Red Badge of Courage

These are the words I heard from 2 mountain bikers at the Summit Loop Parking lot noticing my bloody knees from my endo earlier going down Deer Creek South Fork. Yes, I endoed, going down one of the best trails, and it was worth it!

I love the Summit/Timpanooke Loop. It is a beautiful trail with fun climbs and fast downhill. Today I went with Jolene on the loop. It is always fun cruising the trails with Jolene. We took turns going along the trail and she pointed out some of her favorite parts of the trail. How lucky to see these trails, and the beauty that surrounds us.

Jolene standing in the damaged part of the trail. The motorcycles have made it longer and deeper. Catching a little bit of air going down Salamander Flats.

Results of my endo...not too bad...definitely worth the ride.

Earlier in the week Jolene and I rode the Solitude I-cup course. Thank goodness she went with me, or I never would have figured out the trail. This is a fun course. It starts out with a 1.7 mile climb on the pavement, and then down single track which leads to a single track climb back to the last portion of the pavement and back down the single track to the finish.On the trail at Solitude, climbing on the single track.

Can't tell if I am riding or sliding along this part of the trail. Hopefully this will be gone by race day.

Check This Out!

How cool is that. Funny how she tosses the ball to the left fielder.

Timpanooke Loop

Woke up early Friday morning (early for me) to go mountain biking with Tasha Keyes. Tasha is one of the ladies I race against in the 35+ Division in the Icup races. Tasha's daughter and I have the same first name, which I of course think is cool. Tasha is a phenomenal rider and a great gal, so I was looking forward to riding with her. My biggest concern was I would hold her back. I always worry about this when riding with others, because I still have a lot to learn and my endurance is not quite what theirs is.

The ride was great. We had the trail for the most part to ourselves. The conditions at the first part of the trail were a little sketchy, not because of the trail, but because of the sun. As I was going down the hill I had a hard time seeing the trail because the sun would hit in my eye, and I would momentarily loose the trail. Luckily this was only for the first.5 mile and then it was great. The conditions were perfect for riding we were able to stay cool and not get too hot, and conditions of the trail, other than the 25 foot section motorcycles tore up was great. Tasha had some bike troubles and were could not figure out exactly what the problem was. I noticed a crack in her chain pulley, and it seemed to be feeding incorrectly onto here cassette, but my mechanical knowledge is very limited. I had one wipe out that was funny. towards the bottom of south fork before you have to cross the road the trail has very loose, soft dirt. This is doable, and then the trail becomes a tight rut that you must stay in perfectly. I did not and had a mild wipe out where I ended up doing the splits! (lol) Somehow my bike went out from under me and my left foot stayed on the pedal while my right foot stepped onto the ground. I laughed as soon as I was done. Lucky for me I am flexible. I have a few bruises and road rash from the wipe out, but it was definitely one to remember for the books. On the way down the Salamander Flats (the tail end of the loop) Tasha and I ran in to a group of guys riding the loop. There were about 9 to 12 riders all spread out along the trail climbing the hill right after the road. Some had made it to the top where it flattens a bit and others were still struggling to get there. I felt bad for them if they planned to do the entire loop, because they were dying in the first mile! I wonder if they made it??? If they did then hopefully they loved this trail as much as I do.

I've Been Stung!

Went for a nice casual rode ride yesterday. I thought it would be fun to show Royce the Big Spring Hollow trail. I decided to ride my road bike to the trail, and I would meet him up there, and then we would exchange my road bike with my mountain bike. I took off and rode along the Provo trail to Vivian Park, and then up the road to Big Spring Park. The ride was nice and beautiful and since it was a recovery ride I had the opportunity to enjoy the entire ride. Some time on the road to Big Spring Park I was hit in the neck by a bug. This is not uncommon, being hit by a bug, so I didn't think anything about it. When I got to the park I hopped off my bike to wait for Royce when I felt a sharp stick close to my arm pit. I grabbed my jersey thinking there was a sharp twig in there, only to stuck several times. After turning on side of my jersey completely around out came a wasp! I looked and sure enough I had been stung, not once at least 5 times (I counted 5 holes)! I never would have thought it possible for a wasp to get caught in your jersey while riding, but I am proof that it is. Luckily for me my husband came soon, and we were able to get on our mountain bikes and ride so I could take my mind off the stinging. All in all it was a great ride, and I definitely have something to remember it by.
The wasp that stung me. Sadly after this picture he was run over.
















Big Spring Hollow Trail (taken with cell phone)

The Gig

My husband played at a backyard gig last week. Too bad I didn't video, because he sounded awesome. I love to listen to him play the drums.

Happy Birthday

Today is my 40th birthday. I have been excited for this day for quite a while (I love birthdays). It's not everyday you turn 40, and it is a fun time in my life. The day started out great. I slept in which was great, and then jumped out of bed to hurry and get ready to go for a mountain bike ride. As I came downstairs I was surprised with a party in the front room. There was caution tape blocking the doorway that had "40 Year Old Party Scene", 40 black balloons on the floor, a cute 40 year old confetti tree and a the number 40 hanging from the ceiling. What a surprise! It's not too often I am surprised, and this was great.

After seeing my surprise and spending time with my family, I took off to get Jolene to go mountain biking up at Timpanooke. The trail was perfect. The downed tree I blogged about earlier A New Adventure was moved off the trail, but not quite enough, so you still have to stop to get around it. Other than that you couldn't ask for better trail conditions. We pretty much had the trail to ourselves. We saw one hiker and one mountain biker on the way downhill. Other than that no one else was on the trail. This made for going down the hill fun and fast.

After mountain biking, I went out to lunch at Zupa's with my friend Katie. After lunch the family met up with my brother Ryan at the movies to see The Incredible Hulk. It was a fun movie and there is room for another movie in the future. We left the movie and decided tonight was not a night to cook, so Sonic is was.

What a great birthday and what a great day. I couldn't have asked for a better day. My presents were great the best was my husband cleaned my car--how awesome was that.

Jolene and I both wore our Fat Cyclist Jersey's today!

Check out the view in the background.

A New Adventure

Yesterday was a busy, adventorous day. I decided to go back to the trail on flatted on and give it another go. This time I went with my husband Royce so we could enjoy the trail together. Started out great. The weather was beautiful and it was the perfect temperature. We parked at Timpanooke campground and took off towards the east. The first part we cross a bridge. I was doing fine until I came to the second part of the bridge where there were to planks together. I got caught in the middle of the two planks and lost my balance. Lucky for me I did not fall into the water. The next part is beautiful single track that rolls up and down through the mountain for about 2 miles.
Royce rolling through the meadow.


















After the meadow it starts to get a bit steep for a bit. We rode over roots and rocks, which was really cool and pretty. Once it leveled off we came to an obsticle in on the trail. A giant pine tree had fallen in the middle of the trail. Once we passed the pine tree we continued on our way and went through another meadow and started back up hill. About this time we realized we didn't have much time left, so we did the best thing possible, and bombed down all of the trail we had just climbed. What a blast. Love going up hill, and I love going down. I can't wait to go on this trail again.

Superstitions

Before I play a softball game there are certain things I must do in order to feel like I will play a good game. Some of them have always been obvious to me, but today I learned I have a few more than I realized. One superstition I have always had was shaving before a game. I must shave my legs before a game and wear my sliding pad to avoid having to slid. If I do not do this then almost always I end up sliding that game. This doesn't always keep me from sliding, but it does decrease the chances. I learned today that my refusing to warm up before a game is superstitious. I do not warm up (throw the ball) before a game, because I throw it most of the game. Today I helped a teammate warm up, and I felt out of sorts for the first little bit. And finally, I always wear the same visor to my games. Well, today I couldn't find it, I looked and looked and finally ended up wearing a different hat. Needless to say this was not my game. Of the 5 times I got up to bat I walked 2, and then hit three piddly hits. Even though I had a powerful swing I could not connect with the ball, and it barely rolled off the bat. I think I need to find my hat and hold strong on not warming up before a game.

With all this I wonder if I have any supersitions with mountain biking that I am not aware of. If not maybe I should. Yesterday I took my bike up to AF Canyon to explore the trails and get to know the area. I decided to take Timponooke loop. The first 3.5 miles was fun, it was at that point I realized I and made a wrong turn and needed to back track. This was not a big deal as I did not have too specific of an agenda. I started back up pine hollow trail when all of the sudden I hear a pop and psssst. Sure enough I have torn my tire and its not sealing up. (I run tubeless, so the idea is when you get a hole it will seal up). I kept hoping it would seal and spun the tire around, but it didn't. I then took out my CO2 cartridge to see if it would help....no luck. I then turned my bike upside down and took on changing my first flat tire. I did great and was really proud of this accomplishment. I blow the tube up a little bit and then get out my second CO2 cartridge to fill it up. Somehow I ended up breaking the valve stem and all of the air comes out. I turned the bike over and began the hike back to my car. I didn't go too far when another rider was coming down the hill. He offered me his tube, and once again I proceeded to change my tire. He stayed and patched his tube while I got my tire ready. Unfortunately his tube didn't work, and I now had another flat tube. Luckily he was going back to his car which was less than 1/2 mile and offered to drive me to my car. Of course I accepted, who wants to walk 3.5 miles when you can get a lift. I thanked Mark (that was his name), loaded my bike up and went home. When I got to town a couple of blocks from my home I saw a rider walking his bike with a flat tire. I pulled over and helped him change his tire and gave him a tube so he could get home. It was nice to be able to help someone. Of course all of this bring me to my original question, should I have a superstition before I ride? Maybe I would avoid having a flat. :-) Probably not, but it might help.
Fixing my first flat.


















View from where I flatted

Deer Valley I-Cup Race

My first year racing, my first year riding and it has been a blast. Saturday morning started out way too early for me. I woke up at 4:00 in the morning to howling wind. I quickly started to go back to sleep when my youngest woke up at 4:30 and decided to read a book. By the time I got her to go back to sleep it was 5 am. No sense going back to bed, Iwould have to get up soon and then I would just be tired. So my day started fairly early. After we got ready we took off for Deer Valley. It was drizzling in on the ride, but I was hopeful. As we arrived in Deer Valley it ws no longer raining...it was snowing, and felt like February! Some people in the parking lot were not sure they were going to race. I didn't care, I came to race and knew it would be fun.

The race was fun. I wouldn't say this was my best race, but I gave it my best. I tried to warm up, but I could not get my legs warm. I finally gave up on the riding to warm up and went to the start line. The start line is always fun you get to know new people and do the pre-race banter. The race did not start out the best. I took off fine, but could not get clipped in. My pedals kept spinning as I tried to clip in. Finally I had to slow down and coast so it would go in...ugh time lost. Once in I took off and started to pass people. I saw Dot up ahead, and was hoping to close the distance. I kept going and one by one picked my way to the top. About 3/4 of the way up I started to have difficulty breathing. I am sure I scared some of the people I was passing, because they could tell that I was not getting enough air in. I figure as long as I am not about to pass out I will keep on going. In this case I knew I was close to getting a little bit of relief. I got to the downhill and tried the best to get through the snow and mud...this was tenative, but I did it then it was off again to get Dot. I could see her up ahead, and there were 3 riders between us, so I kept pedaling hard. We were still going uphill, but not as steep. It was shortly after this point I lost sight of Dot, but I saw some of the riders that were between us, so I could only hope she was not far ahead. Needless to say I never saw her again, but I kept trying. The down hill on the first portion of the course was not my best ride. I tried, but was way too brake happy. I had one of the beginning women finally catch me and wanted to pass, but there was no where to pass. She hung with me for a bit, and then when there was a spot to pass she saw it was uphill and held her pace. I of course took off, and started to pass some of those who had passed me on the downhill. Luckily they were close, so I knew I hadn't done too bad and was still hopeful to see Dot, but had a feeling she was too far ahead to catch. Of course at the same time I am trying to catch Dot I am worried about Heather catching me, because I saw her on one of the switchbacks and knew she was close. The uphill for the second part was a good climb, but at least it was switchbacked up instead of straight up. The going down was much better on the race than when I had pre-ridden it. The switchbacks were cleaned out of loose rocks and it was a much cleaner trail. The worst part was when the pros started to pass. There are not a lot of passing places on the trail. I try to pull over so they can get by as quickly as possible. Most of them are polite and know we are trying to help. I had one come up though that made it a little difficult. He came up and said pro, but of course I had no idea what he was saying. I went "what", and then he said "pro" a little louder. I gave him a place to pass, and reminded him I am racing too. Too bad he just didn't say right or left. Towards the end of the course I had an endo and dropped my chain. Instead of the quick 10 second get it back on it took over 30 seconds, because I was flustered and trying to hurry. After that it was clear riding up to the last switchback which I took, but boy did I struggle to stay on the trail. I had one foot unclipped and was sliding all over the trail. My teammate behind me told me he was sure I was going off, but somehow I kept it together. After that it was flat terrain and a sprint to the end. I ended up taking 2nd place!!! Dot beat me by 3 min and 30 seconds. I definitely did not decrease my time between the winner and me. My goal for the end of the year will be to be only behind the winner by less than a minute.

Climbing the first hill.

Uncertain about the first switchback.

Mandy's race was not as fun for her. It was cold and wet, and she was freezing from falling in the mud and wet. She took 2nd out of the girls and 6th overall. If you look at the pictures below you can see the race on her face.

Deer Valley Pre-ride

I went yesterday with Dot to pre-ride Deer Valley (wanted to go Monday, but the trail wasn't marked). When we got there we saw Dale and Rachel heading up to the trail. They said they would see us later on the trail. We then ran in to Tasha and Whitney (Whitney races sport, so I have never met her before). We decided to ride together as a group. Tasha, Whitney and Dot are all strong riders, so after our first uphill bout I went to the back so I wouldn't hold them back. I did okay and kept up with them, but there were a couple of spots I had a bit of struggle. The first part of the trail starts with a killer climb and then you level off and go onto single track of mud and snow, and then on to single track in the trees. The first DH is fast and fun. It is smooth and I loved it. There is one spot where you run in to a snow bank and I wondered where the trail went, but once that was figured out you crossed the snow and kept going. At the bottom of the downhill you hit pavement and then turn to go back up hill. A good climb, but not a straight up and down like the first part of the trail. The downhill on this was fun, but there were a couple of places that were sketchy. One switchback was so tight I didn't take it right and ended up grabbing a tree to avoid crashing with my bike. After that there were some loose switchbacks with big rocks. Then you head down to some flat singletrack with brush and on to pavement. It is going to be a fast race with these downhills.

Tasha, Dot Whitney, Dale & Rachel halfway through the course.