Total Bummer

One of my favorite rides is in AF Canyon.  I have written about this particular trail before, and  I absolutely love it.  I have ridden other trails, but always have an aching to ride this trail.  Today I got to go ride the trail with Jolene.  We were very excited, because Jolene had heard from Steve the trail was in great condition, and we did not want to miss this great opportunity.

The gate in AF Canyon is closed, so we parked at Pine Hollow.  Our choice was to go up the road to Timpanooke or up Pine Hollow Trail.  We have never gone up Pine Hollow so we choose this route.  The first part of Pine Hollow is not so bad, but after the first little bit it then goes up and up and up, and not a little easy up the loose rock, over rocks and roots up.  I loved going up this way, it was hard, but better than going up the road.
A glimpse of Pine Hollow, however it doesn't do it justice.

As we went along the trail we discovered the trail was quit muddy in spots, luckily it was only spots, but there were times my tires were covered in mud.  The further up the trail twe went the cooler it seemed to get, by the time we got to the first overlook it was time to put on our jackets.  As we did so Jolene noticed the snow on the back side of the mountain.  I could not believe how much snow there was.

I would like to say the  rest of the ride went well, and for the most part it did except for the downhill part going towards four corners.  On the downhill I was having a blast, I came around a turn and realized I was heading right for this big bush/tree.  There wasn't much to do except go into the bush.  I fully expected to over and into the bush and down the hill, but instead there was a really big branch that caused me to richet off to the left backwards onto the trail and onto a very big rock.  And yes I hit my tail bone right on the rock!

Now after most of my crashes I usually get right up.  After this crash I felt a shock go up my spine, and I just stayed laying on the trail.  As I was laying there I was hoping the next rider would see me and not run me over, and he did.  Tim helped to get my bike off me, and then Jolene arrived.  I just stayed on the trail in the fetal postion waiting for the moment I could start to move again.  I don't know how long I was there, but it felt forever before I was able to get up.

Once I was up we took off.  After a time I eventually forgot about the pain in my back side and lost myself in the joy of riding the trail.  On our ride around the loop we decided to take Salamander Flats back instead of Pine Hollow, which made for a phenominal ride.

By the time we got to Timpanooke parking lot the sun was dipping and we needed to put on the remainder of our warm clothes.  Luckily the ride to Pine Hollow parking lot is only a little over mile, so we did not get too cold--just cold enough to want to jump into the car and get warm.  It was as I jumped into the car I was given a cruel reminder of my crash.  And much to my shock I discovered my left butt check was swollen and hurt in the I don't want to sit down way.  However, as I write this I am sitting--on an ice pack!
Jolene coming down the hill .

Moab Part Duex

I thought I would be ready to write the next day after my blog, but I have been very sleepy all week long.  I think I need a full day of nothing but sleep.  Next year I am taking Monday off after the race so I can sleep all day long.

Lap 3
Lap 3 began for me shortly after I finished lap 2.  I went back to camp after my second lap and immediately ate a banana and a bagel.  I then tucked Mandy in for the night, visited with the others, and went to bed for a couple of hours.  Around 3 to 3:30 am I woke up to eat and get ready for my last and final lap.  I tried to eat the wonderful soup Abby had made for us, but I couldn't my body refused to take in any food.  I knew I needed food to do my next lap, but every time I swallowed I would gag.  For the next two hours while I waited for Jen to come in and for me to go out I sat in my chair feeling sickish.  Eventually I started to dry heave, now mind you there was food in my stomach, but I was doing my best to not let it come up.  I finally gave up on the eating idea, and decided whatever happened on my next lap would happen, and went down to the tent to wait for Jen to come in.

As I waited for Jen I visited with other racers to keep my mind off not feeling so good.  We shared stories and talked about how fun it would be to do the dawn ride.  This was the lap where the sun comes up.  I am not sure what time Jen came in, but we exchanged the baton, swiped our cards and I went to my bike.  I was crossing my fingers that as I rode I would feel better and the sickish feeling would leave.

This lap was much quieter than my first night lap.  People were now in their tents sleeping and if they were out by the campfires, they were quietly eating, drinking and visiting with other members of the camp.  You could see the toll of the long night beginning to take affect on not just the racers, but the spectators too.

As I rode I felt very sluggish.  My body was in a bit of a revolt and did not want to go.  I think it did not understand why I had been up riding my bike so much.  Mentally I was half and half up for it.  I wanted to ride, but the physical part made it so I did not want to ride hard, so I didn't.  Instead I rode with the goal in mind to complete the race.  I was also very determined to keep up in good spirits.  My laps prior I had talked and cheered everyone on as I rode by them, or as they rode by me.  This lap I did the same thing.  Funny thing, this lap others joined me in conversation.  On previous laps it was quick "good job", "having fun", or something like that.  This time people actually talked--at least those who were close to me.  I think they were feeling the fatigue and their goal also was to finish the lap. 

So I rode, but not very fast.  As I rode the sickish feeling I was having began to diminish.  This probably comes to as no surprise to those who have ridden with me.  Usually when I ride the sickish feeling diminishes--at least while I am riding.  With the sickish feeling leaving my legs picked up a little more speed, but I would say not a substantial amount.  Then it happened somwhere near the top of the first hill I noticed I could see the trail.  I could see the brush, the trees and some of the rocks.  It was still dusky, but light was beginning to show.  This was a good sign, because soon I would be able to see far down the trail.  As luck would have it by the time I reached the first triple xxx I could see the trail without any light.

Being able to see the trail was a good thing, but it did not take away my fatigue.  I was so tired that I was worried about riding the triple xxx's and making it down safely.  It took all of the energy I had to ride down those hills and keep my bike upright on the trail.  Now of course I could have walked the down hills, and I considered doing this, but I decided the only way I would walk them is if I crashed. 

I am amazed at how I ended up down some of the hills.  I would ride down take my line, and hope everything turned out okay, and lucky for me it did, and by lucky I do mean lucky.  There was one triple xxx I took and when I was done I was amazed I made it down all of the rocks without going over my handle bars.  They were huge, and I had not taken the best line.  Thank goodness I was too afraid, for once, to use my brakes and just let my bike roll.

I was very happy after I had finished the last triple xxx before prostitute bluff, and as I rode out towards prostitute something amazing happened, the sun came up.  I do not think I have been so happy to see the sun as I was at that moment.  I was so happy I wanted to cry tears of joy at seeing the sun.  It was as if a whole new day was about to begin, and for me it did.  At this point I began to pick up the pace in my riding and actually started riding fast again--I felt wonderful.

From this point forward the ride got better and my strength returned.  I rode and felt good.  I still was not riding as fast as I could which I am sure Tim could attest to as he rode by me on the final up hill climb.  He went by and it almost looked like I was standing still, but that's okay, because I was finally riding with strength, was passing people and was having a great time.  I was able to take the final two triple xxx's with confidence and speed.

When I hit the final down I let everything go and flew down the double track.  I rode past others, and skimmed through the sand.  I was having a blast.  And then it happened, I hit the final sand pit and for some reason this time I did not ride through, instead I ended up flying off my bike and face down in the dirt.  Thank goodness sand is soft.  The guy in front of me asked if I was okay, and I let him know I was doing great.  His reply "your being too cheerful, and I am grumpy".  Mine "the sun is out and it is a great day".  He laughed and we rode on.  As I rode past camp I hollered good morning to everyone, and then came into the tent to switch off with Dorothy.  Told everyone good morning and headed back to camp.  I was so happy, the sun was out and I had finished my last lap!  I had done it!

I went back to camp, to eat, and of course still could not get any food down.  Oh well, I was done and I knew eventually I would be able to eat again.  Our team took 2nd place.  The team that beat us, was dang fast.  They had lap times that beat several pro-women.  I believe they ended up being the first place women's team out of all of the women's teams.  What is so impressive about this is all of them range in age from 44 on up.  This gives me hope that I can get stronger and faster as I get older--at least I am sure going to try.

After the Race
I didn't stay for awards since I was so tired and still had to drive home, but Jen picked up our medals, and apparently we also got some type of cool sports drink too.  When I arrived home I was exhausted and my legs were so swollen I could barley bend them.  I tried to put both of my hands around my calf and the thumbs were 5 inches apart.  I should have measured them, but I was too tired to care. It took 3 days for the swelling to go completely down.  I also gained 7.5 pounds from the race.  Which I have almost lost--it seems my body loves to retain water.  It was not until Wednesday that I was finally hungry again, and boy was I hungry.  I ended up eating a Wendy's bacon cheeseburger and fries, boy did it taste good.

Would I do this race again, you bet.  I am hoping to go again next year, and this time I hope I can get in 4 laps instead of just 3.

24 Hours of Moab

Mad Dog #3/The Great Dames

There was a lot of anticipation for this race, for an entire week all I could think about was the race and how great it was going to be.  By the time Friday came I could hardly contain myself I was so excited.  We left early Friday to pre-ride the course and help set up some of the camp.  We had a fabulous camp set up.  Scott's wife Abby cooked fabulous meals for us, that kept us going for each lap.  We had a place to eat and stay warm in between laps, we had a tent to change in (my contribution) and a trailer to sleep/rest in when we were not racing (Dorothy's contribution).  Best of all we got to hang out with other Mad Dog team mates, and some from other teams that had joined us, and listen to their stories about their race laps. Oh, and get lots of good advice on how to ride the course.

Pre-Ride
Jen took me to pre-ride the course, thank goodness.  Thanks to her all I had to do was follow, she showed me the lines to take and I rode them.  If it hadn't been for her it probably would have taken a while to figure out what would be the right line.  The first of the course is single track on sand and then some climbing on rocks.  Nothing big just a lot of medium size rocks that look like a rock path going up a hill.  Sometimes you had to do little ups, but for the most part you just ride along somewhat bumpily.  Eventually you come to a part that takes you on huge sandy down hills.  This part scared me--sand and me have not had good experiences in the past, and I tend to crash a lot due to my lack of skills.  Jen felt pretty comfortable on this and was way ahead of me, so much so I never saw her go down.  Luckily there was a guy behind me coaching me how to take the berms.  He also kept telling me to stay off my brakes.  Easy for him to say, but I did not want to go too fast where I could not control my bike.  At the end of the berms is a downhill descent then a quick up a sand hill back on to some rocks.  As I was going down the hill the guy was telling me to go to my left, Jen told me to go to my right (she was waiting on the top of the sandhill), I ended up going in the center and flying over my handle bars into the soft sand.  I was pleasantly surprised, because it did not hurt.  I got back on my bike and off Jen and I went.

We continued on until we got to our first triple xxx--a triple xxx means dangerous, be careful.  Jen explained to me that all of the triple xxx's were best taken on the left.  We did this on the first triple xxx downhill, however when you go down sometimes you must immediately go up, and this was the case for this down.  As I went up I quickly began to shift down so I could keep up my momentum and get over the rocks.  As soon as I shifted my chain sucked right in between the chain ring and guard.  I pulled and manuvered the chain around, but could not get it out.  As luck would have it three guys came by and offered to help.  They were able to get the chain out, and then helped fix the shifting as best as they could--apparently when I endoed I bent my derailur hanger and it had to be fixed.  This meant my shifting was going to be off for the rest of the ride, and it was, my bike ghost shifted the rest of the course, but lucky for me it was nothing major and I was able to make it back to camp.

For the rest of the ride I made mental notes of where to ride and where to go.  There is one part of the course that is all smoothish rock at this part of the course I was worried about getting lost, but Jen told me to follow the white marks from the tires and I would be able to find my way.  I was just hoping there would be riders around I could follow and not have to worry about it.  The last part of the course is a wonderful fast double track that switches from hard ground, to sand.  It was here I got a lot of practice trying to float/surf on the sand.  It was also here I always had a blast.

After our pre-ride I had the team wrench, Brian, fix my bike--thank goodness for Brian, or I could have been stuck with yucky shifting all of the race.

The Start
The start of the race is a Lemans start.  I volunteered Jen for this--she is fast, a tri-athelte, and a dang good rider.  It only made sense for her to go first.  I hope she didn't mind too much.  The start of the race is hard to describe.  You see people running to you, you people dressed up, you see a huge cloud of dust and you see people eating dust.  It is an amazing start that should be experienced in person.

The start of the race with bikini/gladitor man out front.

Jen eating a lot of dust.

First Lap

I was the second leg of the race.  After Jen took off I went and got ready for my lap.  I quickly ate a sandwich, got dressed and then got a case of the nerves.  I know I probably shouldn't have been so nervous, but I was.  The first part of the course is sandy single track and I was worried how I would do.  There is a sand drop onto a mat, and a lot of people had endoed here taking the wrong line.  Thinking about this part of the course made me nervous.  Eventually it was time for me to meet Jen in the tent, so off I went.  Once I got to the tent my nerves calmed down some, and then I started to wait for her to come in.  Jen came in, handed off the baton, swiped her card, I swiped my card, and I was off.

The first part of the single track I hit into a rhythm not too fast, and not too slow.  Then I came to the sand drop.  I made it with out any problems!  This gave me the confidence I needed.  As I rode the trail my confidence in riding began to grow.  I was clearing the rock drops, making it up the hills and passing riders the entire time.  I felt good about how I was doing, and then the motorcycles showed up. 

For some reason a group of motorcycles decided they needed to ride all around while we were riding.  I don't know if they were there to be rude or out for fun, but it came across as rude.  They would ride and leave exhaust fumes in my face as they went by.  I coughed and choked and hoped they would disappear.  Then to make matters worse I was coming down a technical section and a rider went down and stopped right at the bottom where I needed to go.  I ended up yelling for him to move, but it was to late and I ended up off my bike having to walk.  I was so mad and wanted to give him a piece of my mind, but decided it was not worth it and instead told the camera man how mad I was.

The rest of the lap went well aside from the motorcycles being around up to mile 10.  I did not get lost on the rocks and I felt really good about clearing all of the rocks and down hills.  The best was the last where I just pounded the pedals and coasted through the sand.  It was so much fun I had to whoop and holler.

Lap 2

My second lap was a night ride.  This was the lap I was looking forward to.  I love riding in the dark and felt pretty confident that I would have a good lap.  A couple of hours before this lap I went out to eat some food to make sure I had enough fuel for my lap.  I was feeling a little sickish about eating, but as soon as I got the food in my body I felt good, and the sickish feeling went away.  I sat around and listened to all of the advice about how to spot the sand in the dark, and ride the trail, and then took off to the tent.  Once again Jen came in, passed the baton, swiped her card, I swiped my card and took off down the dark trail.  Riding in the dark was ominous there was no light other than the lights from our bikes, and since riders did not stay together there were many times I was riding by myself in the dark.

At 3.5 miles into my lap I heard a big blllrp and felt my tire quickly deflat.  I guess as I went over the rocks the tire rolled perfect and came unsealed.  Oh well I have changed a flat and know how to do this, so I took my rear tire off and went to work.  Well I discovered I did not have 2 tire levers, I only had one.  I got the tire off and put in the tube.  As I tried to pump it up a little bit I had some problems and realized the tube was all twisted up.  I took the tube out untwisted it and put it back in.  I then pumped it up just a little bit so I could put the tire back on the rim.  However, without a 2nd lever this was becoming almost impossible.  I tried and tried and turned down many offers of help.  Finally I gave up and asked the next rider if he had a tire lever.  As luck would have it he did and he helped me get the tire back on the rim.  It actually took both of us it was so hard.  I then used my cartridge to fill it up.  The first cartridge was not enough, so I grabbed the second cartridge, but for some reason as soon as I put it in the seal broke and I lost all of the air.  Luckily the guy that helped me had a pump, so he grabbed his pump so we could pump up the tire.  Guess what the pump had the wrong type of valve for my stem.  It was now time to see if someone else had a pump.  A few riders later someone else stopped and helped pump up my tire.  He then left and I was left to put my wheel on my bike.  Normallly this is no big deal, but for some reason I was really struggling.  I guess it was pretty obvious and another guy stopped and helped me get my wheel on and then we had to pump up the tire again, because it was not enough.  Finally I was able to get on my bike and ride.  All in all it took somewhere between 20 to 30 minutes to change the tire--way too long.

The ride in the dark was much different than I expected.  I could see well, but in Moab you need to not only see well, but far away to make sure you are going the right direction and taking the right line.  There were many parts of the trail I ended up walking when in the day I had ridden the same section without any problems.  I got lost 3 times on the trail.  Nothing major I just went a few feet in the wrong direction and realized there were no tires tracks the direction I was going.  I would then wait for a rider to come by so I could figure out what direction I was supposed to go.  I never had to wait more than 30 seconds before I knew what direction to go.  Thank goodness for other riders otherwise I would probably have been on the trail lost all night long.

The end of the course has a lot of sand.  This part I was a little nervous about.  I wasn't sure if I would see the sand, and I didn't want to brake accidently which would cause me to end up on the ground.  Luckily I followed Robin's advice and could tell most of the time where the sand was.  If it wasn't by feel, it was my the tire markings in the sand.  Seeing the tire marks let me know where I did not want to go.  I finished the lap clearing all of the sandy parts and having a great time.

I am tired for now and will continue the rest of the story tomorrow.

We Have Some Competition

I am off to Moab tomorrow to race in the Women's Veteren Division.  I can't believe all of the stuff I am taking.  I have a bag for my bike clothes, a bag for my hanging out clothes, sleeping bags, mattress, tent, food, water, lights, snacks, food, carbo rocket, and extra everything for the bike.  My car is stuffed to the hilt, and I am only going to be gone for 2 days--amazing.

We also have some competition in our dvision.  Until this week I thought I was going to have to compare my times to the sport women (which of course I probably will still do), but now we have some competition in our division.  This definitely ups my game--I can't wait.  There is only one thing I am not sure about....how do I know who I am racing against? 

Getting Ready for Moab

I really don't know how to get ready for Moab, but I like the ideas I have come up with to get ready, and by no means do I think they are good training, but they are a lot of fun.  One is riding my bike multiple times a day, so my legs will get used to stopping and starting again.  This has been very difficult, it just breaks my heart having to ride my bike multiple times a day, especially when I have to tell my husband I am training, so I need to be out riding.  Another is going on night rides with my team mates and others gals who will be riding in Moab.   This has been a lot of fun, because usually I go on night rides in the early morning with the guys--so technically it is not night, but it is dark.

Riding with the guys is fun, but it is not the same as riding with girls.  For example when I ride with the guys if I want to get a picture I need go ahead of them  (very difficult they are faster than me), and set up to take the picture, because they do not stop and pose for a picture.  With the girls we stop and take pictures, we point out different scenic views, and we tend to stay together in a group--guys do not generally do this.  Tonight, something else was thrown into the mix, tonight is was cold.

Now for me getting used to the cold is not so bad.  For those who have read my blog in the past you know I ride in the cold, and my cut off is 20 degrees.  However,  I have never gotten the girls to go out with me.  Well, today I did.  Since we are getting ready for Moab we are doing a night ride, and since it will be cold why not give it a try.  So Jolene and Jen came along to give it a try, and it was cold.

We arrived at Big Spring Hollow, and my car said it was 39 degrees and Jen's said is was 37 degrees--either way it was cold.  The good news we were dressed for the cold ready, and I was excited to show them it was not so bad riding in the cold and it doesn't take long before you get warm.
Jolene dancing in the cold.

Jen bundled and ready to go.

We took off up the trail, but unfortunately we did not go far before we had a problem.  Jen's light mount had come apart and the piece that held it together was somewhere on the trail.  We looked and looked, and we were thinking we could find it in the dark, because it was silver and should reflect off our lights, but no such luck.  Well Jen decided without her light it was probably better not to continue, so she turned around and Jolene and I continued on.

The ride was beautiful, and unfortunatly the pictures do not capture the beauty of the ride.  The trail was carpeted in red and yellow leaves and with our the lights the colors danced and were brighter than ever.  There was frost on the ground that looked like jewels on top of the ground and leaves and added an extra sparkle.

I think for the most part Jolene stayed warm, at least until we went downhill, and then well, her hands got cold, but I think the rest of her stayed pretty warm.  Perhaps in the future I will be able to convince her to go on more rides in the cold.
The trail ahead carpeted in leaves.

The leaves right below my feet.

Mother-Daughter Fall Ride

Saturday, Mandy and I went to Big Spring Hollow to take pictures of the trees and ride the trail.  Mandy was funny she walked her bike on the not so steep and more easy part of the trail, and then when we got to the part that was steep and up hill she rode the rest of the way with frequent stops.  I think me telling her I expected her to walk her bike made her decide she wasn't goingt to--wish I had thought of that at the first of the ride.
Start of the ride.

Mandy on the trail.

Time for a picture break.

Mom and Mandy having fun.

Sunny Days

Went with Jolene to get a guided tour from Patty of the Onion days race course and some other fun single tracks in Payson.  When we left it was very cool outside, so I took arm warmers and two jackets just in case.  By the time we got to Payson it was warm and I only needed my arm warmers for a short period of time.

We parked somewhere near the bottom of the canyon and rode up the rode toward the single track.  On the way up we passed by some cows.  The first set thought nothing of us, the second one looked and me, paniced and ran up the bank, then saw Jolene and ran across the road and up a steep embankment.  Then we scared another group of cows that ended up running up the road, across the road and up a very steep embankment.  I guess we looked pretty scarey.

It wasnt' long before we got to the single track, and started having even more fun.  However, we did not get very far before Patty's front brake broke of her handlebar.  Normally I have electric tape, and slip ties, but I of course just changed bike bags and did not put these things back in.  Jolene started to search through her camel back to see what she could find.  She looked and looked, and after she had pulled almost everything out I came up with a great idea.  Check it out--we used my ponytail holder to hold it in place.

This left Patty with only her back brake to use, and we had just gotten started.  Luckily most of the trail can be done with a back brake, and Patty has skills, so she did great without the front brake.  As we rode more we saw some goregous views.

And of course we had to get pictures of each other while looking at the views.

Jolene working with her camera.

Patty and me hanging out on the trail.

The ride got better and better and of course I forgot to take more pictures.  We ended with a fun downhill to the car, where off to the right were a bunch of wild turkeys (no pics).  Now I just need to convince Patty to show me more trails up there.