Snake Creek Gap TT 50 Mile Race Report

You have to fight for every mile on The Snake!

Having an impromptu pit stop enroute to the start line was a foreboding sign but was quickly dismissed as the "race day jitters." Besides, I was pre occupied with what to wear, going over what seemed like 3000 possibilities.

It was dark when I arrived at the Dry Creek parking lot.  Stepping out into a pile of horseshit should have been another sign of a potentially "shitty" day.  I swear ... one day ... I am going to poo just outside the door of a horseman's vehicle!  Horse feces is no different than human and people should respect each other enough to use a pooper scooper.  It ... is ... not ... that ... difficult ... to ... clean ... up ... the ... mess ... that ... your ... animals ... create.  Just pure laziness and disrespect in my book!

Another attack 20 minutes prior to the start and I became a little nervous about my GI distress.  You see, I had recently finished taking a round of antibiotics for mastoiditis and had been having some issues.  Surely, between the "making race weight" back at home and these two additonal breaks, I had no more offerings to the "poop" Gods.

Oh well, back to race kit decisions. With subfreezing temps and a brisk wind, I had the bottom half figured out, but not the top half. Fortunately I made the right decision and was just a tad chilly at the start, despite the running in place for 10 minutes while awaiting the 8am start.

The crowd seemed thinner than January's edition and I was closer to the front.  Starting off with a single track climb, my legs felt fresh.  I must give Virginia Lee of  "Hands On Healing Southside" (soon to be Revive) a huge shout out for her massage on Thursday that revived my dead legs.  Ladies, I highly recommend her services!

The 18 mile prologue went by quickly and easily.  Trail conditions were perfect!  The muddy spots of last month were gone.  After 30 minutes, my fingers thawed out and all body parts were toasty.  The legs were happy and my RPE was where it should be.  Remembering how I felt last month, I was assured after this section that I would easily better my time.

Heading up the fire road to the first single track section, the gravels seemed to have settled and the climb was more pleasant than last month.  I was in my own little bubble of happiness entering the single track. I was riding my new bike, the Niner RKT 9 RDO, and the rear end traction was a noticeable improvement over my Niner Jet 9 RDO.  Must be the shorter chainstays.

The descents were a little tricky as the cold wind made my eyes water to the point of blurriness.  At times I had to rely on trail memory to see me safely down.  On the final climb before heading to the Snake Creek Gap parking lot, my guts began to churn.  I hopped off the bike and immediately fertilized a tree.  Thank God I had decided to go with tights as opposed to bibs!  Finishing the climb, Kaysee Armstrong came up and made a pass on me.  Having just come off a 2nd place finish at Trans Andes, she still looked strong.  Using this race as a recovery ride, no doubt!

I followed her down to the SAG stop.  Guts still rolling, I forced myself to chug a Red Bull.  While shedding my Buff and head gear, Laureen rolled on through without stopping.  Kaysee was about to throw a tantrum in the pits until she found the box of doughnuts.  While a mechanic got her bike back to working order (Kaysee had hastily built it up the night prior and was having some issues), she found her happy place again.

Meanwhile I took off, shouting out to her that I was her "rabbit."  That first climb out of the parking lot was brutal ... and went on forever.  It felt like they added an extra half mile to it.  I tried to bridge the gap back up to Laureen ... until I had to make another gift to the forest. Ugh!  How could one so little have so much?!?  At this point, I began to realize that my race had gone from sparkly to one of survival.  Rather than beat myself up, I was determined to enjoy, as much as possible, the last 14 miles.

Thankfully, I only had to make one more short pit stop,  I made a game out of the last miles, bound and determined to not let Kaysee catch me on the long descent to the mutiple creek crossings.  I let it loose, following a single speeder's line, and had fun raging it!  Kaysee didn't catch me until the final fire road climb up to the last bit of gnar.  My energy stores were on "E" and I just settled into recovering on the climb so that I could have some fun on the rocks.  Not being totally gassed when riding the last 7 miles makes it so much more fun.  I found new lines as I made my way around some 34 milers.  As much as I enjoyed the last few miles, I was still extremely happy to see the towers telling me the end was near.

I rolled through the finish in 4:45 and some change.  Fortunately my January time was good enough for me to finish third.

In awesome company ... Jamie took 1st and Kaysee 2nd

I was skeptical of the change up for this year's Snake.  Although I would prefer to have just a 34/17 mile event as those trails are the "heart" of the Snake, I do understand how difficult it is to have a 3 event series in a point to point race and the enormous amount of volunteer hours it takes to run something of this magnitude.  We racers are very fortunate to have this longstanding event, as alot of good races have not been able to withstand the test of time.  A big double fist pump to all of the volunteers!

Christopher Bean Coffee

Translated to “flower garden”, Taman Dadar is an exceptional coffee grown organically by the small-time farmers in the volcanic soil and high altitudes of Ijen Plateau in Eastern Java. Apart from the organic farming techniques these farmers have mastered over the generations, they also employ a variety of practices that are typical in region such as inter-cropping, wet-hulling, the use of shade trees and natural fertilizers. Also, the farmers that grow the Taman Dadar are independent from the government thus oversee a small scale operation and are more concerned with quality than quantity. An impressive Java coffee packed with rich dark chocolate flavor and hints of herb and nutmeg that results to a steaming cup of syrupy, creamy, earthy goodness. 

Java Taman Dadar is just one of many roasts that Christopher Bean Coffee offers.

2016 marks my second year being sponsored by this artisan coffee roaster out of Florida.  CBC has been operating since 1996.  I love the fact that they roast to order so you know your coffee is fresh upon arrival and not been sitting on a store shelf for God knows how long.  I was hesitant, at first, to accept a sponsorship, as I had not tried their product.  I gave it a go, and was hooked instantly with the wonderful flavor, low acidity, and lack of bitterness ... even with their darkest roasts.

In addition to the variety of roasts, Christopher Bean Coffee also

1. is cost comparable to big name coffees, i.e., Starbuck's, Peet's,, Seattle's Best, Dunkin Doughnuts
2. autoship option (which comes with a 5% discount)
3. Bean Bucks program (every dollar spent = 1 point.  100 points = $5 off future purchases)
4. free shipping over $50
5. money back guarantee

CBC also has special sales periodically.  With hundreds of offerings, a taste to your liking is sure to be found.  I enjoy trying out the new arrivals and have yet to be disappointed. 

In additon to coffee, they also sell tea, mugs, coffee grinders and brewers, and trucker hats!

If your passion is cycling (or not), I encourage you to give CBC a try.  Why not support a company that supports us?  Use Team25 and receive 25% off your first order.

Snake Creek Gap TT 50 Miler Race Report

Photo Credit:  Jeff Bartlett

Trepidation.  The word that I could not shake out of my mind in the last few days leading up to the race.  I had been "off plan" for 8 weeks, my GI system decided to do a self cleanse without my permission, and I was dogged tired.  Blah, blah, blah, wah, wah, wah!  If it is one thing all of us mountain bikers is good at is creating excuses.  Sometimes there are good reasons for a lackluster performance, but more often than not, they are spoken in the presence of our competitors in an attempt to justify why we did not CRUSH them.

With that in mind, I decided to keep the first 20 miles in HR zone 2, essentially a good deep warm up, hoping that I could endure the last 30 in the suffery zone.  Laureen and I started out together.  She is such a great steady state rider that it was enjoyable to follow her wheel.  We watched and commented as a multitude of men passed us within the first 10 miles.  I could tell which ones I would see later by their degree of "squirreliness" when they made the pass.  Save for the first "wheel-eater" creek crossing on the Wheat Trail, the Dry Creek system was pretty tame.

By the time I popped out onto the energy-sucking deep gravel climb up John's Mountain, 1 hour and 50 minutes had passed.  And no, the legs were not any happier.  However, mentally I was good.  I was taking the cards I was dealt with and making the most out of it.  The gravel was definitely annoying, almost as annoying as the mud bogs of years past. Hitting the single track, the legs were feeling better.  When I asked for more torque, they responded, which was a good thing, as this first bit of single track was a bit muddy and called for consistent power.

Laureen was right there with me the whole way.  Knowing the course, I was able to make gaps on the descents, but she would always reel me back in on the next climb.  By far, the trail was in near perfect condition and I thorougly enjoyed the descents.  The take away message here is:  no matter how advanced you think your riding level is, you can always benefit from a skills camp.  All the techniques I had learned last year were now embedded solidly into my subconscious. No white knuckle moments today!

I rolled into the Snake Creek Gap parking lot, tossed my CamelBak, chased an Espresso gel with a Red Bull, grabbed a bottle, and began the climb up Mill Creek Mountain.  This climb always seems to be the hardest one on the course for me.  I knew I needed to save something for the last 8 miles so I just nursed my granny gear.  Once on the ridge, Laureen and I started coming upon alot of 34 mile racers.  Everyone was so pleasant, making more than enough room for us to get around. I graciously thanked each and everyone.  Laureen was great at shouting out words of encouragement.   Heck, at the rate I was spinning, it seemed she was able to give 5 minute pep talks.

After one more raging descent, I began the doubletrack/gravel slog up Middle Mountain   Laureen passed me as we entered the final single track section.  I just about decided to let her go.  I really wasn't wanting to enter the pain cave, but more just wanting to have fun with this last bit of gnar.  But then I realized that in order to have fun here, one must embrace the fatigue demon and fight through the heaviness.  So I did.  I caught back up to her and reconnected the invisible rubber band between us.  I must give her a huge double fist pump for her mad skilz on these chunks of gnar.  She rode through these rock gardens like this was her backyard trail.

Photo credit:  Randy Ware

Laureen put a surge in at The Wall.  At the top she was able to open up a slight gap.  I refused to wave the white flag and so began the chase.  With bulging eyeballs and burning glutes, I slowly rode back onto her wheel.  By the time we hit the fire ring, I knew I had to counter.  Now or never.  So, when Laureen bobbled a section, I made the pass.  I truly expected her to latch on, but fortunately the technicality of the trail did not let up and knowing the lines, I slowly stretched the elastic until it snapped.

Hitting the final climb up between the two slabs of rock, I lit my last match.  My body responded, my heart rate soared, and I hammered it all the way down the gravel road.  I came close to taking out a fella snapping pics who was right where I needed to go to "straighten" out the road.  Just missing catching onto a racer's wheel rolling down the pavement, I had to pedal an rpm of 120+ to keep my speed up.

Seeing the finish line was exhilarating.  Racing 50 miles in January on The Snake was tough.  But having an awesome competitor to pace with made the day so much more enjoyable.  Got to hand it to Laureen, but for my knowledge of the trail, I would be holding third instead of second.

Another great motivator today was all those out on the trail that gave me a shout out.  Sorry if I did not recognize all of you, but you made my day as well.

I have raced The Snake every year since its inception in 2005.  Every year I look forward to the challenge.  And every year, NWGA SORBA does not disappoint.  I like the new format and look forward to the balmy temperatures and dry conditions that February will bring.

The Last Aid Station Interview on Mountain Bike Radio

Here is the link:  http://mountainbikeradio.com/the-last-aid-station/carey-lowery/

On that blistering hot day back in August, when I was racing the Maah Daah Hey 100, a gentleman racer held up a cattle gate, allowing me to ride through first.  I would never have thought crossing paths with Steve Hamlin during a race in North Dakota would lead to an interview on Mountain Bike Radio.  I don't remember Steve as he remembers me, but I DEFINITELY remember his wife, Lynn. With temperatures hitting 100 degrees, no shade, and just shy of becoming a heat casualty, she filled my Camelbak with ice out of her cooler.  I could have cried, if I wasn't so dehydrated.

And so I got a FB message last week, asking if I would care to give an interview.  Well hells yeah, I would.  I have enjoyed listening to Mountain Bike Radio (MBR) over the past year or so, in particular The Last Aid Station and JRA.  Never having had an opportunity like this, and being the "A" type personality, I had Steve send me a list of questions we would cover.  Despite doing some homework, when the interview started, my mind was in "Speedy Gonzalez" mode, but what came out of my mouth seemed more like "Porky Pig" speech.  (At least that is what it seemed upon reflection afterwards.)

So, being "Mrs. Perfect", I feel inclined to clarify a few things.

On the topic of the pushing more women to get involved in the sport, I feel that if anyone one group is particulary responsible, it is we (other women) who need to encourage and support women's growth.  And not necessarily pushing them into racing.  If we can show our ladies a great time on the trail through local bike shop group rides and industry-backed women's programs like Bell Joy Ride and Rebecca Rusch's SRAM Gold Rush Tour, then there is going to be a gradual and ever increasing trickle over to the racing aspect of mountain biking.  If we can create more women's cycling groups like Sorella and Velo Vixens, then the camaraderie will grow and with it more entries into races as we like to have the friendship and support of others when tackling a course, be it a 9 mile XC loop or an all day epic adventure into the wilderness.

On the subject of field size, since I haven't participated in alot of "mainstream" races such as the NUE series or the regional XC series, I have not seen any significant growth.  More often that not, I am lining up with only 3-5 other women.  Having said that, in the races that fall under NUE's umbrella or those that have a festival like weekend associated with it, I do believe the numbers have increased since I entered the sport more than a decade ago.

What would I have done differently 10 years ago?  Better nutrition, listening to my body ... and taken a skills camp or two.  Anyone can "ride" a bike, but to "handle" the bike and make you a better rider, there are a lot of skills than need to be learned the correct way.  Having taken two skills camps this year, I have learned so much and had to retrain my way of riding and handling my steed.  The result is that I have become faster and more confident.

Thanks for listening!

Coldwater Enduro Race Report

The only time I had ridden at Coldwater had been in August of 2012, when the first 11 miles of trail had just been built.  At that time, I wasn't all that impressed.  It felt like a never ending downhill pump track followed by a relentless climb up a series of loose, short, and steep little grunts that all looked the same.

After the memories of that trip had faded and with many more miles of new trail built, I decided to give the mountain another chance.  And what better way to experience it than at the hands of the 3rd Coast Enduro Series.  So after packing up after the Cahaba 50, I drove up Saturday night, set up camp, and slept beneath the hum of the power lines.  I opted out of the night enduro, but heard the next day that it was scarily fun!

I chose to see it as my lucky number.

After a solid night's sleep and a much more laid back morning, I pedaled off to the top of Talledega to the first stage.  I took it super easy on the transition, as my legs were barking after the previous day's effort.  Along the way I met some new friends, including Kayley Burdine, who was trying out this "new to her" enduro thing.

Talledega ... think wide open and fast!

Stage 1:  Talledega --> Trillium --> OHV trail --> Tortoise --> Hare. Everyone was just milling around at the top; no one but me, seemed eager to get started.  Finally "Mama Bear" yelled at the men to get their heads out of their a$$es and GO!  After a few fast dudes went, I hopped in line.  Attempting to go from 0 to 60 in less than 5 seconds hurt!  With legs screaming, I flew down the double track and hopped onto some sweet flowing single track.  Traction was better than I thought and I did not have to use the stoppers much.  The OHV trail reminded me of fall line Pisgah trail; no need to pedal here, it was all about finding the fastest line and not being bucked off by the large baby heads.  Tortoise and Hare were super flowy with a few tight switchbacks which had me going from 60 to 0 quickly.  Two dudes were riding up; they were lucky I came upon them during one of the tight turns or I would have been the bowling ball and they the pins!  Other than the long delay of stopping my transponder at the end of the run, I felt pretty good about it.

Stage 2:  New Trail --> Jump Trail.  This one was quite pedaly and I felt like a slug.  I also completely boofed the rock garden!  Being in too hard a gear, I had to dismount and run it.  That was costly!  In a couple spots with no confirmation taping, I slowed a couple times, wondering if I had missed a turn.  I thought this one was a short one and when it seemed to go on and on, I began to have doubts.  Finally I saw the white SRAM tape that indicated the finish was near.  I clocked out, mentally kicking myself for the mistakes.

Transition to Stage 3

Stage 3:  Talledega --> OHV trail --> Goldilocks.  Heading South on Talledega the left hand turn came up quickly.  Fortunately for me, but unfortunate for Eric, I had seen him go the wrong way down the double track and so knew to go left.  Later I heard that a couple others did the same as Eric. Goldilocks was fun.  The downhill pump track feeling that I hated 3 years ago I now thoroughly enjoyed!  I opted to roll all of them due to my tired legs and loose over hardpack conditions, but given a fresh body and hero dirt, I could see how it would be "oh so fun!" to send it!

Stage 4:  Bomb Dog Bypass --> Bombdog.  By far the funnest!  And, being 3 hours into the race, my legs were finally warmed up.  Feeling the flow, this run felt the best.  The trail rolled well, the corners were sweeping, and not much pedaling involved.  I tried to conserve every bit of momentum possible, concentrating on all the skills I had learned during the two skills camps I had taken this year. I felt really good about this run.

After pedaling back up to the Start/Finish area, it would now be a waiting game.  At least this time, I wasn't the first one done.  While waiting, I was able to clean up, eat, and break down my campsite. Finally the times were posted.  I was first.  Kayley came in second, but only because her mistakes were more costly than mine.

Ladies with mad skilz (but directionally challenged)!

I am glad I gave Coldwater a second chance.  I need to get back and explore the rest with fresh legs.

Thanks to Brent and Shelly for another nice event and cash payout!  I am looking forward to Cranksgiving.

Cahaba 50 Race Report

Not really excited about camping out at the venue, but not wanting to pay upwards of $150-$200 for a one night hotel stay, I chose the lesser of two evils.  The Talledega 500 was this weekend as well and the hotels decided to cash in on it.

Thankful for mild conditions.

After a restless night of sleep, in which I determined my sleeping pad to be unacceptable for future camping trips, I rolled out of my tent, prepared some coffee by headlamp, and enjoyed the 60 + degreee temps.

Knowing there was the potential of a $100 bill awaiting me at mile 9.5, I had a good deep warm up. The race crowd was quite small and I was able to settle in the second row for the start.  A fast start had me spun out of my 30T chain ring on the flats.  I was still able to jump in the single track in the top 20 with Laureen breathing down my wheel. The trails were super loose and my speeds were, for once, not governed by my barking legs, but by my skills.  As I finished up the first sections of single track and popped out onto the Red Road climb, I no longer heard Laureen behind me.  With the pressure off, I settled into a pace I could hopefully sustain for the remainder of the race.

The ringing cowbell signaled the top of the KOM/QOM.  With John calling me out as the QOM winner, I took the next two miles along the ridge to recover and ready myself for Jeckyll and Hyde. Fall was definitely in the air and I breathed in the crisp fresh smell of fallen leaves.  A couple guys caught up to me as my heart rate was coming off my hummingbird high.  No worries, I caught back up to them along the technical Hyde section.  Happy for all 4 inches of travel, my Niner floated over the rocks, which had apparently grown in the past year.

Traction at last!

Hyde seemed effortless, but Jeckyll, on the other hand, had my legs burning with lactic on the short climbs.  I suppose the XC pace during the first 10 miles of the race had caught up to me.  With 35 miles still left to race, I needed to recover quickly in order to finish strong. Making myself eat and drink, I also spun a high cadence to try to flush my legs.  I also tried to ride efficient, using gravity and technique to roll pump track parts of the trail.

Popping out onto Pea Vine Road, my legs felt better.  The 3 mile climb back up the mountain on the paved road was not as suffery as I expected it to be.  Hitting the green-red connector over to Blood Rock, I was back in race mode.  This trail was really sketchy and I almost swapped ends a couple times.  The 20 or so yards leading up to the rocky drop on Blood Rock was by far the hardest section of the whole course.  The two tight switchbacks were littered with loose baby-head rocks that did their best to take the front wheel out from under me.  Blood Rock was the driest and easiest it has ever been.  And no one in my way this year ... small victory!

Caution = Fun!  Photo credit:  John Karrasch

Flying down the rest of this trail, I tried to make up precious time I had lost when my legs were hangry (heavy and angry).  Crossing Pea Vine Road, the volunteers let me know I had 4 to go.  I tried pushing it a little bit climbing up Johnson's Mountain.  I was going to have to stop and refill my CamelBak and did not know if Laureen was going to stop at the pits.  Finally cresting the top, I enjoyed dropping back down to the remaining 2 flattish miles to the Start/Finish area.  Rolling through the pits, my first lap was 2:09.  With 40 seconds of pit time, I was off for the second lap.

The first 10 miles was a grunty sufferfest.  Definintely much slower this time, I was running on fumes towards the top.  Rolling the ridge for the second time, I kept telling myself just one more climb (although there were several more).  Hoping to trick my legs into submission, it seemed to work.  Jeckyll and Hyde flew by and seemed easier this time.  The "last climb" up Peavine was a manageable grind.

The flow of Jeckyll

For the remainder of the course, I felt like I was on autopilot.  Going on muscle memory, I went as hard as I could on Foreplay and Rattlesnake Ridge.  Watching my speedo, I knew that this lap was going to be alot slower and so was trying to minimize the difference.  I rolled through the finish line with a time of 4:26, the second lap being almost 6 minutes slower.

Laureen finished a close second and Tiffany third.  It had been several years since I had seen and raced Laureen.  We spent some time catching up with each other.  She is truly a great competitor and humble person.  And ... I got to meet her mechanic, "full-face" Kenny of JRA fame.

In the presence of bike knowledge awesome-ness!

I want to thank Kenny for working his arse off to make Chainbuster Racing what it is today.  Eddie Freyer has some big footsteps to fill, but am confident he will be able to get it done.  Looking forward to scheduling some of his races in 2016!

And with that, I broke down my campsite and drove up the road to race the 3rd Coast Enduro Series at Coldwater on Sunday.  But not looking forward to that damn sleeping pad!  Now I understand what Zeke means when he says his hips ache at night if he has to sleep on his side.

5 Points 50 Race Report

After missing last year's race, I was looking forward to racing some sweet single track atop Lookout Mountain.  But after listening to it rain ALL NIGHT LONG, I was not too happy about the mudbath that it would be.  My attitude soon changed after seeing Kevin Scoggins toeing the line.  10 years battling cancer, 133 IV chemo treatments ... I needed to wipe my frowny face off and be thankful for another day on this earth.

Kevin, an inspiration to many!

The race started out with a painful climb out of the Lula Lake Land Trust and onto the highway.  My short warm up was not enough and my legs were barking.  I missed making the lead group and played catch up for the next 6 miles.  All the while a gentle rain was coming down.  I was able to keep most of it out of my eyes with my front fender, shower cap, and glasses.

Once we turned into the 5 Points single track, all traction was lost. Think about a water park, but instead of getting an inner tube, you have a bike.  It was a 15+ mile Slip n' Slide.  I was trying to make up the time I lost on the descents "swapping ends" by digging a little bit harder on the climbs. Unfortunately, I left my climbing legs at home. However, I did have my rock garden legs on and was very happy on CapRock ... I just wished there were more rocks.

Coming through the Ascalon trailhead, I skipped the aid station and motored onto the pavement for a short ways before dumping into the next bit of single track.  I was a little nervous about the rock garden on Barkeater and the super technical Kindergarden Trail.  Fortunately the trail was clear and I was able to find my groove.  Aside from the short, planned 10 yard run on Barkeater, I cleaned Kindergarden without any "oh crap" moments.  I was amazed at the traction I had on the wet rocks. And yeah, it was still raining.

Coming back into the Ascalon trailhead, Lisa called out that I was only 2 minutes behind Nina. Seriously?  I had felt so slow through the mud of 5 Points that I expected her to be much farther ahead.  For some reason, I did not have "the fight" in me to  give chase.  I kept my same happy racing pace and hoped for the best.

Tailings Run is super fun when dry, but due to its tight, twisty, up/down 1/2 track, in the mud it is very sketchy.  I had a grand "Oh, shit!" moment here when I came into a corner too fast and about launched off the mound into the woods below.  How the heck I managed to save it I do not know, but it wasn't too long after the near catastrophe, that I came upon Nina.  Apparently Mother Nature called ... or she was changing her diaper (which is pretty much what our shorts/bibs had turned into by this point).  Anyhoo, she quickly hopped on her bike and caught up to me.

We talked a bit and then went back into competition mode, with me giving her the trail.  I just wasn't super amped to turn myself inside out on this "slicker 'n snot on a doorknob" trail after what has just recently happened.  I kept her insight for the remainder of 5 Points, but once we crossed the road onto the CCT, she slowly pulled away.

The CCT felt very monotonus.  I kept wanting to see the right-hand turn onto the Long Branch community's trail system.  It reminded me of climbing up the Buckhorn Gap Trail in Pisgah.  After 1320 corners, I finally saw the signage for the turn.  This section of the course is old school primitive trail.  Lots of rocks, roots, and moss, with a healthy dose of creek crossings and one nice hike a bike.  I was in my happy place and was able to push just a bit harder.

I stopped at the aid station, dropped my CamelBak, and grabbed a bottle for the final push.  After a short road section, I took a left onto some double track that led back to the Lula Lake trails.  It was all about taking baby steps on the steeper double track.  Once onto the trails (Turkey, Jedi, Homestead, Creek) I was back in my happy place. I actually found the single track here to be easier than at 5 Points.  It had held up well under the rains and traction was great.

Coming down the Ford Trail I about clotheslined my bike with this rope stretched across the trail.  What the ...?  Then I saw it go across the creek that after last night became a river.  (The last time I  crossed this it was only calf deep.  Today it took all I could muster to hold my bike with one hand as high over my shoulder as my fatigued muscles would allow.  With the other hand I had a death grip on the rope.  The water rose to my crotch ... then to my waist ... then to just below my HR strap. Slipping and sliding my way on the rocks hidden beneath the muddy surge of water, I managed to cross without any mishap.

Climbing back up, I began to smell barbeque.  Knowing I still had another 8-10 miles left, I did not let seeing the finish discourage me. One last push up to the pavement and I settled into a nice cadence for the 2 mile stretch of pavement.

And then a left onto the infamous PowerLine climb.  The last time I had done this race back in 2013, this section almost left me demoralized as 2nd place caught me here while I was pushing my bike. Today, I was in a much better state of mind.  And having not blown myself up in the first half of the race, the climb was not so bad.  I managed to avoid most of the peanut butter mud.  Back into the woods, I cruised through the ATV trails with relative ease.  After a nice descent, I arrived at an unmarked split.  Uh, oh!  Do I go left through the creek or right?  I did not remember this crossing from 2 years ago. And I could not make out any tire tracks either way.  After a minute or so, another racer came through and assured me that course crossed the creek.

Some more short climbs followed by one last gnarly descent where I had my 2nd "Oh shit!" moment as I nose-wheelied off the unexpected rock drop.  Fortunately I managed to reflexively grab the right brake and get my ass back down.

I climbed back out onto the road for a short bit of pavement before heading back down the gravel road to the finish.  I had to quickly scrub some speed on the steep pavement section when the left turn came up a bit too quickly.  I rolled under the finish banner in 5:18, 2 minutes down from Nina.

I had a fabulous day on the bike despite the conditions.  For me it was a mentally challenging day. But once I got my head right, I enjoyed the mud and the slick conditions.  It is races like these that will make you a better technical rider.

There was only a brief moment of the "shoulda, woulda, coulda's." After seeing that I was only 2 minutes down from 1st, I thought that maybe if I had just pushed it a bit harder, I might have had a fighting chance of pulling out a win.  But, during the race, when I tried going harder, it just hurt too much.  And today, I was just not willing to go to that degree of suffering.  That, and I was concerned of making mistakes that could result in injury.  And finally, Nina probably would have just put the afterburners on if I had been able to close the gap.

I have no regrets; just a feeling of peaceful bliss.

Nina ... such an uber strong and super cool competitor.

I also want to give a shout out to Melanie Blake Singer, who came in third, on a single speed. I met her earlier this year at the Night Shift 6 Hour Race.  She has just recently come back into the racing scene ... on a SS.  She is getting stronger with every race. She is an inspiration to all women who might think that they are too "old" to try anything new.  I can say this, 'cuz I am old, too  ;)!

Powerful women's podium.

Glad it wasn't the 5 Points 65!

I am happy to report that after detailing my bike, the only parts I will have to replace are my rear brake pads.  Despite a cup of water that came spewing out from my seat tube, no harm was done to any bearings.  So to all your racer peeps that don't want to race in the rain for fear of destroying your bike, that is just an old wives' tail.  The real reason you bail is because you don't want to have to clean mud out of every orifice for the two days following.

More mud inside than outside.  #loadeddiaper