I Know My Name and I Know The Year so it's Not That Bad....

You know how parents sometimes know when their kids are sick even when the kids aren't presenting that abnomal of symptoms that's what I felt like. I noticed something was off last Friday with Charming (my Superfly but figured I would share his name at this point) when I was riding up in Leadville, it just didn't feel right. I noticed the turning was sluggish and it felt loose and not like it should feel. I did a road ride on Sunday and then took Monday off and did an

Road blocks please go away

easy ride with Wayne at Marshal Mesa on Tuesday. I had thought that maybe the ride on Friday was due to the lower air pressure I was running or that maybe I didn't get my front skewer tight enough so put a little more air in the tires and had Wayne tighten my skewer. No such luck though it just wasn't clicking, braking was hard and the corners were lose. It was like I was a raggedy Anne doll. Something was definitely not right but I didn't know what was wrong. I told the guy I'm dating and he said he'd look at it on Wednesday before I went to race short track. The guy isn't just a guy pretending he knows what he's doing when he looks at a bike but is actually a professional mechanic for a race team. I trusted him to get down to the source of the problem, even if it was all in my head.

I gave it to him Tuesday night and he worked on it Wednesday morning and then brought it to my work, a lot cleaner, I might add. He said the headset had been loose, which he had tightened a couple weeks before, but he also switched out my skewer to one that was much better and easier to tighten just to be safe. I thanked him and used my lunch break to put together my gear for short track that night. A little while later he took another look at my bike and noticed it was a little loose again and wanted to look at it again. I don't really get too involved with the mechanics of my bike, I suppose I should but I trust the people who work on it so went about work taking care of a couple things that I needed to do before leaving.

You know when something bad happens and no one is really telling you what's going on that's what was happening. I was stuck on hold when I could see movement happening in the shop, my bike was suspended in the rack but missing the front half. One mechanic walked by mumbling about needing to look for a Superfly in a 17.5- that's my bike and my size, what are they looking for? I couldn't make out what they were saying from that far away but they were taking pictures and not doing a lot of work. The Guy disappeared into our warehouse and I walked back looking for him. We'll probably just need to find a part or something and maybe head up to Leadville on Friday instead of Thursday night. I was not prepared for what came next.

That's not suppose to look like that

"How bad is it?" I asked.
He looked at me and said, "It's not rideable, you can't ride it. It's broken, I'm sorry." And then I just started crying. How can this be happening, it's so close to Leadville. How is this happening again, I was so close. I didn't really know what to say. In between tears I stated, "I just want to get to the race." He explained to me that the cup holding the bearings in the headset had detached from the frame, which it isn't suppose to do. It's a warranty issue.

That's great it's a warrant issue, but Leadville isn't going to wait they were nice last year when I had a traumatic brain injury but probably not again. The problem I have is all the girls I know ride a 15.5" and all the guys I know ride a 19" or larger frame. Not only that but the type of bike that I need for the race is also pretty specific. I sat there for a minute in a daze and then took a lap and went to the office. I didn't even know where to begin. None of the stores had my bike in stock so that wasn't even an option. The guy I'm dating has a single speed that he could convert to gears so was calling around for the derailleur hanger. The biggest problem we were running into is the Trek World is happening in Madison, WI so most of reps for the company are at it which made it very hard to get a hold of anyone. One warranty claim and multiple voicemails later to Trek the guy I'm dating found me a bike. One of the riders on his team is the same size as me and is letting me use his race cross country bike. It's a Raleigh Talus 29 Carbon Pro. I haven't ridden it yet but we switched my saddle and wheels over and will put my stem and handlebars on tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to ride it around on my lunch break and then on Friday I'll ride up at Leadville on it for a short bit to get a better feel. I guess I have 100 miles to bond with it. 

I am a little nervous to be switching this late in the game, especially because I was so bonded to my bike and had really gotten a feel for how it handled on the entire course. I was telling The Guy tonight as crappy as it is to happen at least it happened today and not Friday when we can remedy it to some extent. Certainly not ideal but I know my name and what year it is so I really can't complain. But with the biggest mechanical failure to happen just days before the gun goes off, that means I'm free from them during the race, right?


Poor Charming, he can't take me to the Big Dance anymore. And I bought new shoes for it....

Stay Calm, Stay Focused

I thought I had done a good job recovering after the Silver Rush 50. I took two days off afterwards and spent Sunday eating more than just watermelon. I realized that maybe not as well as I thought when on Friday I was sitting on the side of the trail....sobbing (this is when you can laugh, I do).

Tuesday I did a short run and swim with a good stretch to get things moving. Wednesday I doubled up and did a short 45 minute flat interval ride and then went back out 3 hours later and did a hill climb. Thursday I did a short recovery ride on my mountain bike and then Friday I planned to go back up to Leadville and do 60 miles before entering my peak phase. I checked the weather the night before and it had a 30% chance of rain. It always has at least a 20% chance of rain so didn't think much of it. I woke up the next morning to find an 80% chance of rain. I called the guy I'm dating (mainly to reaffirm that I shouldn't go up and ride in the rain even thought I really didn't want to change my training plans) and told him my predicament. He's pretty useful when it comes to rides and routes so he rattled off a couple that would suit my needs, time and climbing. I was still pretty stubborn about going up but he finally said going up and riding 60 miles in the rain isn't going to be productive when you get sick and aren't in great shape for the race and then you'll just be cranky about it (I know he wanted to add, and I'll have to deal with you being cranky, but he didn't). He was right though.

I took off on my Superfly to do one of the rides he suggested. It started with a 6 mile climb up Flagstaff, which is a paved road pretty popular with road cyclists. I started the climb and saw a guy on a road bike behind me. I spent a good portion of the climb working to make sure he didn't pass me which meant I slacked off on eating and drinking because I was more focused on beating him. At mile 4 into the climb he turned around and I kept going. I got to the top and realized how humid it was and disgusting it was that I was covered in all this sweat. I then descended 2 miles which puts you at one trail head for mountain biking. I did one route that was an out and back 2 mile ride and did that pretty seamlessly. It was mostly climbing on the way up and then descending on the way back. I thought about turning around and heading back and maybe doubling up with my road bike but figured the other route is an 8 mile loop so would just add some extra miles that way and then maybe not do the road ride. The trail was a little more technical than I had in my mind, probably more of a ride for my full suspension. I set out on the way that was the least fun (mainly because everyone I saw was going the opposite way) to maximize climbing. There is a short descent in the beginning which was pretty fun, but then the fun police showed up and took all the fun away. The climbing sections were moderately technical and pretty choppy. A lot of really picky riding and having to react quickly to know which line is best. At mile 5 you have to hike-a-bike down a lot of stairs, definitely a couple of

Oooo....careful!

flights which I was overly cautious not to slip down with my shoe. The guy did mention that before climbing down I could turn around and do an out and back and do 10 miles. I thought about this but was already starting to feel cantankerous about the predicament and wanted to get off the trail which in my mind only having 3 or so miles left was better than turning around. I got to the bottom which warranted amazing scenery and stopped to eat something and looked at the map beside the trail. I then made the fatal error of looking at my garmin. 20 miles in 3 hours....I started the next climb up which wasn't technical at all just a little lose and about 20 yards from the top hit a soft spot and spun out and then just started crying, like what people do when their dogs die. I'm so slow, this is awful, I'm never going to make the cut off for Leadville.  I sat down next to my bike (like with driving you're not suppose to ride when you're emotional). It's like when you're watching The Notebook and first sad thing happens and then it's just a continuous stream of tears through the rest of the movie. Yah, that's where I was at. I finally came to the realization that I wasn't crying because I was riding so slow, that was certainly part of it but my mindset about going to Leadville was so similar to the one I had the day I crashed, where in my mind I was so focused on getting that training ride. Good things for boys who tell you not to be dumb. It also pushed my training plans back a little bit and put my last training ride up there closer to the crash date than I wanted. Then I figured out that's what I was really crying about. I didn't want to crash again, not like that before the race. I really just wanted to get to the start line. I started walking with my bike while still sniffling. I debated calling Wayne to have him come meet me at the trail head and pick me up so I wouldn't have to ride the 8 miles back home but then realized he'd probably tell me to stop being a baby and ride my bike. That might have been THE longest 2 miles of my life. I finally got back to the trail head and still had a 2 mile climb on the road before I could descend. Thankfully my body knew what to do at this point and I started to get back into the groove. I got home and took in a lot of fluids and ate right away which clearly was a big factor in my bonk. I plugged my garmin in and ended up doing 30 miles in about 4:20 give or take the 20 minute cry session with about 5,700 feet of climbing. All that climbing made me feel a little better about being slow.


I got my ride up in Leadville that I was planning to do that day. It included the two major climbs (Columbine and Powerline). I parked at the bottom of Powerline which is about mile 20 and then backtracked up to Columbine and the turned around and then back up to Powerline and then back down and then done! I'm always nervous about bonking at Leadville so I make sure to eat and drink by the clock and after the disastrous ride I had in Boulder the week before I switched my garmin to map mode which only shows me that I'm still moving. The ride ended up being a little over 64 miles, my last long ride before the race. The extra 4 miles was me riding around and back tracking because they took the flags out for the course so I couldn't remember which way one of the turns went. 

This will make anyone look forward to an icebath

I had packed a good amount of food including one bar that was 400 calories but broken up into 4 chunks with each one being 100 calories each. A friend had given it to me to try and figured it was worth a shot because it was low in sugar. I took a bite of the first block and chewed on it for a little bit and then a little more and then spit it out. Gross. It was grainy and mushy and too much chocolate. I guess I didn't hit my head that hard because I still don't really like chocolate. Realizing that I probably wasn't going to eat the rest and still had to climb up Columbine I dumped the other blocks on the side of the trail to lose the extra weight and mainly so it wouldn't melt all over my jersey. I got by on the ride with about 500 calories, which isn't exactly sufficient and realized I should start trying to eat more real food so I'm not feeling the need to brush my teeth after all the sugary chews and gels. I think nutrition is going to make or break Leadville for me so I've been focused a little more on what I'm eating when I'm riding. Peanut butter and bananas wrapped in a corn tortilla seem to be the forerunner right now. 

I did that ride July 26 and was happy that I didn't have July 31st off to go ride up at Leadville. I was really anxious about that day and wasn't sure how to approach it, it is just a day and the really bad day already happened but still it was looming. The Monday before I went back to Leadville to ride the first 20 or so miles from the bottom of St. Kevin's down Powerline and then loop around to my car. That ride went pretty well, I got a little nervous when I was on the top of Powerline when it started lightning and thundering, that's just what I need to get struck. Luckily I was beginning the descent so put my rain jacket on and the cloud just sat at top there so I wasn't in the rain very long. Tuesday I did a recovery ride and then it was here, Wednesday July 31st. It's a weird day, do I celebrate it because the crash wasn't as bad as it could have been and I'm still alive? How do I acknowledge that it was a significant turning point in my life without dwelling on it? My initial thought was to stay in bed all day just to be safe but was on the schedule to work at 8. CU Cycling puts on a short track series in the summer which I've been doing when it works out with my schedule. It did that day. I thought about not doing it, just not riding my bike at all because why risk crashing. But it's more about the date than the actual day itself. I stared the race, which is only 20 minutes at Valmont which equates to anywhere from 3-6 laps depending on the route. A lot is dependent on the start and your position there. I started out and got into 8th place. I'm still not super aggressive passing on the single track like I need to be and when there was an opening I jumped at it. I moved into 5th but went into a corner a little to hot and immediately after that the trail splits into two. I didn't commit to one direction in time and ended up having my real wheel go down. I went down and got passed by all the people I had just passed then 

Wayne came to watch me! (and ride his bike)

some. I scampered back up and took off, two options came to my mind. A.) Feel sorry for myself that I had crashed on the day that I didn't want to crash and ride the rest of the race casual B.) Don't feel sorry for myself and just ride your bike. After a brief moment of pondering I went for it, mainly just to pass the people that had just passed me. I fought back to the front and was in 3rd when the girl in front of me crashed and I was so close behind her that I double checked to make sure she was okay when we both got passed by the lady in 4th. I took off to catch her but then the rest of the course didn't warrant a good place to pass and the sprint to the finish was only about 15 yards and I wasn't able to get her. I was actually more happy about the fact that I crashed, didn't end up in the hospital and was able to keep riding. Put that one in the win column.

My final training ride up at Leadville happened last Friday. I rode the last 20 miles of the route so now have ridden every part of the course multiple times. I was nervous about going up there for "one last training ride" because last year those became famous last words. Before I left the guy I'm dating just told me to "stay calm, stay focused" he also told me that I know how to mountain bike in case I forgot that little tidbit. The ride was good, I went the opposite way that I did on Monday. I rode without a camelbak but when I went to take my first drink of water realized there was a crack in the bottle, I drank more cautiously but was glad I was only going to be out for 2 hours at that point. I managed to finish with no spectacular crashes or really any eventful things happening.

All that is left to do now is get to the starting line.

The Silver Rush 50...Strike it Rich in Boomtown!

"Hey Dad, where does this thing start?"

One of us had a doughnut for breakfast 

The Silver Rush 50 started at 9 and I left the coffee shop about 8:25. I had thought the night before about maybe trying to get to the race earlier but then realized that I didn't want to stand around for 30 minutes with people who would tell me how much training they've done so stopped for coffee instead. One thing I did not calculate though was where the race started. I just knew that the town wasn't that big and it went in the opposite direction of the 100 so it shouldn't be that hard. Luckily my dad had woken up before me (I stayed in Leadville) drove up from Denver and still beat me there. Which was good because he could give me directions. 

I ended up being ready and headed for the start at about 8:47 and this was with a lot of dawdling. I left my dad at the top of the hill and headed to the bottom. I snuck into the side between a parked car and a trailer so was actually only about 2 rows back from the front. 8:52, really?!?! Maybe I should warm up, right, that's what people do at these things. I left my bike and jogged over to the side and then did a few sprints half way up the hill. Ah, that's good enough I got 50 miles to warm up. The race begins with a mass start up a hill that people sprint up (carrying their bikes) and then start riding. The guy I've been dating (like how I tried to sneak that one in, yah so did my parents and brother) is pretty well

versed in all things bikes and racing so he told me to wait to get on, to keep walking even when others start to mount up. It's just a casual training ride with 800 other people, think of it this way, if you crash someone is going to know what happened. Then the gun went off, and I mean gun like in shotgun...welcome to Boom Town! I got to the top, said hi to my dad and kept walking. The guy I'm seeing was right most people had to dismount again because of the giant cluster it became. I just cruised passed them and then mounted up. Mentally I had been preparing for the first 10 miles to have an insane amount of climbing. I was delighted to find that it was a climb but nothing like what I had envisioned. I ducked behind another girl and followed her up for most of it. I thought about passing her a few times but the pace was pretty comfortable and I wanted to ride conservatively for the most part. At the 10 mile mark you turn onto a gravel rode and start descending. That pulls you into the first aid station which is littered with people starting about a mile out. The nice thing about being a girl is that there aren't too many of us so people would get excited when they saw me and  cheer, "GO Lady!," "Hey! That's a girl! Go Girl!" or my all time favorite, "You Go Girl!" I didn't stop at the station because I had quiet a bit of resources left and didn't want to kill my momentum.You descend down some more and then start a climb back up to 12,000 feet. It's a nice little climb up with breath taking views and plenty of guys peeing on the side of the trail to interrupt those views (guess that's one advantage for them) and then you descend again. This descent reminded me a lot of Powerline (in the 100), with how rutted out it was in some places and how you really had to be careful to watch the lines you were taking and what the person in front of you was doing. It only lasted about 2 miles though. It was here that I saw the first place guy going back up. Holy hotness batman, that put them about 8 miles in front of me. I was about 2 miles out from the turn around and started to see massive amount of people when IT happened. I was funneling into a double track section (off of a fire road) when I hear the most disturbing noise. Brakes? Nope, they're still working. Uh, someone else's bike (please)? Nope. Shit! It's my tire. It was losing air and fast. I must have punctured it somehow. Since I was running tubeless I got off and checked it over, somehow I had the smallest hole ever in the rear tire. I spun it around hoping to have the sealant take. Maybe, it stopped making noise so I hopped back on to continue riding. Ha, good joke, it didn't take. There are enough guys around, do I unzip my jersey now?!? I thought about it but then flipped my bike over took the wheel off completely and spun it some more, threw up a Hail Mary and shot some air into it. It seemed to take. Just get to the aid station they probably have a pump to check it with. The tire held and got me the next two miles. I rolled into the aid station just under the 3 hour mark, a little faster than I thought I was going to be. I asked for a pump and filled my water and took some bananas. Sent off a quick text to my dad to tell him I was half way and then went to the bathroom because I can't exactly pull off to the side of the trail. They didn't have a pump. Okay just ride it until you have to change it. I did ride pretty conservatively though, almost like riding on egg shells because I didn't want to have to change it. Fortunately the section that was pretty gnarly to get down was even worse to get up. It was one of those if you could

Oh yah....

ride it the people in front of you couldn't and didn't realize you were behind them in time to move out so then you had to pull off and start walking and there was never really a good section to start up again, so I kept walking. I was in a line of guys and thought about suggesting playing the one sentence game but everyone seemed to be breathing heavy. Don't these guys know the ride is at 10,000 feet? Why are they not sleeping in oxygen chambers? So I stayed mum. It took a good while to get to the top, so much so that I was worried I wouldn't make the 8 hour cut off. At the top I put some more air in my tire and then started the descent down. Which was pretty uneventful but anytime I would see someone watching I would ask, "Um, excuse me do you have pump?" and was past them before I could warrant a response.

There are two poems that I have for some reason or another carried with me through out my life: The Highwayman and The Little Orphan Annie. The first was one that my grandmother would to recite to me often when I was child and the latter I had to memorize in the 5th

grade (Thanks Mrs. Stokes!). The only time I really seem to feel the need to recite them though is when I'm riding my bike, specifically when I'm climbing. It helps to have the rhythm of the poem to get into a flow, I'm not fast but when you get into a harmony, two verses seated one verse standing it can be almost mosaic. I do add some of my own endings to the verses. For instance "And the highwayman came riding- riding-riding, just keep riding-riding-riding" or "and the goblins will get you if you don't keep climbing" which can also be switched out for drinking to help stay hydrated. Switching back between the two got me through the climb, it's not super steep but rather tedious. At mile 37 you begin your final descent, there are still some uphills but it's nothing like before. 

At this point most of the other riders thinned out and I didn't see anyone in front or behind me, huh, guess everyone finished already. It started sprinkling which was a nice change of pace, especially because it created some nice puddles to work on splashing through. I kept riding and pushing and figured out that maybe, just maybe I could break 6 hours, if I kept this pace and didn't have any major hiccups. I dashed through a creek bed and somehow in the process kicked up a rock and slammed it directly into my great toe. Son-of-a-gun, welp there goes another toenail...

In the last two miles there is a short hill that as I was approaching I saw most people walking up. If I can just keep riding until it becomes too steep or slippery that will help. I passed a girl at the bottom and rode up until I was forced off by someone in front of me. At this point I was in race mode and kept scampering up to not get passed again by that girl. I ran until it was flat enough I could stop and get back on my bike (because that whole cross mount thing still isn't happening). I came around the corner and saw one guy who had snapped his chain and was having to walk his bike in, "Hail Mary, Full of grace....please let me make it, on my bike." I was nervous about the finish because me and hills don't really get along, if you haven't caught on, especially after 50 miles. Instead of heading directly down they loop you around, it's certainly a nice way to finish. I crossed the finish line at the 5:55 mark they announced my name and that I was second in my age group, which it's probably easy for them to keep track of the women riders a little more so than the men. Holy Cow! That's 1:05 faster than I was hoping to be. 

I called my dad to see where he and Mary were. "We're just coming into Leadville."
"Oh, I'm done, sorry I was faster than I thought I'd be."
"You're done?!?"
They came and met me at the finish. I wanted to stick around for the awards just to see if I had actually gotten second and if there were more than two of us in the age group. Because I was done earlier than I thought I would be we went and grabbed some food and then came back for more waiting and hanging out. The people coming in at the 8 hour mark

looked miserable. Apparently the heavens had opened up and unleashed massive amounts on water on them. I told Mary she was lucky that didn't happen to me otherwise they would have had to come get me as I tend to be a fair-weather rider. Fortunately for my age group and gender the results are pretty close to the front. Good news, there were more than two of us in the age group, and I did get second. The girl who beat me looked fast and I remember seeing her at the turn around point as I was recomposing myself after the tire explosion. The 50 is a qualifier and both the winner and I were offered spots in the 100. We were both already in. They they told us we could defer to 2014, which we both politely declined. Third place took the qualifying spot, so at least there will be three of us in my age group. I had thought before what I would do if I got a spot and thought about deferring but realized I should probably make it through one before I get too ahead of myself. 

As we were walking back to the car I was going to ride my bike up and meet my dad and Mary there. I had told my dad earlier how the guy I'm seeing is trying to teach me how to mount my bike in a coordinated, flexible, smooth, seamless fashion (It's more like he does it and I just watch) . I attempted to do a cross mount to get on and over shot my bike seat and hucked myself all the way to the otherside of my bike, taking it down with me. Fortunately my dad was there to catch me and I only ended up with a small gash in my calf and some bruising. My dad mentioned that I might need to work on that. Luckily I have a bit of time before the 100. 

My finish in the 50 did help to put to ease some of the nerves I had for the 100 and just seeing if I would be able to handle that environment. The girl that beat me did so by 4 minutes, which I told some guys at the shop that and they  said, "so you paid all that money to get second." I ended up 10th overall for females. It helps to at least think I did something right with my training.  As my friend told me tonight, in case I didn't realize I'm no longer in the building phase but my peaking phase. 

This one's for the fridge!

Feel the Rhythm....

"Maybe you should eat something." 

Maybe you should not tell me what to do. 

"Okay" at that point with nothing else to do except humbly accept that I was bonking, I ate the food. I was riding with two friends at Kenosha Pass last Saturday. The day started off with me planning on eating oatmeal and somehow in the process completely forgot that I had forgotten to eat (thanks brain) which once you have to play catch up it's hard. One of my friends I was riding with is typically on the podium when she races so working to keep up with her I was depleting more sources than I'm used to. The other guy I was riding with stopped to eat so I took some in too but it was too late. Once you hit that level of bonking there isn't really much you can do to get back. I had never bonked that bad and I was happy I was riding with people but at the same time riding by myself I'm not sure I would have gone that far off either. Either way it was good to realize the stages and have

Make sure to eat! 

the worst ride ever a.) with people and b.) before Leadville. Normally when I ride by myself I only get to two levels of bonking the first is agitation, where I'm annoyed with the littlest things, headphone cord gets caught on my camelbak "this is the worst thing ever!" and the next level is when I start incorporating profanities into my riding, making me sound like Frank. Usually I can get back from those, but this one there was no coming back from. It's hard to explain how dark of a place it can be when you're not there. Especially because it was an awesome ride on an amazing trail and here I was cursing the fact that I was out there. I kept quoting Cool Runnings "Feel the rhythm, feel the ride" that worked for about 2 seconds then my body would be like "Nope!" Everything was miserable, there was no rhythm, no getting into a flow, even descending everything felt chopping and loose. So much so that I almost started crying, 3 times. I've never been so happy to see paved roads. Once we got back to the car I was completely fine and it was like the bonk never even happened. It was a good learning lesson but it made me nervous because I was planning on doing a ride on Tuesday up at Leadville and didn't want to be that miserable again. 

Luckily everything I did wrong on Saturday I seemed to do right on Tuesday. I ate breakfast before I left Boulder and then ate another snack when I got to Leadville. I ate and drank by the clock the entire time and felt really well. I wanted to do 40 miles but ended up doing 45 total. I started at mile 40 and back tracked 10 miles and then back again and then past for another 10. It was smooth and fluid and I didn't have to spend multiple breaks trying to figure out where to go because they marked the trail. I think they probably just got tired of me calling and asking for directions even with my big map. It was the same route that I did

Was that so hard? 

the day I crashed but a little more mileage. I did forget how long of a climb Columbine was,  and when I was climbing up, only about a mile from the top ran into a guy walking his bike down. I asked if he was okay, and he needed another tube because he had cut the side wall of his tire and couldn't get any patches to stick because of the sealant inside and popped his tube. I pulled off my camelbak and a honeystinger wrapper that I had saved and put the wrapper in the tire to seal off the side wall puncture and then took my extra tube out which would have ended great if it was the right tube size. It was the wrong tube size even for my bike. No, I don't work at a bike shop.... Sometimes I think about how desperate people must be if they let me help them. Luckily we were able to make it stretch and at least send him on his way. I didn't see him on my way back so I'm assuming he made it.... The ride went really well, I average 10.1 mph, which if I can maintain that for Leadville I will be beyond stoked. 

I've started my last training block leading up to the 100 miles and part of that is incorporating the 50 mile race. Which is tomorrow. The route is completely different from the 100 and has 7500 feet of climbing. I'm trying to not focus on the fact that it's a race and look more at it as a training ride. I'm a little nervous though, especially about my stomach even at low altitude sometimes I have problems so we'll see how it goes. But I have plenty of GUs, bars and bananas. I did switch out my wheels finally and took off 1.4 pounds off my bike, which is awesome. The guy who worked on my bike was astonished that I would even consider running my tire pressure about 30psi- he's usually right around 23. Clearly I shouldn't tell boys that to get a date. I did ask the guy who worked on my bike what to do if I run into a mechanical issue that I don't know how to fix, he told me, "You're a girl, flirt, hard."

Be my boyfriend? I bet he has corndogs! 

I'm expecting the start tomorrow to be entertaining. You start and run up this hill and then get on your bike and ride. With being uncoordinated and not exactly flexible I'm just hoping to make it on to my bike at some point. If you're in the area and need some comic relief it starts at 9! 

When I'm done tomorrow I will be one happy camper! 

Waging a War

We should just skip riding the Big Mick and go ride trails. The night before the Big Mick, Wayne and I met some friends to ride some trails in The Hills. I've ridden a couple before but was most pleasantly surprised by how amazing they were. Enough to make me want to make the trip to see my parents more often! It's actually pretty incredible and exciting how much mountain biking seems to be developing in the hills. 

Wayne I got to Lead pretty late because we did the ride, everyone in my room was already in bed so no one was willing to help me contemplate which shoes to wear on the ride (it's rough being a girl). I might have woken them up, but they said they would gladly pay me back in the morning when they woke up at 4:30 to start riding. For some reason I have a problem anytime I have to set an alarm with a 4 in it, banking on that I would be able to ride fast, Wayne and I decided to set out closer to 8. Which was a great plan, until we showed up at the start to learn that the Sag Wagon that was taking all the drop bags had already left. Womp womp. Luckily I could consolidate my camelbak, and overnight bag into my gear bag and ride that way. It definitely made me regret packing 2 pairs of shoes.... 

It took me a while to get into a groove especially focusing on the thought that I was going to be on my bike all day. Then I stopped and started focusing on the fact that I'd get to eat Dew Drop when I was done. That helped. Wayne and I

He loves it when I take his picture 

went back and forth pulling and cruised into the first aid station and thankfully found a car headed to Edgemont and unloaded our bags. We probably should have gotten their names but our bags showed up at the end so it worked out. Breakfast was wrapping up so I mainly just stuck to eating watermelon and pineapple. There is so much food on this ride that you really have to watch it or else it's really easy to over eat. It's like the Rag Ride in Iowa, except with food instead of booze. 

Wayne and I made bets on where we would meet up with the rest of the crew and I thought it would be closer to the lunch station but he thought it would be before. I like the section of the trail that goes between Rochford and Hill City, it's tucked away from a lot of roads and you go through 3 tunnels which we also talked about how funny it would be to wait and scare someone but sinceeveryone we knew was in front of us we kept going. We caught up with Molly, Barb, Eric, Laura and Jessie at the aid station in Hill City. I ate some more oranges and then Wayne decided to hang back with them and I took off. It's only about 15 miles between that one and the lunch one but has a nice little climb in it. Nothing too steep just gradual and steady. The lunch station is about 54 miles into the ride and I was just under 4 hours in ride time. Perfect. I saw Abe here and seeing the line for lunch food and the bathroom decided to keep going. Especially because the next aid station is always the best. 

Between lunch and the next aid station always seems to be the hardest for me. I can only relate it to being a sophomore, where the new has worn off and you're just stuck but can't get out of there fast enough. The trail is more exposed and you start to creep into more of the prairie and the wind can be pretty nasty. I just kept pushing and it helped that there was always someone in front of me to focus on and work on catching. I cruised into Denise's aid station and once again was not disappointed in the slightest bit. So many delectable treats! The rest of the group was here so talked to them while I ate some peanut m&ms. Did I say some? I meant too many. You know that feeling when you don't feel full and then all of a sudden you do. I hit that point pretty fast. Welp, nothing to do but keep riding I suppose and hopefully I don't cramp. Those little buggers just sat in my stomach like brick. For those of you who have caught onto the fact that my stomach isn't made out of any robust material, but more like Chantilly lace. I'm guessing you know what happens next. With about 20 miles left I threw up on the trail. What's most impressive is that I didn't even stop riding, and I'm pretty amazed that I didn't crash. Once that was gone I felt immensely better and was able to keep pushing. The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, no snakes, no more puke, no mechanical issues. I got to the 100 mile mark at 6:57, which I was hoping to be under 7 hours. Unfortunately not realizing the course was 109 miles I still had a ways to go. I finished right at 7:38 and only had Mary there to meet me, it helped that she was driving the course and not riding. After refilling my water and joking around with her for a bit decided there wasn't much else to do but keep riding.

Everyone made it!

I began doubling back, which was great because A.) everyone I passed going in thought I was a huge bad ass because they thought I was going back up to Lead and B.) I could tell everyone they were going the wrong way. I passed everyone in the group again and when I reached Molly, Eric, Laura and Jessie turned around to go back to Edgemont with them. It was nice getting some added miles in, while being able to catch up and talk to those guys. 

One day Mary will ride a bike.

That night I made my family go to Dew Drop, not so much made them but told them that's where I was eating and they could join if they wanted to, which why anyone would say no I'm not sure. I placed my order and since Mary was meeting us there I added her order into mine. My mom went after me and informed the waitress that "it's okay, she biked 140 miles today." Then asked me what Mary wanted, I informed her I ordered for her too, "Oh! I thought all that food was for you!" 

I finished the day with 140 miles and about 3600 feet of climbing. I laid in bed later that night and thought about how my body felt like it had been through a war. I realized that I'm waging a war with Leadville and every day I train I'm preparing my body for the battle.

This past week I did my first training ride at Leadville with 36 miles and 3800 feet of climbing. I'm also signing up for the Leadville 50 which is 50 miles and about 7,000 feet of climbing. It's going to be awesome. 

I hope they have corn dogs in Leadville!

Living Colorfully

"So, uh, the guys say you might have crashed on your ride yesterday...."
"Might of? Oh no, I definitely, definitely did." Good news is that I remember it. It was the first crash since the big crash where it was more than me just falling over and getting a bruise. It was my first time on that particular trail and I might have gotten a little a head of myself. It starts with about an hour climb up to the top, which because of this the trial is never super crowded. At the top you loop back and around and get sling shotted back on to part of the trail you climbed up. Descending was incredible, we started on swooping, fast, smooth, morning cup of coffee trail then it connects into a section that is a little more

Time to restock...

rough with sharper turns and bigger drops. I had cleared everything and was about to hit the last drop before you cross a creek climb up a bit and then are essentially done. I had a little too much speed and wasn't far enough back so I essentially hucked myself and my bike off, but forgot to roll. My shoulder took the brunt of it followed by my hip, knee and lastly my head. My head was more of a slide across the trail and not a full contact. It still made me nervous so I crawled off to the side of the trail and just sat there. I told one of the guys I was riding with, "I just need a minute, I'm sure I'm fine I just want to make sure my head is still normal." He picked up my bike and started making sure it wasn't damaged. The other two guys I was with came up behind and one mentioned it was a good thing I crashed otherwise he probably would of. I guess I'm just good at taking one for the team. I took the rest of the trail pretty easy, just hiking up to the top and riding a little more slowly than was probably necessary. One of the guys asked me if my head was okay. I replied, "Well I know my name and what year it is so that's a good sign." I did dent my helmet, nothing bad but the integrity has been compromised and figured it's not worth risking. Plus I did have another helmet for riding my Superfly so that's been pulling double duty lately. My dad called early the next morning so I mentioned something to him but didn't tell my mom right away because wanted to figure out if A.) I was completely fine (which I am) or B.) would need to go to the doctor before I took years off her life. Someone in the mumble jumble between my parents it got lost in translation and my mom ended up thinking I went to the ER after the crash which probably took more years off her life than if I had told her from the start. 

Stopping to smell the flowers...

I did a long ride on my Superfly the other day about 30 miles round trip and all on single track which was awesome. Unfortunately about 5 miles into it I stopped and ended up chatting with this guy for a good 25 minutes about Leadville and a world of other things and apparently was so engrossed in the conversation that I forgot to shut my garmin off, completely killing my average speed for the ride. Such is life. It was a nice training ride and hadn't had any hiccups until I was about 50ft from the initial parking lot coming back in

Done. 

when I almost ran over a snake that had slithered onto the trail. I screamed and then realized how silly that was because no one could hear me. I was giggling about it when I reached the parking lot and a guy there said, "looks like you had some fun up on the trail." 

The next morning I did a road ride with one of the guys from the shop. Every time I tell him about a snake I see on the ride he asks me why I don't bring it into the shop. When we were leaving we were talking about the snake incident that I had on the ride the night before, he informed me that he has rarely seen a snake on a road ride and not often on a mountain ride. We ended up running into three during the ride. Each time it went about the same way, he would inform me there was a snake up ahead and I would drop back behind him and to the outside and say, "oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness...." until we passed it. At the end he told me he thought I was the one attracting the snakes. Now people at the shop call me snake lady. 

I did a long ride on my road bike early last week. It ended up being about 50 miles over 4 hours with lots of climbing thrown in. I started out thinking I was going to go one route and then ended up missing a turn and ended up in a completely different direction than I had intended. The thought had occurred to me to turn around and get a little less mileage but to know where I was but for some reason I kept going. Lucky I did, I ended up in the town about 18 miles outside of Boulder after getting there in the most round about way and

realizing it was Monday. Most people don't know but the Carousel of Happiness is open all day on Monday's, other than that its hit or miss if it is actually open. The carousel is one of my favorite places, this man hand carved all these wondrous figurines that make up the carousel and then just put it in this town for people to enjoy. I realized that with most of my trajectory in life I may not have gone where I intended but I think I ended up where I needed to be. 

I did the Big Mick this past weekend but have been pretty bad about posting so wanted to get this one up. It won't be as long between my postings again, mainly so my parents know I'm staying out of the ER. 

Final thoughts.

Do More of What You Love

Huh, I'm a lot closer to this live buffalo than I was the dead snake. I realized that the way my body processes fear isn't always conducive to remaining alive and fully intact. Luckily the buffalo I ran into on my ride seemed to be fairly humanized and realized as my grandmother would say, "I'm not worth the effort."

He could definitely do a number on me

The snake I ran into though did warrant quite a fearful response. It might have been the biggest one I have ever seen while riding. Fortunately I was forewarned otherwise my shorts probably would have been wet and my bike might have been left on the trail as I ran away. The guy was riding up as I was going down, "There is a big ass snake in the middle of the trail, it's dead, really dead. I smashed it with a rock so it's definitely dead." Clearly his adrenaline was still pumping as he informed me the death status quite a few times. "Oh man, thanks for telling me, I'm deathly afraid of snakes so I probably would have peed my pants." I had just passed a point where you can hop on the road and ride back to the parking lot, which was less than a mile away. I decided to do that and not even mess with the snake so turned around and started hiking back up. Then a little voice inside my head starting talking, telling me that it was dumb to be afraid of something that is dead and not going to hurt you. I turned around to take a small step in facing my fears, it's dead, so a good place to start. I slowly began edging my way towards it, contemplating if I should climb up off the trail around it or go below it. If I went above I would be looking down on it, but if I went below it I might miscalculate and pop up right by it. I could run right by it on the trail, but there was a rock close by that I might accidentally stop on and my shoe could fall off and directly onto the snake...   

My roommate asked why I was so far away..

I kept crawling towards it when I heard some voices coming up behind me on the trail. Two men appeared and I told them there was a huge dead snake on the trail. One of the guys was as much of a girl about it as I was. The other guy got off his bike, walked over and yelled, "yep, it's definitely dead, its guts are all over the place, that rock really did a number." Then as the two of us squealed the guy picked it up and threw it off the trail into the bushes. Who knew my knight in shining armor would wear lycra. 

That was my second ride on my Remedy, both which happened at Hall Ranch. The first time I went with a guy who is an extremely skilled rider and luckily for me also very patient. Even though I had ridden the trail on my Supefly, having the Remedy was a whole different ball game. He was nice enough to help me work different lines and would wait while I tried sections again. The ride was completely awesome. The bike is outrageously fun to ride, all the time. The second time I rode it I had spent 5 hours prior getting dental work done, and still had a fantastic time. I had cracked a tooth while eating a jolly rancher for lunch and postponed getting it fixed because a.) it didnt' hurt and b.) I didn't want to give up ride time. Then about a week later I was eating a rice cake and the whole chunk fell off which

My remedy brings all the boys to the yard

sent me into quite the tizzy-fit. I knew I should have taken care of it sooner, obviously, but when it broke off I was pretty distraught. I'm rather fastidious when it comes to my oral health, once when I was 8 I had to go home from a slumberparty because someone started talking about gingivitis. I was able to make an appointment extremely early in the morning though so I still had lots of time afterwards to ride. My mouth was pretty tired and sore but it was still hard not to smile. 

I've still been doing rides on my road bike and Superfly. I took my road bike home this past weekend when I was up for Mary Clair's graduation. I always forget how much I love riding in the hills; the twisty roads, the one-lane bridges, the majestic scenery and the little traffic makes you really able to get away from it all. I ended up doing 50 miles without really planning it or consciously realizing how far I had gone until I had gotten home. 

In Boulder I'm still in awe of how many untapped trails and roads I've never been on even with living here for a year before. I rode Betasso the other day, a trail system almost in

This is what I've been missing?!?!

Boulder that I never once rode while I was living here. Wayne and I almost went once but then his seat fell off so we turned around. I had decided to finally ride it by myself and see what it was all about when I did the first section and a friend texted me to tell me he was on his way there and to see if I wanted to ride. It made me realize that you shouldn't wait for others, go where you want to go and the people who want to be there will meet you there.