Kimberly Enduro

I had decided a few weeks ago I really wanted to do some more racing this year and specifically some more Enduros. I have done 2 others one last year and one this year. I am learning quickly that Enduro means a variety of things and that I need to work on my Downhill skills. Kris and I were making a quick day trip up to Kimerbely and back to do the race. It was going to be about 3 hours long with 6 stages ranging from 1 min to 15 min. We knew it was going to be close to 100 degrees and were excited to only be racing down and not the ups too. It is so much more relaxing to get ready for an Enduro. Most of them so far have feed station and I really don't have to worry about nutrition and I just don't get as nervous. We showed up in Kimberly and realized how dry it is there. Two weeks prior we were racing in gnarly roots and mud. This was going to be the polar opposite. It was dry, loose, and "Oh my" ROCKY. The first stage wasn't too bad, flowy, loose, rocks, it was good for a warm up. Second stage was a little longer, little rockier, little bit more loose, but I survived and felt good about it. It was fun single track climb to stage 3 and it was longer yet, it was fun, more of a dual slalom course. We didn't bring any extra protection, which I had noticed almost everyone had when we got there. Just fun shorts, jersey, and our usual helmets. At this point I was thinking I would have been faster with these, but it was a doable course. I hadn't yet gotten to stage 4. It was the longest stage and by far, it was way over my head in terms of feeling comfortable with my skills. I am guessing I have the skills to ride all of it, I just haven't ever ridden anything like it. As Kris stated it was like a rocky technical singletrack descent that then someone threw bricks on the trail. I laughed at the analogy because it was dead on. These were huge lose rocks everyone and tumbling down trail when you went through. I rode as much as I could there were 2 sections I was maxed out on and decided to just be safe. By the end of the stage I had gotten some guts and was riding well for me and going for it. I rode my Ibis Ripley which was awesome, it save me a few times. I love how stable I feel on it, I am definitely more confident on it. I am excited to keep challenging myself, I feel like I am growing a lot this year with my downhilling skills. The last two stages were a breeze compared to the 4 th. I was now I downhill mode and did much better in both stages I even came within 3 seconds of my husband, which never happens. I was happy with it. I definitely still have a lot of work to do in the more technical descents, but am excited to work on them. I must also mention that Canada has some amazing female riders. The average skill level is just insane. I was 7 the overall female, which I lost a spot on the podium on stage 4. So I have some work, but once again can't wait for the next Enduro.

Fernie 3

Ill start off by saying that Fernie is my favorite place to ride. It has an amazing trail system and technical trails of all skill levels. I was super excited to race there, especially since the week prior I had a not so great race. I learned I should never race when I am that sick, never ends well. Needless to say I was ready to race and ride some sweet trails. Fernie day 1 Nervous and excited all at once, it was time to race. It was odd, but they seeded the women in front of everyone so we got off to an awesome start. Lots of men were sprinting off the start to hit the single track first, I held my own fairly well. Part of the problem was a couple of girls that could sprint but couldn't climb. So once climbing it ended up a big long line of racers and no way to get around them as it was a tight technical single track climb. So I held my place and passed a few that couldn't stay on their bikes in the muddy roots. When the trails finally opened up I was ready to race, at this point we were well over 1/4 way into the race. I felt like I had an extended warm up and the legs were good. I rode hard and moved up into 3 rd, we rode across some semi flowy single track that was at the time very muddy, which made it a little unpredictable and fun. I passed the feed zone which was about half way and was headed up to climb hyperventilation, this climb is tough, but I am a little sick and I love it. About a mile outside the feed I heard a big thunk and I couldn't pedal. I stopped to figure out what happened, I originally thought my chain broke. I soon realized it was much worse and I had broken my deraileur. I was so mad, my first though was my race was over. I had finally decided to walk back to the aid station. I got about half way there and realized I could probably turn my bike into a single speed. So that is what I did. It took quite a bit of time. The chain didn't acutally break, which is a little strange, then I got cold and couldn't get the chain back to gether. After more that 20 min of dealing with it someone gave me their quick link and I got it together. I didn't work well and I wasn't thinking when I picked the gear. So I think the chain fell off around 30 times until it broke at the top of the climb. I couln't push the gear I had put it in all the way up either so I had walked a lot of the climb. I was at this point in the race, I knew I was too far back time wise that I wasn't going to see the podium, but I didn't care I was determied to finish. At the top of the climb I broke the quick link. It took me a little to get the chain put back together, I got it and had a blast racing down the down hill. It was fun. There were a couple of slippery bridges so I watched about 3 people bite it, which was a little humerous because they went down one right after the other. Not sure what they were doing because I made it fine. There was a 2 miles road section into town, which got a little old with the super spin and the fact my chain stil wouldn't stay on well. I finished and was happy to do so, still mad that my race in the overall was out of the question unless they had a mechanical. I was almost 40 min outside of 3rd. Fernie Day 2 Thanks to an amazing husband that packs more that we would usually need he was able to put on a new derailuer and a used chain so that I could start day 2. I was excited for day 2, my legs were good and if I haven't mentioned before I love riding in Fernie. There was some pressure off in the overall as I new the battle I had was nearly impossible so I was going to race hard, but have fun. The race heads straight out to Hyperventilation to climb, I was actually excited to actually ride it since i had a single speed it the day before. I got in with a good group and we rode a decent pace up the single track climb. I would have liked to have gone harder/faster, but the long train of racers doesn't make it easy to move up. So I rode best I could. We hit the top and we were headed down hyperextension. It was muddy and slippery and steap, I thought I was going down it well until 2 girls passed me. After the second passed me I tole myself to "get it together" and start descending so I rode the 2nd girls wheel down. It was fun. I pushed are on the flats after the descent and got myself into race mode. I was able to get on the wheel of the girl in 4th prior to what I thought was the last descent. I was being the nice race and let them in front from the decent since they were faster. Well turns out there was a lot of ups on this section also. They wouldn't let me by so I rode them until the bottom and went by. It was a flat to the finish and they both sprinted back up to my wheel and I pulled them to the sprint for the finish. I didn't go for the sprint, which turned out to be a good thing because I had a link out on my chain and probably would a broke it had I sprinted. Fernie Day 3 Stage 3 took us over to the Fernie Alpine resort side to race. I love this area in particular everything is technical, rooty, and well muddy in its current state. I was back in race mode along with a friend of mine Erika and we took the first climb and rode hard. We must have climbed for 30-40 min before we would hit the most difficult decent of the entire 3 days. I can ride it all when it is dry, but I will admit I was a little nervous with all the rain and mud. I will start by saying I attempted to ride everything. I wasn't fast and only crashed once. It wasn't a pretty descent for me at all. The rest of the race was going to be very technical but not anything too far above my skill level. The race got a little confusing because the course wasn't marked well. At one point I rode about 2-3 min down the wrong trail and had to head back. I passed most of the riders back. The odd thing came about 40 min later when I started passing them again and a few other ridiers that were riding much slower than me and I couldn't figure out how all the people got in from of me. I knew I had gotten my 5 min back and was where I was prior to my mistake, but this didn't make sense. I finally heard someone say they had taken a wrong turn and cut the course by about 15 min. It was crazy, I knew I was racing in 3rd prior to all of this. The climb back to the resort took forever mud and roots and steep climbs for a good 45 min plus, then finish climbing up the road to the final descent. Thanks to my husband riding back up the trail to help mark the course better as he messed up the finish also I was able to find my way down the correct course. it was nuts. The results showed me in 5th, but 2 girls infront of me also took the "shortcut" so the officals decided to throw out the last race. Kind of a bummer because if I had made up a lot of time in the overall. All in all it was a great weekend of riding and racing. I love the trail and my Ripley was awesome. I don't know how many times I kept thinking to myself that I couldn't have ridden that on my 26er. With all the roots the Ripley made the ride a little smoother. It was great, that bike rides amazing!! My new VP VX trail pedals were awesome even in the mud. I was a little worried because I have raced the last 8 years on crankbrothers and wasn't sure how the mud would go over. I didn't have a single problem. Thanks again to all my sponsors Ibis, Vanderkitten, and VP components.

Race season starts again....

Echo Valley 30 miler Chelan, WA Well I have had quite a few weekends of racing off. It is a good break, not that I needed one but good just the same. This weekend was the Echo Valley 30/60. My husband was coming to support me with the kids so I decided to just tackle the 30 miler so as not to take up half the day. I needed to get some racing in is so despite the fact that I don't love the course here as it is mostly fire road, it does have a lot of climbing. We drove over Friday night like the pre-kid days pitched a tent and stayed right there in the parking lot with about 30 other campers. The kids had a blast camping, I prefer a nice bed before a race but it actually worked out pretty good. I had looked at the weather report prior to coming and Chelan is often quite warmer than Spokane. I have been use to riding in Mid 60s and it is was suppose to be upper 80s. I knew the race would be all about hydration for me. So I decided to ride with the camel back as it is easy access water. It was time to get ready to race. I warmed up a little bit and headed to the start line. There were 25 women lined up (Only 2 catagories open women and open women 40+). It was a little weird because I didn't recognize anyone. Usually I can pick out a few women. The race started and it goes straight into a 3 mile dirt road climb. I felt good and I rode pretty hard that first bit, by the top of the climb there wasn't anyone in sight. I was honestly surprised, I had such a gap in 3+ miles. My legs felt a little loaded, but they always do for the first 30 min of a race and then the are ready to rip. The course was so dry and loose, as my husband would say a little like roller derby. He had pre rode the course and warned me to be careful is some of the high speed corners. The course is on a 15 miles loop that both the 30 milers and 60 milers use. It didn't take long and I was catching the end of the 30 miler mens group that had left 10 min ahead of us and then the 60 milers. The entire first part of the loop is double track which can get boring, but was great for passing. I rode hard, but not over the top. It was hot and I was making sure to race smart and stay hydrated. I tried my best to stay in race mode and keep trying to pick of men, but it was a little hard when there wasn't anyone immediately around to race. I finally came around to the only single track section of the course. There is a little climb prior to it and I passed a guy right as it crested and he asks me "Can you descend?". I kind of giggled it motivated me to rip it, when the descent ended he was no where in sight. Guessing he figured out rather quickly that I can descend. Unfortunately we only get to do the single track part once. My husband was awesome and drove up to the loop with the kids and they were out cheering for me. It is a really confusing loop, you come back to one point 3 or 4 times. I think it was an inner and outer loop, then another loop somewhere else, which then equals one entire 15 mile loop. I get lost just trying to write about it. The second lap was mentally hard for me, I was feeling really good but lacking motivation to put it all out there. On the last hill prior to descending for the finish I decided to see how many more racers I could pass. This was an interesting goal because I couldn't see anyone ahead, but it kept me pushing. After finishing the second lap you get to take a 4 miles single/double track to the finish. It was pretty nutty, it was super loose with rocks and a ton of water bars. I was thankful for the Ripley I am pretty sure it saved me a few times. I came through the finish in first and my family was right there. My husband was smiling at me, he was laughing because I was so covered in dust you could hardly tell it was me. It was a good race, the Ripley rode great, my new VP VX trail pedals are awesome, and the VK jersey was so light and nice. Thank you!!!! Sunday I was able to ride with Kris, who usually hates riding with me after a race or hard workout. (We can all be a little tired and slow the next day.) I was hoping I wasn't too tired from the race yesterday, because I wanted to prove him wrong. I hoped on the Mojo today and felt awesome, which tells me I didn't race hard enough yesterday. It turned out to be just fine because Kris tried to kill me today. Great training for Fernie 3 day in 1 month, hardest part will be deciding which bike to ride... Ripley 29er or Mojo SLR... Hmmmm. Good thing I have a month to decide. Ripping around in Deep Creek

Beacon and Legs Race Report.

Beacon and Legs 2014 Beacon hill is what I would consider a home course for me. It is in Spokane and a great place to ride. We usually spend fall, winter (when not too much snow) and early spring riding there. I was pretty nervous about racing here, I guess because there is some great competition around the area that would show up and I wanted to do well. Last year I rode the Ibis tranny which was awesome. I struggled this year with which bike to ride, but decided on the Ripley as I had just gotten it and wanted to see how it would race on this course. The course consists of 95% single track and some techy descents, I think this is why I like this race. True MTB. I again had missed my warm up due to lack of a sitter and rode all but 5 min prior to the race. I usually go out at an even keeled pace and plan for the attack later in the race. I decided, despite the lack of a warm up, to go from the start and see what happened. I had a great start pulled away on the first hill climb and was on my way to what I thought was going to be a great race. There is not any long sustained climbs more of a climb, flat, climb, flat, climb top out and descend, then do it again. So We top out and start descending. There is a rock section that I have a love hate relationship with. Love it when I do it, hate it when I wuss out. I knew I needed to be on top of my game, I made the first section and messed up the right hander at the bottom. I made it just fine and made a plan to do it right the second lap. Even though this is my "home turf" I did not pre ride and when an arrow had been knocked down I managed to follow 2 men off the course and 1/2 the women's field followed. By the time it was figured out we had gone the wrong way, the other girls turned around and sprinted. I was now going to be on the chase. This killed my mental, I was beating myself up for going the wrong way. Needless to say I hauled down the decent and managed to take a drop I hadn't taken before, so happy the Ripley rode off it no problem. It was so smooth and fast!! I took that like the next 2 laps as well. I couldn't get by the girls on the descent, but tailed them down. I managed to pass 2 of them prior to coming around for the climb on the second lap. The climb started and I felt like I had everything zapped out of me. I was paying for not warming up and going out to hard. I struggled, Erika whom I ride a lot with, passed me and I couldn't stay with her. I decided I needed to get some nutrition and recover for this first part of the climb. By the time we were at the top she had 45 seconds or more on me. I was frustrated. I know I can descend well so when I got to the top I was going full throttle. I managed to maneuver the rock section at the top and rock the rest of the descent, I could now see Erika ahead. We headed into the 3rd lap and I was slowly pulling her in. I worked pretty hard in the middle section of the climb and passed her. I rode hard, my descent wasn't as good as the second as I was tired and didn't want to crash. But I managed to pull it off and I won the Pro Women. I was pretty excited Erika got back in her grove and finished just 30 seconds back. It was a good race faster than last year on a longer course. Not sure I will chose to go out that hard next time, I think I would have been faster had I just gone with my normal race style rather than sky rocketing my heart rate. Saturday was also Noah's first real Mountain bike race, which is amazing because this is a tough course. He rode with Kris and did great. He is such a fun kid with such a great attitude. Love him!!! Kris managed a 4th place which is amazing considering his training or lack there of. Adrienne did her race and Ollie had quality Nana time. If it wasn't for a good friend that wasn't racing and watched my kids Kris and I wouldn't have been able to race, so I am so thankful for Natalie and helping out. Another great weekend on Single track!!! Thanks again to Vanderkitten for sweet women's riding gear and Ibis for making awesome bicycles.

Oregon RV trip and Sea Otter Classic Race Report

Oregon Trip and Sea Otter Race Report: It has been a little crazy since we got back from our fun RV trip to California to do the Sea Otter Classic. We made the decision sometime around Christmas that we wanted to rent and RV and drive to California. It just so happened that The Sea Otter Classic Kris and I had made the decision to make thist our destination. We left in the RV on Tuesday and managed to make it down to Kris's Aunt Karens in Menlo Park by Wednesday night. We spent the evening and next morning there and enjoyed time catching up with her. The kids had a blast at the local park and riding their bikes in the skate park. We then headed down to Ibis HQ to check it out and pick up my Ripley 29er. It was pretty cool to meet the people of Ibis and to see their stash. Tom showed us their sweet bike gallery collection of retired Ibis bikes which was awesome. They gave us a great recommendation of a beach to head as the kids had been asking for the beach since Tuesday morning. I took a spin on the new Ripley while they played in the sand, I was pretty sold on the Ripley just spinning around. We then made our way to our camp site at Laguna Seca raceway. Friday was preride day, we made some minor adjustments to the Ripley and I was out for a pre ride. I had been sick for 2-3 weeks prior and wasn't sure how I would feel down there. On my recent rides I had still felt like I had lost all my power, so I went fairly easy just to make sure I didn't overdo it. I loved riding the Ripley around, however I was completely dissapointed in the course. There were multiple long sections of road or dirt road, there wasn't anything technical about the course. I knew this wouldn't benefit me at all as my training had been off for the past 3 weeks, I tried to keep a positive attitude and get mentally ready for Saturday. Kris managed to get to preride friday also and we hung around the venue checking all the fun things out. The kids were sold on the BMX tracks and couldn't get enough, even Ollie was rippin' in on the skooch. That afternoon we went to the Monterey Aquarium which is amazing and then to the Buba Gump Shrimp factory for dinner. Race Report Saturday came all to fast, I had read the start time a few days prior and it listed our start at noon. I didn't really think to check it that morning which led to an interesting start. About 10:45 we were headed over for the kids race and I was going to start warming up. I headed out to the track and all the pro women were on the track and I look over and saw one of the girls taking down a GU. I thought to myself that this was really odd as I thought we had an hour until our start. Then I hear over the microphone that call up for Pro Womens start is in 5 min. Well to say the least my warm up was cut short. In a way, I guess I spent less time being nervous as I only had 15 min to start. It was a tough race, we went out hard and the entire field just split up and I think a lot of us rode on our own. As a working mom of 3 it is mentally hard to get out there in that field of amazing women and not doubt yourself. I am super competitive, I had told myself the only thing that matters is that I give my 100%. That is what I did. I rode hard the entire time, my heart rate stats are proof of that. It was warm for me and that made it tough also. I am a very consistent rider and usually pass more people in the second half than the first. So when I came around for the second lap I tried my hardest to give my family a smile and start trying to make up some ground on the girls in front of me. It didn't take long before I started catching 2 riders. I always get excited and it gives me a boost when I catch other girls. I rode hard the second lap and managed the 36mi 5300ft of climbing to finish in 34th place. My husband and kids were waiting at the finish line which is always the greatest. The Ripley rode great and was super fun, I just wish there was some better single track to try it out on. It was happy to be finished to finally be on vacation. That night we went to the Vanderkitten team get together and hung out with Dave, Jono, and all. On Sunday, Kris raced the single speed early, he actually was having a great race until he broke his chain with a mile to go and had to run in. It is such a good sport and had a great attitude despite. The kids were all about the pump track on Sunday and we stayed later than we had planned as they were having fun. Noah talked his Dad into letting him do the big air jump, which scared me to death. Noah likes to ride his bike, but we don't take him mountain biking or even to a pump track. The thought of him hucking himself off of a big jump onto an air mattress was freaky, he is only 8. He was determined and despite my opinion he was brave and did it. I was super proud of him. After the kids were done playing we were headed to drive up the coast. It was a long drive home. We even spent the night in a Walmart parking lot, a must if you are RVing anywhere. We woke up drove to the beach and ate breakfast. The kids ran around in their pajamas and we soaked the beautiful scenery in. We drove to the Newport Aquarium where I had won tickets and seal kisses and a running race there last year. Noah and I got a seal kiss which I was not so excited about. We spent the afternoon at Southbeach camping area in Newport. The kids love the beach, I think they would spend days on end if they could just playing. We rode around a little on our bikes. Tuesday was a long driving day as we were headed all the way back to Spokane. We took the sunny morning to enjoy the ocean once more then headed home. It was a great trip and we loved having the RV.

Echo Red 2 Red- first race 2014

First Race of the Season Echo Red 2 Red. It is always a little humbling racing so early and living in Spokane. The weather here can be anything from beautiful to 2 feet of snow. This year has been a very up and down year for weather, lending itself to inconsistent training. I had finally bought myself a pair of studded tires for the MTB bike just so I could ride trails a little and not worry about the ice underneath the snow. This is something I should have done years ago. Anyways I was pretty leery about racing this weekend, and very nervous. Echo Red 2 Red has always been a tough race it is between 2 ½ to 3 hours and I always seem to have a rough time and am lucky to be in the top 5 due to fitness level. . This year was different. Saturday morning we woke up in Spokane to 13 degrees with 15 mi hour winds. My husband was dead set on driving the 3 hours south to the race in hopes of finding some warmer weather and sunshine. It is high desert in Echo so usually it is about 50 to 60 and sunny. We showed up to the race site it was about 28 deg out and mildly windy. The question was what to wear, you have to always be concerned about getting mechanical. (If I get a mechanical/flat will I be warm enough and able to get back on the bike). So I had 1 long sleeve jersey, 1 thermal hoody and 1 wind breaker coat. I wore winter riding tights and booties, and winter gloves. I got a little warm out there but was happy to have it all on for the road section back into town. I have been only riding my Ibis tranny for the past 2 months with studs on it, I love that bike despite it beats the crap out of me at times. I was pretty excited to get back on the Mojo SLR for this race. I was really nervous at the start; a few of these girls had beat me the years prior. The race started and I headed out at a good pace. The girl that won last year (Megan) hammered past me on the road section out to the single track. I have learned over the years of racing that I am a very steady racer, I may not be the fastest at short track, but I usually last for a long time. So I reminded myself this is a long race and to ride my own race. So I was pushing at a pace that was working for me. The first part of the race is a little single track down to a creek bed with a bunch of logs and water crossings. I messed up and hopped a log that was actually put in place to block a turn and I went the wrong way. I figured it out fairly quickly and got back on track. This allowed the 3rd place girl to pass me. Realizing we were only in the first 30 min of the race I again reminded myself to just race my own race. We then climbed out of the creek bed area and out into the hills where the majority of the course is located. The single track is pretty impressive here, very flowy and fun and lots of it. It isn’t very technical but very fun just the same. I was racing and having a blast at this point. I had to remind myself to get some nutrition in as 2 ½ hours plus of racing I would need it. I was starting to catch some of the expert men who had started 10 min in front of us and was really just having a great time. I hadn’t seen the 2 girls in front of me for some time, it wasn’t until about 1hr and 45 min into the race when I looked at the hill side ahead and realized the girl that had taken off at the start was right in front of me. I was feeling really good at this point and started putting the hammer down a little and caught her fairly quickly. This race has a huge pay out for men and women (5 deep) each place was a chunk of money. So as I was closing in I was thinking to myself I am going to have second place. I think I may have grinned a few times. So I passed Megan and just kept hammering. I got a little giddy at that point. Just so happy my plan to stay consistent was working out. It wasn’t much after passing Megan that I saw Alice. Again I was feeling really pretty good and knew if I was catching them, that most likely I was feeling better than they were. It was about 4 miles to go and I caught Alice. Oh the smile on my face after passing her, I railed the downhill got to the bottom and she was nowhere in sight. I was so excited. It was about 3 miles of road back to town and to the finish. I knew I was going to have to dig deep and continue to keep the hammer down. I was passing expert men right and left and then I went by one of them and he stayed on me. He rode up next to me and asked if I wanted to work together to get back. It is a tough ride back with the wind and all so I agreed thinking anything to get me back and keep my position. It was awesome, we rode hard taking turns pulling, we got to the finish and again I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face. I had just won a race I have struggled at for 3 years and on top of it I was getting paid to race on single track. I had put 5 min on second and 7 min on thries. It doesn’t get much better than that in racing. I rode to the car where Kris was waiting still grinning ear to ear. He was pretty excited for me. The Mojo SLR was amazing, taking a 2 month hiatus from riding it made it feels soooo awesome, was smooth as butter. I am really excited for the year ahead, excited to be in good shape again and racing on the dirt. Next race 2 weeks The Peoples Enduro at Beacon. Hopefully the 8 inches of snow we got yesterday melt by then.