38 Days to the Trans-Sylvania Epic MTB Race

It was a great weekend. David and Erin got married between crazy downpours and gusty winds. The weather was a total non issue as the Steel Wheels Band jammed under cover of the beautiful restored barn on Crusher Run Farm. The bride and groom were elated as they danced, laughed and ate pie. There was no wedding cake, but rather blueberry, apple and peanut butter pie. David was on cloud nine. Erin looked beautiful.

Then the former men's leader, Ryan Fawley(www.fawley.wordpress.com) rallied me to go up to the WVMBA Big Bear race. Even though he is the former men's leader, I think this might be his year to get the title back. Ryan is riding great and his head is strong this year. Of course, its pretty tricky to win a race when Nick Waite(www.Nick-Waite.blogspot.com) shows up. You could hear the grumbles of the locals when these pro show up. There were so many familiar faces there and some blasts from the past as well. WVMBA has an amazing thing going on.

The Big Bear XC race is held on an awesome course. There was a 6 mile prologue and then on to the bigger 14 mile loop. I love the starts at WVMBA races because they are fast, aggressive, crazy and usually a little bit technical. It was good practice for me. Since, I've "retired" from high level racing, the starts have been the thing that has suffered the most. There is just no quickness or power to my starts. And I get caught back and its slower. But having great singletrack always keeps my focus.

I got smoked at the start by my competition, friend and coaching client, Cassie Smith. Cassie had a great start and collected the $30 prime sponsored by Benji's company for the prologue. She actually had to physically grab the money, which I thought was funny. I saw Cassie several times, just seconds ahead, but could never close the gap. Whether it was messing up on the "Crack" trail, hitting a tree on a muddy road, or being a sissy on the creek downhill, I was not as smooth as her, nor as fast.

But I have to say how stoked I am that an athlete that I coach is making so much progress and is so strong on her mountain bike. She is a dedicated athlete who does all the workouts that I give her and that commitment shows and makes me proud. Also, her husband, Jeff, whom I coach as well, won his race, too. They are one fast family.

With the TSE(www.tsepic.com)

only 38 days away, I'm getting more excited. It still feels early for a seven day stage race, but as Sue George said last night when I rode with her, "There is a pretty short window for summer in State College". But Sue got me psyched up for the race by telling me how much she absolutely loves the riding there. She loves both the variety and the rocks. Its her favorite.

The main issue, well besides the fitness thing, is the bike and tire choice. I'm really torn over the 29er. I just might be one of those freaks that don't think 29ers are the holy grail. For example, I am so much slower on my 29er on the downhills. Now, that is not scientific, but its a feeling. I don't feel as fast and thus I feel uncomfortable. Its strange because everyone says how the 29ers roll over everything. I feel like they are a truck instead of an suburu. The feeling I get on my Flux, which is set up as a 650B front and 26 rear, is fast and confident. I can flick the bike. I can jump the bike, I can do log hops, I can do manuals, I can rail the corners. On the 29er, I just hold on. Now, I love the 29er on the roads. But how much road is there actually in the TSE? And how much actual downhill is there in the TSE?

So, I'll race my Flux at Michaux and ride the Sultan 29er at Stokesville-Douthat-Stokesville and I will continue to debate which bike to use on which day at the TSE. And I know, its not just about the bike, but a bike you love can provide a greater measure of fun, which is what its all about.

Oh! and its Ramp time...get some King of Stink.

If you want to be a good...keep the creeps out!

This has to be my mantra for tough bike races...Keep the creeps out. What I call the creeps are the dark thoughts that I get when I'm struggling during a bike race. I call them that because they somehow creep into my thoughts even though I'm doing something that I chose to do, paid to do and love to do! The creeps go something like this..."These tires are slow and sticky, that is probably why you are so slow on the road right now." Or " You really need to start training seriously if you don't won't to feel like this." " You shouldn't of had that bag of potato chips and that BLT with extra B." Or the worst of all, " You are going to suffer so much and get your butt kicked up and down the state of Pennsylvania at the Trans-Sylvania Epic if you don't do some real training!" " Then you are so off the back with your training, there is no way, you can catch up to those other girls training base"

I just have to yell, " SHUT the FUCK UP" and it works. I finished the Dragon's Tale race in 5 hours. It was amazingly beautiful and I did fine. I pushed through the overcaffinated belly, the sticky tires, the endless hike a bikes and a very sore neck and upper back to win the race. I was so very tired afterwards, but know that a positive frame of mind has the power to keep the creeps out. The creeps are persistant and pernacious but with positivity, I'll prevail. And I know that I'll be suffering my ass into the saddle at the Trans-Sylvania Epic, but with the right attitude, I accept the suffering and smile and get that adventure vacation that I seek.

My next adventure vacation...Trans-Sylvania Mountain Bike Epic

I know that I just got back from vacation in Sedona and Baja, but vacations are just about the coolest thing on earth. The Sedona and Baja trips involved a lot of mountain biking and some moto riding but this was all on the chill side of things. There was tons of beer drinking, margarita sipping and a general over consumption of chips. I rode bikes, but I wouldn't call it bike racing training. It wasn't bike racing training, but I guess it could be considered 'vacation training'.

So its mildly ironic to me that my next "vacation" is a bike race in Pennsylvania. And least that is the theme of the Trans-Sylvania Mountain Bike Epic Race. Its a seven day race that is going to dish out plenty of fun and awesome riding, but isn't there going to be some pain and suffering involved as well? Should vacations really involve days upon days of driving your ass into your saddle and racing against girls who are much more fit and driven to win? Should it involve grinding up hills that you don't know where they end and flying down rocky gnarl that you hope is mostly benign? I guess that is the adventure part. And since I do love adventure, and vacations...I'm really looking forward to this experience at the end of May.

And if you are considering doing the race, sign up... and mention my name and I'll provide you with a quart of my homemade Piquin pepper Salsa that will light up your day.

Baja biking and backroads

Baja

Yes, We are alive and well in Baja!

This is a cool spot in the world, so close to the U.S. Its also cool enough that there is a lot to do so cell coverage and internet access don't matter that much. But I just wanted to say that you should go to Baja!

The highlights are: moonscapes galore, pacific ocean and Sea of Cortez, sand moto riding and a friendly windy hamlet for mtbing down south

and the best margaritas that I have ever had.

I'll update more specifics when we get back to our over connected normal life.

Above Hemet

San Diego is a sunny nice place. Its that weird mix of rugged ocean coastline, hip and healthy urbane living, highways, and dry high mountains. We kept getting mixed reviews of the mountain biking prospects. Some said it good and some said it is lacking. And of course after riding in Sedona for a while, the possibility for let down was pretty high.

Luckily we had our buddy, Yo Andy, to take us around. As we all know, you can't beat riding with a local. Andy took us out to Noble Canyon the first day. It was a cool day up there at 6,000ft. The traction of Sedona, long gone being replaced by ball bearings. The climbing was a fun mix of swooping singletrack and downright steep rocky stuff. The downhills the same with rocks jutting out and weird angles and little gaps between those weird angles. There was a devestating fire here 10 years ago. It left some eerie burnt out giant trees standing amidst the lush fire inspired undergrowth. In Noble Canyon there was this section of trail that we kept flushing out all these birds. There were birds coming out of everywhere. Then minutes later, we were in frog canyon. The frogs sounded loud and strong. It was so weird for us to hear frogs in February because they are a summer time thing for us.

Then the next day we did shuttle runs at Steel Bridge. Yea, Nate you didn't miss a thing. I mean it was fun to ride Andy's Turner Highline and all but it didn't float my boat as much as going out on a cool big mountain ride. But, I think it does help to mix it up. I still don't jump well and downhill riding can encourage that. And there is a lot to learn with cornering out here on a trail like that. The weirdest thing was that it was on National Wildlife Refuge. I could never see this being tolerated in Canaan where the rangers see bikes as motorcycles. I have a feeling California has some weird recreational user relationships.

The next day we did the Mission Trails. These trails are the closest to the city and are really fun. They have some awesome steep loose climbs straight up or ones that meander up the hills. The downhills were really fun. And again its all about how fast you can corner to go fast on the downhills.

We have been sleeping in our van in Andy and Laura's backyard under this huge tree. I'm not sure but I think its a Yew. Its massive and we have been sleeping so well. We've been sampling the urban fare and loved the Mission House and El Zarape taco stand. Some of the mexican food is not spicy, its weird. California has such great veggies and great choices for people who are vegetarians and vegans and glutens free.

We are heading out for a ride with a small group including Jamie Dollar who is from Winchester, VA. It is weird how sometimes you have to travel far to see people who live close. I think we are heading out to San Juan Capistrano for a nice xc ride. And then I'm jonesing to go to Mexico and ride our dirt bikes and see a new country.

PHX

There was a cold snap in Sedona and we knew are time was coming to a close there...for now at least. Our blood has gotten very thin with the warm temps, so 40 degrees felt impossibly cold. We did a last ride on Highline/Baldwin with super nice guy Jimmy who owns the Bike and Bean. It was cool riding Highline again first because its a great trail and secondly because it wasn't scary the second time. It was pure fun.

Tim dipped out on riding to take care of the hiccup with the van. Long story short, sometimes it takes an electrical guru to fix an electrical problem. And that electrical guru happened to live in the Black Hills on the way up to Jerome. It was a simple fix which are the most beautiful kind. So far, the hiccup has gone away.

Searching warmer temps we headed south to Phoenix. It was the band's last ride together as Collin was heading to San Diego, we were heading to New Mexico and Nate was heading back to D.C. Luckily we had a charismatic host in Gabe. Gabe is the head hunter and administrative guru at BetterRide.net He is a big wordly kid and has a pump track around a pool in his back yard. The boys were in heaven.

Good thing for me it wasn't pump tracking only, but we got to get out and do some proper xc riding at South Mountain on the National Trail. What a cool park right in the center of Phoenix. I've ridden there before, but Gabe showed us some local secret trails.

Of course the boys showed their stuff and cleared some things that Gabe hasn't seen anyone clear before. They are good riders and even if they stayed in the hollers of the George Washington Forest and no one ever saw their riding, I would know that they are some of the best riders around. I did pretty good, but struggled making the transition to powdery gray rocks from Sedona's grippy red. I chicken out on some rocky drops.

It was cool staying in Tempe and being able to walk to stores and restaurants which was something I wasn't expecting.

Sedona bliss

We are continuing to enjoy our Sedona trip. The locals have been taking us on all their favorite rides. Tex said to Tim the other day, "When you first came here I thought you guys were freaks, but then I realized that you were with Sue Heyword" The truth is of course we are freaks and no way could I bring the normalcy factor up in our crew.

The riding is fun, but riding some of the stuff the first time can be high on the adrenaline factor. Like the Hawgs, the first time we rode that it seemed a little scary. The second time was pure fun. Highline was very difficult and I would love to go back to that and give it another go. That is the one that made Jennifer cry and turn around. It was tough.

Ken's trail had that effect on Collin. Ken's trail is a little used trail off of Airport. Later Jimmy said ,"yea, if you don't like that first drop in on Ken's then you won't like the rest of the trail" and I had to take the sneak line right away, so... I actually liked trying stuff that I never try like super loose gravel piles and jumps and big drop ins. I couldn't lower my seat any more, so it was a little sketchy and I did have to walk a good bit. But I did push myself and do some big moves. We rode with Jackie Harmony that day. She is a pro downhiller and it was cool to see her go at some big jumps with speed and go down some super steep loose stuff with some corners. In the end, the consensus was that shuttling is not for us in Sedona. We would rather ride up and down and get in the groove.

I'm loving riding everyday and love my bike so much right now. I'll get up a post of what I'm riding and what my schedule is for this year...its going to be a good one.

Damifino

Our VA crew was lucky enough to get Chewy and Ross to take us on our backyard trails of Cowpies, Hangover, Damifino and Killer Bs. We were all a bit nervous because we kept hearing about how awesome and fast Chewy was and of course we know Rad Ross is super fast. I was a little nervous because I was starting to feel the fatigue of zero riding before coming out. And then the riding is very punchy here. There is always a big step up or a big drop to suck up. Then it is constant up and down. There are some tough transitions here and then add a preciepe and it can get pretty intense. The thing about being tired, is that you make more mistakes and it hurts.

We made our way up to the Cowpies which are these huge Sandstone outcrops that look like big cow pies. It is a great ride up to the saddle. You can also see the layer of Apache Limestone that forms big square blocks before it crumbles below. The boys played around on some slick rock and then made this crazy tough switchback uphill before the saddle. Chewy and Tim made this practically impossible vertical switchback. Their energy to try and retry moves until they make them is very impressive.

It was really windy at the saddle as the boys dropped into Hangover. Jennifer and I took the reach around("easy line"). Hangover starts out mellow and then the rocks start protruding out towards the edge requiring one to gracefully skirt the edge of the trail. There were trees, ice and tough little uphills and of course, non stop drops. Collin has some amazing video coverage of Hangover. Tim had a minor mechanical with a chuncked pully, but was able to keep on.

We intersected Munds again, headed up to Cowpies and then at the saddle took Damifino. Very tricky trail with the same MO...side hill, soft edge, drops and steep little ups. It crossed over slick rock that way out in the open and the wind nearly blew me off my bike. There was a patch of crazy ice that Ross slide down like a penguin. There were so many steep bits in succession and the boys were so fast, it was hard to find the trail. That is another thing about Sedona, if you can hang with a local and follow their lines then your chances of making something are a lot better. Tim and Collin are really good at that. But us girls are getting smoked and figuring it out on our own which is slower and can be frustrating, but honestly I don't care because I really like picking my own line and looking up to find different lines. And the boys and our guides have been really nice about waiting.

Killer B's was really fun and beautiful with all the magnificent cedars. Levitra had a crazy steep drop with a tight turn on bottom of it. I tried it and didn't have my weight back far enough and did a flip OTB. I haven't done a sommersault like that in a while. Jennifer got to see the whole thing. I was really luckly that I didn't fall in any cactus, just some old manzanita bushes. Then as if it could get any crazier...it did. There was this rosebowl....it was a skinny wall ride around a canyon. It was skinny and I was scared. I could here the boys saying just roll it , but I couldn't. Then there were all these bridges and skinnys and non-stop action. We ended up in Oak Creek Canyon and sketchily crossed the creek.

Ross took us under Midlgey Bridge to the Jim Thompson trail. It felt good to open it up at that point and not have to worry about death. Ahhh. It was a good day...big. I was feeling a little fragile after the ride. I was tired, exhilerated, beat up. Tim gave me lots of attention and we grilled food and drank High Lifes. It was another amazing day in Sedona.