, all but the steps and last creek crossing.

A short ride on Daniel's Ridge followed by a long haul on FS225, which I have named "Mystery Ridge." So overgrown, I could not see more than 5-10 yards in front of me, so I kept it light on the front end and brakes. Luckily there were no downed trees or large rocks to catapult me off into the briars.

Cove Creek was a flowy fast descent. Hoo-whee! I was smiling so much I think I got a couple bugs in my teeth. After that was the short but steep connector to Daniel Ridge ... ouch! The Daniel Ridge descent was fun, but a bit tricky as it was overgrown. There were a couple of deep washed out areas that were hidden by the weeds. Rolling down to aid station 2, I refueled and headed over and made short work of the Davidson River Trail.

The climb up 475B was longer than expected. Just when it leveled out and I thought I was at the top ... it pitched up again. It tricked me this way several times. I also expected a longer leg-resting descent, but was surprisingly disappointed that it was only about 3/4 mile long. More climbing on Hwy 276 and some more gravel leading to Club Gap.

Turning onto Club Gap, the volunteers at the aid station asked if I needed anything to which I replied, "Do you have any sherpas?" Some chuckling ensued as I began the steep 1 mile climb up to Black Mountain. Both the body and conditions were much better than last year and I was able to clean the climb, albeit at what seemed like a snail's pace.

This new to me section of Black Mountain was fun once I got passed the hiking/pushing portion. Then I hit FS 5058 to FS 5022. That last push up 5022 hurt. Those false flats were misleading. The 3 mile climb was about a mile longer than I expected. No expletives, but I think there was one, "Ah, come on, where is the top!"

I was a minute faster down the last portion of Black Mountain. Rolling through the finish line all smiles once again. Even seeing Amanda in civies already did not sway my attitude. I met my little mini-goals for the day, I was having a blast riding in the Forest, and I realized that I was in the best shape of my life. What more could I ask for?

Climbing Black Mountain was a mix of riding/hiking.

Pisgah Stage Race: Stage 2

2010-09-23T16:13:00.000-04:00

I did a longer than usual warm up for this one as I did not want to have the "crummy leg" experience again. Stumpy, my '08 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR, would be my steed for the remainder of the race as she would provide a bit more suspension and a more relaxed, but still very effective and fast, ride.

The start was neutral until we hit FS 477. Then it was all about hanging on to the lead group, which may have lasted 30 seconds. That would be the last time I saw Amanda. I wisely chose to follow Sue up the 6 mile gravel climb. Just too cool being on the wheel of such an awesome, yet humble, world-class athlete. This is one of the few sports that allows the average joe to compete alongside the best.

I hit Buckhorn Gap first and was able to get a gap on Sue during the ensuing descent. Thom P. let me pass him and then stuck to my wheel until the bottom. Check out the footage:

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Sue soon caught back up to me as I was climbing the first steep bit of Squirrel Gap. I was able to follow her for a while, but then I guess her diesel engine warmed up and she slowly pulled away from me. I knew I did not need to go any faster for fear of burning too many matches. I wish my HR monitor would have been working, but it decided to go on strike the day before, so I had to base my effort on PE. I would have preferred numbers!

Squirrel was enjoyable and more rideable than last year, although there were a lot more downed trees to negotiate. Laurel Creek was FAST and dry! I guess I was having too much fun and getting a little wild because one of the waterbars grabbed my front wheel and threw me down the mountain. Thankfully, I landed in a soft mossy area devoid of rocks. Whew! That could have been a lot worse. As I pulled Stumpy off of me and started to climb back up, I glanced down and saw the trail only feet away. Heck, might as well make the most of it. Turns out there was a switchback just beyond where I exited the trail.

The 5 mile climb back up to Yellow Gap on FS 5015 was o.k. despite the "marbly" gravel. It was a definite give/take situation with the dry spell Pisgah has been having. It makes the trails less technical, but made the gravel grinders very loose. I had more, "Oh, sh!t!" situations on the roads vs. the single track.

I swapped my Camelbak and gel flask, shot a Red Bull, and headed off to the undulations of FS1206. Todd was at the turn off to FS 475 and gave words of encouragement. It is always good to see the race promoter out on course and in every one of his races, I have seen him, sometimes more than once.

South Mills River to Buckhorn is a fooler. It starts off with a slight descent, but then slowly climbs back up for several miles. You think it is an easy climb because it looks flat but it just goes on and on. And a lot of it looks the same so you think, "Just around this corner is the end. Well, maybe the next corner .... the next? Finally the end comes and suddenly you wish it did not because of the hike-a-bike of death that follows.

Knowing what I was getting into this year on the Black Mountain hike-a-bike, it seemed to go by quicker and with less frustration. Heck, no frustration ... I was smiling the whole time. The view at the top was spectacular; it reminded me why I love mountain biking and racing.


At the top of the Black Mountain hike a bike.

It is unfortunate that so many will never experience the suffering of pushing your body to its limit. The reward is the ability to live your life to its fullest ... and to have multiple OMG moments! To many choose to sit on the couch, in a vehicle, on a stadium seat, in a darkened theater ... numb.

Stepping off the soap box, for now. Where was I? The hike up was worth the ride down. The erosion upped the entertainment factor. And then onto the last section of Black Mountain that I would see 3 more times after today. My goal ... to get progressively faster on this stretch.

I rolled through the finish in 4:18:07. Faster than last year by almost 30 minutes. Although conditions were better than last year, I feel that my fitness played a larger part in that time gap. Amanda and Sue crushed it, putting more time on me. Now I was a flat tire AND broken chain behind them ... but still smiling nonetheless.

Cooled the legs off in the river talking to Sue. Told her I would be "the lurker". She had better keep her "A" game on (no, make that her B- game) or I would be just around the corner, ready to pounce!

Pisgah Stage Race: Stage 1

2010-09-22T18:31:00.001-04:00

The view from the finish line.

The first stage was short. Called the Blue Moon Hill Climb, it was 12 miles and 2000 vertical feet on a mix of pavement, gravel, double track, and single track. The finish was in a high end mountain development. To get to the start, I got to "warm up" with a 7 mile, sketchy a$$ descent down a gravel road that has not seen rain in a month. Like riding on marbles. Some poor soul blew the tire off his bike within the first mile; how he managed to stay upright, I do not know.

At least my bike had her race face on.

True to Todd Branham's races, the start was Leman's style. I was the first to mount my bike and hit the short section of relatively flat to slightly downhill pavement. Within minutes Amanda blew by me, almost causing me to go into a tailspin. I recovered and was able to latch on to her wheel. Soon enough Sue was up with us as well.

As soon as we turned onto gravel, the road pitched up and I popped off. What's up, legs? We are not going that fast. But my legs suddenly turned into cinder blocks. I was able to keep my competition in sight, but I knew that today was going to be just about surviving. Coach told me that today was not going to be pretty, but that we would use it as my "leg opener."

When I started on the trail, I was bouncing all over the rocks. I don't know if it was my suspension or me not being "at one" with the trail, but I felt like I was on a pogo stick. People started passing me right and left and I lost sight of Sue when I had to get off and push up a few sections ... which I should not have had to do. I was expecting the trail in the Dupont State Forest to be smoother, but this trail was like riding up a dry creek bed. Still, it WAS rideable.

I popped back out onto some more gravel grinding and seemed to find my flow a bit better. The gravel climb back up to Blue Moon was steep and loose. Turning back into the development, I was treated to more single track, albeit hiking trail. Lots of steps and bridges and the last 1/2 mile up to the finish was just heinously steep. How I managed to ride it all with crappy legs was a miracle, but I did.

I crossed the finish line in 1:11:39. I was in third! But of course, there were only 3 of us. Oh, well, I was only a flat tire behind Amanda and Sue so I still had hope that I could reel them in!

Zeke raced his new SS!

I managed to give away quite a lot of Chamois Butt'r product. One racer made the embarrassing mistake of stopping by to pick up some product in the middle of me changing back into civies! He later introduced himself as P. Tom (as in Peeping Tom). After he regained his composure, which wasn't until Stage 5, we had a good laugh.

Turkey and avacado on sourdough with pasta, chips and homemade cookie.

Post race food was from Poppies, a local grocery in Brevard, that also serves delicious sandwiches, wraps, and pizzas. The post-stage vibe was very good as racers hung around to partake in the vista, food, and beverage. Kudos to Todd and Co. for stepping it up. I was looking forward to Stage 2.

T Minus 1 Day

2010-09-13T20:03:00.000-04:00

Yep ... in a little over 24 hours, I will be entering a place of beautiful suffering ... The Pisgah Stage Race. I am looking forward to it, for when I exit, I will be a much stronger person. The Forest is rich in waterfalls, wild, rugged trail, and vibrant views. But to get to it and through it, one will have to take a journey of immeasurable proportions.

Last year the Pisgah Stage Race was not so kind to me. I started off great, but fell to pieces during the last two stages. It was not the course, but my body that failed. Unbeknown to me at the time, I was carrying around one defective little gall bladder.

Well, this year, I have no excuse. I have trained for this week, so we will see what I have got. Although the field is smaller this year (which is a shame since this is gonna be such a stellar event this year), my competition is against two very tough and talented ladies. As I see it, right now I am solidly in third, with no way to go but up.

The weather is perfect and the course is ever so sweet, with the likes of Squirrel Gap, Laurel Mountain, Pilot Rock, and Black Mountain, to name a few. Todd Branham has done a great job of recruiting volunteers, acquiring sponsors and I am looking forward to the food that will be provided by Poppies!

Indy ('09 Specialized Era) will get the call up for the Stage 1 Hill Climb, but it will be Stumpy ('08 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR) that will tackle the big stages.

I will have Chamois Butt'r samples with me at the race, so come and get some.

No matter what the end results are, I will enter and exit the pain cave with a smile on my face ... well, perhaps a grimace.

See you on the other side!

The Little Stuff Is Just As Important

2010-09-10T15:22:00.000-04:00

I am hoping that this will make it onto Specialized's website under "What's New."

Dealer Grant Program and Elementary Physical Education

Tennessee endurance mountain bike racer Carey Lowery used her talent this year to raise money for two local elementary schools, one of which her 8 year old daughter attends. Over Memorial Day weekend, Carey raced solo at the Burn 24 Hour Challenge in North Carolina. Using this as a platform to raise money through pledges per lap, she was able to secure $5500 for the schools.

Prior to her race, Carey, along with several other local cyclists went to the schools and talked to the classes of City Park and Ingleside elementary schools about cycling, physical fitness, and nutrition.

Just last month she and The Outdoor Store, her local bike shop, presented a check to each school for $2750. This money will be used by the PE departments to purchase much needed equipment. In addition, with Specialized providing funding through its dealer grant program and through the generosity of several local businesses, Carey awarded prizes to the winners of her kids’ contest. The top 3 boys and girls from each school who were closest to guessing the number of miles she rode in 24 hours were awarded bikes, helmets, and gloves.

When asked about how difficult it was racing for 24 hours non-stop, Carey’s reply was, “Knowing that I was racing for a cause and not just my own personal goals, it really was not hard at all. I have done several 24 hour races, but this was the first one where I smiled on each and every one of the 27 laps (204 miles) I completed.”

Carey Lowery lives in Athens, Tennessee. Unfortunately Tennessee was named the second most obese state for 2010 by Trust for America’s Health. 20.6 percent of the children in Tennessee are obese. She hopes that she was able to reach out to the 500+ kids about the importance of exercising and eating right.

I feel that what happens locally, especially when it comes to children and childhood obesity is just as important, if not more, than Schlek's wedding or another roadie winning an international race. Hopefully Specialized will see it this way as well. They have an outstanding grant program that needs to be showcased. I did not even know about it until I accidentally stumbled upon it earlier this year.

Our kids are our future. If we Americans want to continue to podium on the international level, we all need to address this situation.

I hope to be able to continue to influence the children at City Park and Ingleside in the future. I was recently asked to be on the city school's health and fitness committee, to which I happily said, "Hell, yea!" We shall see what this one little grassroot's racer can do.

Fundraiser Culmination

2010-09-03T15:55:00.000-04:00

Today has honestly been the biggest accomplishment of my 2010 season. No, I did not set any PR's nor did I beat any famous mountain bikers. Today I was at Ingleside Elementary School presenting them with a check for $2775 and presenting the winners of the Kids' Contest with their prizes. Last Thursday I did the same for my daughter's school, City Park.


Presenting the check to the President of the Ingleside PTO

I gave a brief wrap-up of my race, The Burn 24 Hour MTB Challenge, to the student body. The kids hooted and hollered when I told them I won and was 3rd O/A. They laughed and giggled when I told them I had to get off the bike 4 times for potty breaks. And their eyes got really big when I told them that the distance I covered was from my hometown of Athens to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia.

Then, through the Specialized Dealer Grant program as well as the gracious donations from The Outdoor Store and several local banks, Pam and Bruce Blevins presented the winners with their prizes, which included bikes, helmets, and gloves. In case you don't recall, the kids wrote down how many miles they thought I could race in 24 hours and the closest 3 boys/girls won.


Pam, Bruce, and I with the Ingleside winners

And with the City Park winners

Last week when we did the same for City Park, I was surprised when the principal presented me with this:

I could not have done this without your help. Many thanks to all my cycling and non-cycling friends and acquaintances who made donations.

Sometimes it is just not about you and the bike, but rather who you can help and influence while riding your bike.

Pisgah Recon

2010-08-25T21:21:00.000-04:00


Cresting the Black Mountain hike-a-bike

With last week's training schedule consisting of long days in the saddle, I opted to head for Pisgah to get my skilz on for the upcoming stage race. I was able to get in a delicious, although crazy tough, 5 days of 4+ hours on the bike scouting the trails and gravel roads. I chose Stumpy as my steed ... a bit more travel and a more relaxed position makes for an easier ride on this type of terrain.

Wednesday was a rough for me as I reminded just how tough The Forest is. I had forgotten to put on my Pisgah legs ... still had my XC legs on. Squirrel Gap was ... well, Squirrel Gap, only more eroded and overgrown. The weed-wacking took its toll on my arms and legs; think of 100 lashings. Unfortunately, this trail is set to be demolished .... ummm, reworked by people with big machines, and the race director is not allowed to touch it, as in clear the weeds. So I guess the top-level pros will get to clear it for the rest of us.

Bridge connecting Buckhorn to Squirrel Gap

I got to experience the long hike-a-bike section of the Black Mountain trail. During last year's race, a course marshall was sitting on the rock in the above picture saying, "You are almost to the rideable part." And yes, stupid me believed it. Well, this year, you ain't gonna sucka me! Some sections of this trail involve doing military presses with your bike to get up the trail.

The final descent off Black Mountain has also been reworked, but it should be in fantastically fast, fun shape come race day!

Wednesday night I hung out with the Asheville Janes'. A super cool family, I was treated to a never-ending plate of Caribbean chicken and rice with peanut sauce, grilled squash, cantaloupe, and homemade Blue Ridge Parkway blueberry cobbler. To top it off, I was stoked to sleep in Jubal's bunk bed with Transformer sheets.

I awoke Thursday ready to conquer Stage 4. The start is straight up on Thrift Cove which then dumps you onto Black Mountain which goes straight up ... forever .... to get you to Turkey Pen. When hike-a-biking is no fun anymore, I call it pushing. Well, I pushed for a long time. Turning onto Turkey Pen, I was immediately greeted with a wall of downed trees. Pushing then turned to bushwacking. As I was relishing the idea of being able to eventually get back on and ride, a huge tree not 50 yards to my right came crashing down, taking several in its path, like dominoes. Sh!t! What little adrenalin I had left got spent watching that cataclysmic show of natural force. Thankfully the domino effect went away from me rather than towards. I turned on the afterburners to get away from the top of this ridge where a lot of trees looked like they could go at any time.

After 2 hours and 45 minutes, I made it to the Turkey Pen parking lot. A sum total of 10 miles! (Todd has since said that this WILL BE CLEAR come race day.) After more trail, I eventually ended up on Squirrel Gap, although going opposite the previous day's direction. This is where Pisgah demanded a sacrifice; since I was the only one out there, well the picture below clearly explains.

I was riding up and over a rather large rock when my front wheel got stuck in a perfect 26" size hole in between 2 rocks. I desperately tried to fall uphill, but gravity won, and I tumbled down the hill about 10 feet before a rather large rock stopped me by bashing into my lower leg just below the knee. Thankfully only a gash and a bone bruise to my tibial crest. Squirrel Gap is no easy place for a rescue party to get to. After assessing myself and my bike, I chose to walk a bit and gather my senses. (And that night, I ordered a SPOT.) I now know how Danielle felt during a lot of her 2008 season!

Having the wind knocked out of my sails, I rode the remainder of my time a bit more cautiously. I did not complete the stage as the rather large portion of pushing consumed a large chunk of time ... and my leg hurt like heck! This stage is going to be the hardest as it is almost all single track. Thursday night Zeke and I demolished roast beef hoagies and steamed broccoli.

On Friday, Zeke and I rode a portion of Stage 3. We started out of Kuykendall Campground and rode up FS 471 to Gloucester Gap. My legs were feeling great and the climb was a delight to giv'r ... good roadbed and a steady grade. From the 4-way we took a left and headed out to Hwy 215, rode it for a bit, and then hopped on Trail 129 (later we found out this has been taken out of the stage). This trail was straight up and straight over Big Fork Ridge and then it leveled off along a beautiful creek and Courthouse Falls was an amazing work of natural art! Even though this is not in the race, I am glad I persevered along the first mile of pushing.

We decided to skip Farlow Gap as we have both ridden/slid down that trail many times. We then split up. I rode more of the single track, including Daniel Ridge and Cove Creek and then slayed some demons on the gravel road climb up FS 475-B. Last year, I fell completely apart on the gravel road sections. This year, less a diseased gall bladder, I chewed up the fire roads and spit them up. I can honestly say I loved the gravel this year ... brappp!

On Saturday, Perry joined in on the fun. Zeke shuttled Perry and I to the Turkey Pen Gap parking lot. From here we intended to ride the remainder of Stage 5. It was drizzling when we started, but warm. Vineyard Gap Trail was fun and had some flow. The descent was steep and the waterbars slick, but rideable. Some of steep ups I had to get off and push a little, but that was mostly due to the fatigue I was beginning to carry in my legs. The 6, or was it 7, creek crossings were o.k., but there were some DEEP mudholes along Bradley Creek Trail. I found out the hard way on one when I sunk up to my axles and about endo'd. After another good gravel grinder up FS 5015, we hopped on to Laurel Mountain Trail. All was good until we hit the steep hike-a-bike; the heavens let loose with rain (hmmm ... reminds me of last year, only 30 degrees warmer).

At the intersection of Laurel Mountain and the Laurel Mountain connector, we turned left. What I did not know or see was that the trail we should have turned left on to was an even sharper left. So after about a half mile of pushing, it just did not feel right. I looked at the map, but could not figure out where we had gone wrong. (I still don't think the NG Map and the actual trails at that intersection jive.) So we kept pushing on forward. This was a pretty wicked trail, too. Perry was beginning to doubt his wanting to race here. Well, after about 45 minutes of pushing we ended up at a sign that said Pisgah Inn to the right. WTF! With us in a downpour and the temperature dropping, we were NOT going back.

Warming the core at the Pisgah Inn Restaurant

We rode to the Inn, went straight to the restaurant where we both ordered coffee, and then I attempted to call Zeke. I was able to reach him the first time. Zeke saved us from an 18 mile pavement descent in a cold downpour. Pilot Rock will just have to wait until race day.

Sunday morning I expected to wake up feeling tired and with cobwebs in my head. I awoke to feeling none of the past four days in my legs. Had I been possessed by the Energizer Bunny? It still could be a different story once I hit the trail, though. I fueled up on coffee, fruit, and oatmeal. Our intention today was to go as hard as we could. We started out by climbing up FS 477 and once again my legs were sparkly. After a quick descent we picked up Club Gap Trail, all of which was rideable. From there we explored the portion of Black Mountain between Club Gap and Buckhorn. Boy, was it overgrown! Just when I thought my wounds from the previous days were healing ... let's just say that having injured legs lashed by more undergrowth is not very pleasant. The descent down to Buckhorn was a whoo! hoo! experience. Unfortunately I will have to go in the opposite direction on Stage 4. I finished up my ride time with another 5 mile gravel road climb; I emptied the tank on this one.

I came to Pisgah with two goals: gain knowledge of the course and leave it all on the trail. I accomplished both. Pisgah also taught me a lesson or two. Beauty can be treacherous. Be self-sufficient and expect the unexpected.

Meet my new riding buddy!

For those who want the ultimate test of skills, fitness, and mental tenacity, come get your fill of Pisgah at The Pisgah Stage Race. Todd has stated that the trails will be a lot clearer than when I rode them. The course will be well-marked, the aid stations well-stocked, and lots of people out there cheering you on. But take heed ... this race will make ORAMM look like child's play. Be prepared to ride hard, get wet, and hike ... alot, If you are both mentally and physically prepared, then you are going to have one helluva good time.

SERC Fontana Race Report

2010-08-11T14:54:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday was the Southeastern Regional Championship XC finale in Fontana, NC. I had a fairly intense week of training, including VO2 max intervals on Tuesday and riding the Cohutta Death Loop at race pace on Thursday. Coach had a SS session on Sunday. Since there was this race, I decided I could have a better work out if I was forced to go hard. Coach called it "squeezing blood out of a stone."

I decided that I wanted to race for money and with more competition, so I entered the Women's Pro/Expert class. No more large T-shirts and Entemann's mini-muffins, I was going for cash! 12 of us lined up at the start. Wow! That says a lot. A few years back when I raced XC, we were lucky enough to have 5 or 6.

I chose a pretty easy gear for Solo, my Specialized 29'r SS. Each 7.5 mile lap had about 1000 feet of climbing and some of those climbs were pretty steep. When the gun went off, Anina and Kim took off like bottle rockets. The start was a 0.3 mile 10% paved climb. I tried to go with them, but my legs filled with lead and I had to back off. I was still able to head into the single track in 3rd, with quite a gap on the rest of the field. I was able to keep the Vantaggio ladies in sight for a while, but I had to back it off a bit about midway through the first lap, or I was going to blow up.

The second lap hurt! I swear the climbs, especially the gravel road in the middle, got longer and steeper. I was able to hone in on my hike-a-bike skills in several spots. I tried to make up some time on the descents. The lines were there ... all I had to do was follow them and keep my fingers off my Magura's. I don't think I was all that much slower on Solo on the descents as compared to my Era.

The third lap felt the easiest. After racing for almost 80 minutes, I guess I had finally warmed up. People on the trail kept telling me that Kim was just up ahead. That encouraged me to enter deeper into the pain cave to see if I could possibly reel her in. I just about got too crazy as on the final descent, I hit a jump faster than on the first two laps. When I came down, my left foot came unclipped and I got all "squirrely." I almost grabbed too much front brake! After that wake-up call, I settled down for the remainder of the descent. As I was climbing up the last bit of pavement to the finish, I saw Kim ... as she was rolling through the finish. Arrggg! If we only had to do 1 more lap ...

So I finished third and collected enough money to pay for my entry as well as the gas to get there. And I do believe that the stone did bleed! A perfect way to wrap up a good week of intensity.

I have really enjoyed racing my SS at Raccoon and Fontana. Hmmm ... how can I work more of these XC events into my schedule next year?

A Day in the Life

2010-08-03T13:26:00.000-04:00

I am back in the Pisgah Stage Race prep mode. Coach had me do VO2 Max Intervals today. I like this work out because it is one hell of a sufferfest, but it is over pretty quickly, and you feel like you really accomplished something.

Here is how they went:

#1: This is not too bad. Hmmm, maybe I am a bit stronger. I feel like I could go all day at this wattage!
#2: Can I take back what I previously stated?
#3: Damn Coach for making me do those squats yesterday!
#4: Ohhhhh......the burn!
#5: I need a dog to start chasing me. Come on, legs, don't leave me now!
#6: Mama!

And now I get to go work for 10 hours, dodging pee and poop, smelling anal glands, listening to incessant barking, and trying to be quicker than the dogs' clamping jaws.

I think I would rather do some more suffering at the hand's of my Coach.

ORAMM Race Report, part 2

2010-07-30T22:01:00.000-04:00

I owned Curtis Creek this year. Last year, my legs went on strike at aid station 2, but today was like riding without a chain. I gobbled up plenty of carrots in those 9 miles. I caught back up to Rich; I taunted him with the 6 hour thing, but his face told a different story. That was the last I saw of him.

I did have to slow it down a bit at the midway point, not because of my fitness, but because of the heat. I started to get a headache and felt a slight chill, telltale signs that if you ignore, the next thing you know, you will be on the ground babbling incoherently. I knew I was close to the top when the switchbacks got steeper and tighter. I rolled in to aid station 3 and was immediately greeted by several smiling faces. One filled my gel flask, one offered an ice cold coke and the other had my drop bag. Was I in heaven? The aid station volunteers were awesome!

The gravel descent down the other side of the Parkway was insanely sketchy. I have never felt so out of control on a gravel road descent. After a couple front wheel slide outs, I determined what little time I might be gaining by riding stupid was not worth the risk. I slowed it down to a more life sustaining speed; it seemed like forever before I hit the bottom.

The 4 mile climb back up to the Parkway was uneventful, except for the nagging headache that would not go away despite what I thought was an adequate fluid intake. The volunteers at aid station 4 were masters of their game and had me off and pedaling up the Parkway to the infamous hike-a-bike. I think I ingested too much gel and Rapidade at the last aid station because as I pushed my bike up to Heartbreak Ridge, I became nauseous. This brought back not so fond memories of The Burn 24 Hour.

As I began the looooooong descent down Heartbreak, my body was able to draw some blood from my legs and finish the digestion process. The nausea soon passed. I always forget just how long Heartbreak is. I always start off "Whoo-hooing!" but that soon changes to "Oh my God, my head is going to fly off my neck!"
This section requires absolute focus which is hard to do when all your eyes see is a constant "dirt, sky, dirt, sky, dirt, sky ...". There are a few kickers on this trail that allowed my body to realign itself and prepare for the final switchbacky descent that I initially rode up on the way to Star Gap. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my ride down and my Specialized Era rocked it! (I would love to see what an Enduro would do on Heartbreak, however.)

I rolled on through aid station 5 and looked at my time: 5:17. That sub-6 was not looking good, but I thought I still had a chance to equal last year's time. Well, at least until I began the 4 mile climb up Miller Creek. Did I just enter hell? This was the most exposed road of the day. It was now 1:30pm and probably 97+ degrees. The heat was like a ton of bricks sitting on my chest. It was here that I really had to dial the power down or suffer the consequences. I passed through the parking lot, not looking forward to the steep-a$$ climb back to the top of Kitsuma. I made it, albeit slower and a few more times off the bike.

The descent seemed like an eternity. Very powdery after having 400+ riders come through and a lot of skid marks off the trail. Once again, my Ergon GR2's comforted my hands on this bumpy terrain. I popped out onto the pavement and immediately went into time trial mode. This lasted about 30 seconds when my inner quads screamed at me and threatened to lock up. I backed off and rode at a cramp-free speed. No need to kill myself; there was a "jelly" in a white Cadillac Seville that tried to do that for me. Speeding along, horn blaring, swerving around me at the last minute ... yeah, you are really cool, old man!

I crossed the finish line in 6:33, 1st place woman (and the oldest, I might add), and 31st overall. The slower time I will blame on the heat, for I felt I was fitter than last year. All said and done, I felt that I properly executed my race and nutrition plan for this one. I consumed 170 ounces of fluids (Rapidade, water, and Coke) and I took in about 230 kcal/hour. I don't think I could have gone any harder.

Kudos to Todd for once again putting on a stellar race. Great course markings, wonderful volunteers, a nice creek to cool off in post-race, and good food.

I might add that Zeke finished 5th in the 50+ category and would have possible been higher up on the podium were it not for the time spent helping the heat casualty up on Kitsuma. Not only is he one fast old dude, but a trail angel. Those in his class at Leadville had better watch out!

ORAMM Race Report, part 1

2010-07-29T20:57:00.001-04:00

83 degrees at the 8am start would make for a scorching race. Knowing that staying hydrated and keeping the core cool would be crucial, I started the race with a cold, wet jersey and my Camelbak full of iced down Rapidade. I had also stuck bottles of water in my drop bags, not for drinking, but for pouring over my head at the aid stations.

The race rolled out of Old Fort at a neutral pace, giving me time for my legs of 41 years to come around. I can start fast when needed, but I really like these easier starts. Having broke a spoke on my Powertap wheel during the pre-ride the day before, I would have to rely on HR and PE to keep me from blowing up in the first 25 miles as I had last year.

The race began as we hit the 5 mile climb up Old Hwy 70. Lisa and I rode together for a ways, neither one of us talking much, but watching as Andrea slowly pulled away from us. I was focused on a steady rhythmic turning of the pedals and making sure my HR didn't get too high. I soon caught Andrea as well as a bunch of guys and was able to make it to Kitsuma's single track with a clean trail ahead.

Halfway up, I encountered Rich. From reading his recent posts, he and I both had the same goal: a sub 6 hour race. But seeing him this soon in the race bothered me a little. I was hoping that I was motoring on and that he was not sputtering. He was pretty chatty and in good spirits, so if that continued and I could keep up, then perhaps a sub-6 was doable.

I let him take the lead on the descent. Not that I was being nice, but I wanted to follow his lines on this descent of mayhem and hell. You see, this bit of trail has gotten a lot more chewed up in just a year, what with bigger drops, more log crossings, more root exposure, and one hell of a hole left by an uprooted tree. Rich is like a Jedi knight, Yoda in particular. Just by looking, you wouldn't think him to be much of a mountain biker, but when his game is on, it takes everything you got to hang on! Needless to say, I hung with him through the trickiest parts and then he just got smaller and smaller ... and was gone!

I hooked up with Justin and rode with him over the next hour or so. The single track up to Star Gap was quite entertaining with several steep hike-a-bikes. I knew I would be coming back down this later in the day so every now and then I would take a look back down and study the lines. The climbing was steep but manageable other than a couple CX off the bike moves to negotiate some sharp, steep switchbacks. Once again, I encountered Rich and asked if we were on pace. He wasn't too sure and didn't seem too confident at this point. Oh, well. I was feeling really good, so I stayed optimistic.

On the descent I rode behind Matt, the Outdoor Store's Specialized rep. He was kind enough to take a digger on one of the switchbacks, allowing me to dismount and make it down nice and safe. Once I finished the descent and popped out onto the doubletrack-turned-singletrack climb, the fun began. The next seven miles on this old logging road was like riding on marbles, blindfolded. Very sketchy and you couldn't see what lay ahead due to the weeds almost choking out the trail. Oh, goody! Luckily I had Justin ahead of me and I could follow his lead.

Rolling into the second aid station, I was handed my drop bag. I poured a bottle of water over my head, swapped out water bottles, downed 1/2 a can of Coke and headed out for the next little hill. At this point in the race, I was feeling great, the legs were sparkly, and I was ready to conquer the 9 mile Curtis Creek climb.

to be continued....

SERC Raccoon XC Race Report

2010-07-13T18:28:00.000-04:00

With doubts as how well I would do at my first XC race in 2 years ... and on a SS, I opted to compete in the singlespeed division. Coach said it would be funner competing against the guys anyway. And Carly wanted me to "girl" them all. Carly and my friend Stefanie had come to watch and hang out.

At 9:30, the temperature was already 83 degrees and extremely humid. My kind of weather. The women's pro/expert started 2 minutes ahead of me. Mmmm, carrots! The start was 3/4 mile of pavement. There were 13 singlespeeders and I entered the woods in 4th. That surprised me as I was running an easier gear than the guys. My legs were feeling sparkly and soon enough I caught up to the back of the women's field. After passing several of them, I looked at my HR and decided I needed to slow down a bit or risk blowing up after 1 lap.

On the first lap, a couple guys in my field passed me, but on the second lap I passed them back as they struggled with the short punchy climbs in their harder gears. Towards the end of the first lap, I managed to pass all the women save for Kim. On the second lap, the hills were a bit tougher and I had to run two short sections. However, I still felt strong and was less than a minute slower than my first lap. I managed to pass the 2nd and 3rd SS'r with just a few miles remaining.

I finished up with a time of 1:22:50, about 5 minutes slower than 1st but over a minute ahead of 3rd. Not too bad for my first SS XC race. Simple and fun. All I had to do was pedal. I definitely want to do a few more of these.

I love my Specialized 29'r SS Hardtail. And that is coming from a racer who likes "cush." Raccoon Mountain is a very rocky and technical trail. After two laps, my back was still happy. Light weight and super responsive at less than 20 pounds.

Stefanie has been taking a photography class, so after taking action pics, Carly helped her with the portrait pics. Carly was a trooper out in the sweltering heat all day. After the race she had the choice of ice cream or sushi. Guess what she chose? Man, sushi makes for a great post-race meal!

Fundraiser Update

2010-07-09T20:10:00.000-04:00

As of right now, I have received $4350 in donations and pledges. I am still in the midst of chasing down a few outstanding pledges (you know who you are :) so I figure that once I receive those I will be right around the $5000 mark.

The Outdoor Store has received all the prizes for the Kid's Contest, including 4 bright, shiny new bikes! I know the winners of said prizes, but won't be telling anyone until this fall at the beginning of the school year. I plan on announcing the winners as well as presenting a check to City Park and Ingleside school during the first PTO meeting.

Most likely Ingleside will use the money to fund the purchase of playground equipment. A good friend told me about The Patch indoor obstacle course. After looking at their website, seeing a You Tube video about it, and having my daughter exclaim, "That looks like coolish fun," I will try to encourage City Park to purchase the basic kit. It is expensive but durable and could be expanded upon year after year.

It has been 6 weeks since The Burn. It took about 2 1/2 weeks for my body to feel good again. The worst part was the 4 weeks of a combination of foot numbness, pin and needles, and hot foot. But all is good now, except for my mental state. I attribute that to a "lackofracinitis," which should be cured by Sunday as I am heading down to Raccoon Mountain to race the SERC XC ... SS style. It should be fun and brutal at the same time. The last time I raced an XC was at this venue in 2008, but on gears.