The Canyons Finale

There were no expectations for this last race.  Due to being sick and Royce having surgery I did not get to pre-ride the course.  I had gotten some good descriptions, but had a hard time visualizing it except for the fire road climb up and down--luckily that part was taken out.

There were 11 women in my division for this race which is a great showing.  Our group got off to a rough start 2 women ended up skidding on the loose dirt with one of them bring me down.  She was very apologetic, and I told her no worries--stuff happens  The climb was not so bad, and I was able to see most of the group (a first in a long time) up until we entered the singletrack.  At that point they became lost in the trees and turns.

The climb seemed long, even though it wasn't, and I persisted at the best pace I could go.  At one point there was a long train of racers behind me.  This really concerned me, I was worried I was holding people up, but no one asked to pass, so I kept going.  Eventually a couple of people passed and I kept pluggin' along.  Boy was I happy when we made the down hill.

I "killed" the down hill!  Everyone that passed me going up, I passed back and I ended up passing some that had started in front of me.  Everyone was great about letting me pass and because of their cooperation I ended up coming in for my 2nd lap with two others from my division--a first!

The second lap was short since we did the 12 year old lap.  The gals that came in with me on the first lap ended up putting only a short distance between us on the climb.  I felt confidant I could pass them on the down hill.  Just prior to entering the single track one of the gals got a flat.  Up next was to catch the second gal.  I ripped down the hill and was closing the gap when I ended up falling/bobbling on the last switchback.  I got back on my bike and took off, but it was just enough to prevent me from catching her.

I took 7th place and was only 7 minutes behind 2nd place and seperated by just minutes with the other places!  I finally am seeing progress as I work my way towards recovery. 

Surprisingly I took 3rd overall for the season.  I am happy about the overall win, but somewhat ambivalent.  I don't know that I really deserve it.  I didn't show up to all of the races, for obvious races (the surgery and such).  I only placed in the top 3 and 4 one or 2 times, the rest of the time I was mid-pack or at the very bottom.  I was never the fastest person out there or for that matter even remotely close.  So there are mixed feelings about the whole thing.  But I won it and now can aim for something higher.

Picture taken by Lyna Saffell

The season was good and very hard, I am somewhat relieved it is over.  I don't know that anyone should use racing as part of their recovery, but I did--no regrets.  I learned a lot about myself.  There were many times I wondered why I was doing this, but it seems each race there was someone or something to remind me.  I am glad the season is over now and I can just ride and really begin my way towards recovery--I think it is long over do.

The Canyons

Mandy's 3rd place overall prize!

This race started out different than all of the rest. Usually our division starts near the back, but this time Ed started us at the first. It was pretty funny when we lined up in front of the pros, they were sure they were going to run us over, and of course they would if we were going on the same route, but our course had changed. Instead of doing a half and a full lap Ed had changed us to a full lap only. This meant we would be going up one way while the pros were going up a completely different way. It was actually very nerve racking being on the front line. Usually in the back we are joking around and visiting with each other, the front has a whole different feeling, much more pressure, less visiting and definitely less joking around.

Off the start I was not feeling too well. I was hot (like everyone else), dizzy and my stomach was not at it's best. Of course not feeling well did not stop me from starting out fairly strong, and in the front. As we went up the road I heard someone coming up behind me and knew it was Jolene. Not a few seconds later and we were riding side by side. As we were riding I mentioned I did not feel well, and Jolene told me I would feel better soon. She was right of course and she knows me. There is something that takes over and I forget about everything except riding.

Jolene and I rode up the road together and just before the turn into the single track I pulled behind her and told her to enter first. We rode up the singletrack together and pulled over together for a couple of the 16 year olds to pass. We did the same thing at Snowbird, pulling over together for people to pass. As we rode I would remember each switchback and how we needed to execute it. Eventually we came to the right hand switch back that you need to take very wide to get up. When we got to this switchback Jolene went wide but cut across, and didn't make it. By this time I was feeling good and took my chance to pass.

From this point on I brought my pace up and climbed. I don't know when it was Jolene and I became separated, but after a while I realized she was no longer behind me. This made for somewhat of a lonely ride and left me to many thoughts. Depending on how I was feeling I would think about the heat, my stomach, my favorite songs, other rides I have done--it's amazing what you end up thinking when you are riding by yourself. Eventually the climbing on the trail ended and I made it to the downhill.

I was ecstatic to reach the down hill. I had ridden the trail enough and felt I would be able to ride it at a good speed. This did not turn out to be the case. Instead I rode it like a sissy. I had a hard time negotiating the trail, I was getting bounced around and took turns much slower than I had a few days before. Somewhere on the lower loop Tiffany came up behind me and when we hit the up-down road near the end of the downhill she passed and I thought I would follow her line and do better, but this was not the case. I continued to ride poorly and only saw Tiffany for a short period of time.

While I as riding the downhill it finally dawned on me I hadn't seen Mandy yet! This was great, and I wondered if she had beat me to the finish line. It was not until the meadow part of the downhill at the hidden right hand switchback I saw Mandy. I passed her on the switchback and as I was riding I heard her call mom. I looked up, then behind me, slowed down and told her to follow me. We went along for a short time, and then I looked up and saw a red helmet at the top of the meadow. That meant only one thing Jolene was on her way down. I turned to Mandy and told her I had to go, and finished the last little part of the down and crossed the finish line. I then turned and watched as Mandy negotiated her way down the hill and crossed the finish line. Unfortunately she fell on the rocks on the final switchback and had to get cleaned up and bandaged by the paramedic, but the good news is she had fun and from what I heard did a great job with letting people pass.

I am a bit sad about this being the last Icup race of the season. It ended on a good note with me getting first at the race and first overall in my division. Mandy did great and got 3rd overall out of the girls in her division--she was a little sad she did not get recognized, but we made up for it with ice cream and the cute bracelets Dorothy sold for the Livestrong foundation. And although it is the end or Icup racing, it is not the end of riding and it leaves us with a lot to look forward to.

Coming up the road at the start.

Jolene and me riding side by side.

Good way to end the season.

Race Season Over - Maybe, Maybe Not?

I took Mandy to pre-ride The Canyons race course today. Let me preface this with I had a mild migraine when we left, was waiting for my medication to work, and was not feeling my best. When we got to the course we rode up the little paved hill, and I was very surprised to see Mandy scoot right up the hill. At the top she announced she did it in 2 and 1! Wow! I have become used to her walking hills and was very happy to see her make it up without any problems. I thought this was a good sign of how the pre-ride was going to go.

We got to the top of the hill, I zeroed out my computer and we started to ride the race. Now for those of you who have ridden the race course you know that the half lap has some descent climbing. As we started Mandy did pretty good, but it did not last for long, and soon she wanted to get off her bike and walk. It was not too steep, but Mandy was tired and it was hurting. I offered her words of encouragement, and this is where everything went wrong.

Mandy did not appreciate the encouragement or the "you can make it to the dip right up in the road". She became belligerent or may I say very independent minded and out right refused to ride. Now normally this would not be a problem, but it was 7:30 and the sun was going down and we had just started riding the course! I told her she needed to get on her bike or walk her bike, but we needed to go. She then informed me I could not make her go. Again I told her to go, and again she outright refused, but this time with some back talk involved. I don't know how it happened, but I actually remained fairly calm and told her no she had the choice to go or not to go, but there would be consequences if she did not follow my instructions. I then laid out the consequences for her choices. And to leave out a lot of detail let's just say by 1.29 miles Mandy had lost having hot cocoa at Starbuck, the allowance I owed her from the past 3 weeks and all of August's allowance. Goodness this girl is very strong willed! Luckily Mandy's strong will is also, what drives her to finish all of her mountain bike rides despite struggling towards the end of the season.

About mile 2 things started to get better for Mandy, and with that her willingness to cooperate changed. The frustration of climbing left and she was much more willing to learn how to let others pass and what to expect on the ride. Of course by this time I had decided she was not going to race Saturday. I definitely was not going to pay for someone to race when they did not like mountain biking.

Around mile 2.5 the course starts to go downhill and things got much better for Mandy. At this point she was very attentive. We went down and I had her follow me so she could match my lines and make sure she was safe on the course. We rode and I would describe what she could expect at various parts of the course, how she should ride it and the best line to take. She did great, and listened very well except for once. There is one part on the course you make a right hand turn and you are going down a bunch of rocks. I stopped Mandy and told her she needed to walk this part and then I rode down it. As I rode down she said "I thought we were walking this", and I told her she was walking it, but I was going to ride it. I stopped at the bottom and turned around to wait, and low and behold Mandy is coming down very carefully riding her bike! I can't say I was upset, because I wasn't I was actually proud to see her ride it so well. We continued down the hill to the bottom of the course, and by the time we got to the bottom Mandy had a big smile on her face and was loving the course.

I am glad she was happy by the end of the course, but I am still not convinced she should race Saturday. It took her an hour and thirty minutes to ride the course, and when we met some friends of hers that are in her division at the bottom of the course and I mentioned to their dad how long it took us to do the course, she was very embarrassed. We headed to the car, and Mandy told me how much fun she had going down hill on the course, and she wished she did not have to go up hill. Of course I explained that in order to go down she must go up. We had a good talk, Mandy apologized for her behavior and asked to please race on Saturday. We talked for quite a bit. I told her racing was supposed to be fun and if she wasn't having fun then I did not want her to race. I told her if she raced she had to race with it being okay to come in last, to have everyone pass her and possibly to lose her overall 3rd place division. At first we she wanted to race, but we went over everything again and I told her to think about it and get back to me tomorrow. So right now it may or may not be the end of the race season for Mandy.... I guess we'll find out tomorrow.

The Canyons Pre-Ride

A group of us went up to The Canyons to ride the course. There was Tiffany, Jolene, Mindy, Gayle, Sally and Dale. We also, saw Gigi, Ruth and Theresa in the parking lot, but that was the last time we saw them.

The new race course is a blast. There are some skittish areas on the half lap, but for the most part it's not so bad. I loved the full loop and the down hill was fun, fast and smooth. I don't know if I can explain it detail by detail, but there is some up, then down, then slight up and then a lot of switchbacks up and then back down. For a ride it was fun, for a race I guess I will find out Saturday.
Tiffany coming up the trail.
Jolene heading up the trail.

Gayle making around one of the switchbacks.Mindy clearing the switchback.

Sally coming down the last part of the trail.