Stan Cran - Icup #6

*This  is very, very long.  I thought about breaking it up, into parts, but couldn't seem to find the appropriate place.


I was nervous the morning of the race, which was kind of funny, because going to these races I have no expectations of placing. I think perhaps my nerves have to do with my expectations. I want to stay close to the group, I want to climb faster, I want to make it around. Perhaps this is what caused my nervousness.


The start line for the race was crowded, and I counted 15 women in our division, however there were only 14 that finished, so I must have counted someone twice. I knew most of the gals in the race, but there were a couple of new faces. With new faces there is always wonderment of their abilities.

One of the things I like about start line is visiting with the gals and catching up—funny how we use this time for socializing, it’s a good way to calm the nerves. One of the gals I was standing next to told me about how last year she was overweight and smoked, this year she is riding and doesn’t smoke—how cool is that.

The start of the race started pretty good. My plan was to stay back in about the middle of the pack. I didn’t want to be up front pushing, but I didn’t want to be in the very back and have to do a lot of catching up. I got in a good spot and felt good about how we were starting off—a long train line. But the first “oh no” came in less than a ½ a mile into the race course.

The very first of the race you go up the parking lot, onto single track with a quick up. If you have good speed this quick up is a piece of cake. Unfortunately someone did not get the memo and the girl on rider ahead of me, decided to brake just before the hill! I couldn’t believe it. Colleen (UMB), in front of me, had to brake, I had to brake, and you could hear brakes all the way back on the line—did I mention Clydesdale started 30 seconds behind us, so they may have been braking too.

It concerned me she broke on such an easy spot. As I watched her through the single track towards the pond, I decided it would be best if I went around her. When the single track opened up I looked for a way to get around Colleen, but the loose gravel, downed riders and other conditions made it not possible, so I ended up staying in the exact same place. The nice part was our entire division was a train and riding smoothly, and I was in feeling good about my place in the pack.

I guess the good feelings were not meant to last. Right after the tunnel on the quick left hand up, the same girl who broke got off her bike to walk (if I remember correctly, or slipped). Either way Colleen went to go around her on the right, and slipped off her bike. I went on the inside of both of them, but Colleen was not done slipping and ended up falling on my bike….ouch for her. Very frustrating for her and for me, as well as everyone behind us, because basically it caused a large domino affect. I quickly grabbed my bike and went up the hill to get back on, but it was done. Our train was no longer, and a gap had been made.

I hoped I could catch up, but today’s ride was not in the stars. Right now closing a gap is not something that I can do—at least not this race. However, I was very impressed with Gayle (Mad Dog) she was behind me when all of this occurred (I am not sure how far back), when we hit the service road, she sailed by working on closing the gap. She ended up in 7th place—how cool is that, imagine if all the other stuff hadn’t happened. I was so impressed with how she came back, what an awesome rider.

Hitting the service road and the single track I soon discovered my heart was not into the ride for the day. I wear a heart monitor when I ride and race, to see improvement, and to see what is going on when I feel certain symptoms. Well, I started to notice some symptoms as I was climbing on the single track to the second service road; I looked down and say my hr was at 177. This is not bad thing if it is short lived, but if it is long it is not so good. I decided I would just keep going and hopefully the hr would go down and I would be okay.

I hit the service road down and the hr dropped down. Here I had a lot of fun riding down, minus the incident with a beginner UMB rider-someone may want to tell him when he passes he needs to let people know. He almost took me out twice, he obviously did not realize how close he came by his comments, but had I not moved he would have hit me….ugh.

Eventually I hit the up on the service road and felt good. I rode faster than I had on Fridays pre-ride, and felt the pace was perfect for me. The hr was still way too high, but I felt good, so I kept up the pace—I am sure this was a mistake, but I guess you go until you can’t go anymore.

I felt good most of the lap, and then I hit the silica pit. I looked, and then I rode. I felt good enough to go up, and this lap it was better than walking. Once I got to the steep hill portion though I got off and walked—good thing too, because it was loose and torn up. At the top the rider behind me gave me a good push to ride off—thanks much it was appreciated.

I loved going down. It was fun and smooth. I had a kid in front of me, and I am guessing he was 12 or 13, but not too sure. Anyway, as we hit the final down I encouraged him to pedal fast so we could use our momentum to get up the hill. He did and we went down flying fast. I stayed a little bit back, which turned out to be a good thing. I hit the final turn just before the tunnel, and the kid that had been in front of me was on the ground crying saying he couldn’t breathe.

I locked my brakes, and assessed the situation. He was hurt, I was not in contention for anything, and he was hurt. I took a deep breath; I know how lame that is, but some decisions can be tough, and stayed to help. He said he couldn’t breathe, and I let him know he could because he was talking. His mouth was bleeding, his arm was bleeding, and he was definitely shook up. I yelled several times at the people by the tunnel to get a medic and eventually got a response. I moved the kid’s bike off the trail, and then someone else jumped in to help.

At this point I looked around and saw the people who had stepped in to assist were in the beginner rider category. I asked them if they would mind staying with him since I still had another lap to go and they said they would. I left, but some of the race had been taken out of me. I had been there for what felt like 3 to 4 minutes, but looking at my time later learned it was more like 2 minutes and 30 second. On my climb out of the tunnel I saw the kid on oxygen, glad the medics finally got to him.

I rode knowing now there was no way I would catch anyone. I don’t know if this was a defeatist or realistic attitude, but it was what it was. So I rode determined to try and finish hard. Once again, this was not in the stars. On the single track climb towards the service road down my hr continued to escalate, but this time my body started to feel the symptoms and I was becoming very fatigued. From here on out every hill climb was a struggle and my hr continued to jump way too high.

Riding up the service road I began to reflect on my decision of stopping to help the hurt kid. Was it a good decision, should I have helped him, or should I have moved his bike and just gone on. I decided it was good. If my child was hurt I would want to know someone thought it was more important to stop, than to race. I also worried maybe I should not have left until the medics came. Granted I made sure someone was with him, but maybe I should have stayed. As I was thinking about this and the race, the guy who helped create the race course rode up by me. We had a good conversation and I was reminded of how lucky I am to be doing what I am doing.

You see this guy knew about ASD’s. He was familiar with the device that was put in my heart, he knew all about my cardiologist, and he also knew about the healing process. In fact he knew with my particular device it would take longer to heal, but it was the better device. I needed this talk. As much as I know I am coming back and it is 6 months to 1 year of recovery, many times I see this as an excuse not a reason.

I often feel like I should be so much further than I am. I feel like I should be losing weight more quickly. I feel like I should be able to climb and pound up the hill like I used to, and I feel like 18 miles should be no big deal. And most of all I feel like the heart thing should not have changed anything, but it has, and sometimes I need to be reminded that it is real and not an excuse. I tell myself this often so as not to become discouraged with all of my “I could do that only a couple of months ago, why not now” attitude. So it was nice to talk with someone who had knowledge of an ASD and then let me know he was surprised they let me ride a bike so soon. Ah yes, I am reminded, I get to ride my bike how cool is that.

We rode a little further and then parted ways. For the race he was my gift and my reminder which helped me continue on my way. The rest of the race was a struggle, but I did it, and boy was I grateful when the downhill came, and even more so for the end of the race.

The end of this race was quite the struggle for me, I was tired and fatigued, but determined to finish. I think I could have gone 14 miles, but almost 18 miles did me in. However, one lap would have been too short, so I am making little improvements.

I missed awards and cheering for lady Mad Dogs who took 1st, 2nd & 3rd in Sport. Way to go ladies!!! I was busy looking for Mandy who I eventually found in the pond—should have known.

Wolverine Ridge - Final Icup Race

We left for Wolverine Ridge Friday afternoon. Our first stop was to set up the tent right by the race course. We had the perfect spot right under some trees. After setting up we headed to Karl and Dot's cabin for a spaghetti dinner. We had fun vi sting with them and other Mad Dog Team Members. One of the best parts was when Mandy took on the climbing wall over their fire place. The first time she got discouraged and could not figure out how to get up the wall. After watching Johnny and Joey and a reward of a dollar for anyone who rang the bell on the ceiling, she made it! Johnny and Joey also made it to the bell on the ceiling and were rewarded with a dollar. This was Joey's first time to the top. He is only 5 and made it up their!

After dinner and climbing it was time to go down to our tent to sleep. This ended up not being the experience I had hoped. The goal of sleeping by the race course was to avoid having to get up early, early to get to the kids race. This was a great thought that did not come to fruition. I struggled most of the night sleeping. I would hear sounds and wonder what animals were out there and get worried there was a bear close by. About half way though the night Mandy was cold and ended up sleeping in my sleeping bag with me. It is very difficult to sleep with your arms in the air so there is enough room in the sleeping bag. Eventually about 5:30 I got up, stretched and then tried to lay down to get a couple of more hours of sleep to no avail. Oh well, at least Mandy was warm.

After a fitful night of sleep I went and picked up our packets for the race. It didn't take long to get Mandy ready for her race. This is the first race I think she was determined she wanted to do well. I didn't see the start of Mandy's race because I was in the middle of the course taking pictures. As the group came by Mandy was doing great. She had quit the look of determination on her face. I saw her for all 3 laps, and she did a great job holding her place for the entire race. Mandy was the 1st girl for the 9 and under and she took 6th overall for this race. After the awards for the race. They did the awards for the season. Mandy did really well. She took 4th overall and she took 1st out of all the girls.

Can't get any of the kids to look at the camera at the same time.

I wish I could say my race went as well as Mandy's come, but it was over before it started. About an hour before the race started I go dizzy and light headed and two almost pass out moments where I had to sit down. I went to the ambulance to see how the blood pressure was and make sure everything was okay, and of course blood pressure was borderline 90/60 and my pulse was jumping all over the place it would go from 80 to 100 and anywhere in between. I attribute the pulse jumping to the caffeine pill I had taken an hour earlier. After seeing the paramedics I decide to go a bit of a ride to see how I felt. I noticed as long as my legs were going I did not fell dizzy. I also noticed I couldn't push it or I would get dizzy. I kept hoping I would feel better, but I ended up sitting on the ground waiting for our turn to the start line and the whole time I felt crummy. I decided I would ride at a good pace, but there would be no racing today. This was hard right up to the start. The competitive side of my brain was going you'll be fine you can do this, and the logical side was telling me don't risk it just ride and secure your points for the race. It wasn't until we actually started racing that the logical side won, or at least my body made the logical side win.

At the start line Sally and I got to get a small lead over the other races since we had top points for the season. Dot was not there because she moved over to race Women's Sport. It was definitely weird not having Dot at the start line. At Ed's go Sally took off. She was doing great. She got off to a fast start and I was thinking what a great job she was doing. It was great to see Sally in the lead. Unfortunately it did not last and Theresa (Theresa)passed her right before the downhill to the bridge, and then Jen and I passed her on the downhill to the bridge. The first part of the course is uphill, and I kept a good pace as I rode. Not too hard, but not slow as I did not want this to become a casual ride. Eventually I heard someone come by and I asked who it was and sure enough it was Jolene. If I couldn't win this race I wanted her to win and I knew she could. She is a phenomenally strong rider. Eventually I passed Theresa as well as Jen (Mad Dog). Jen and I visited off and on throughout the next portion of the race. Then we hit the downhill and right at the end of the downhill not surprisingly Theresa passed us. Jen and I kept going at our pace as the next part of the course is a gradual uphill with a smile technical climb into the service road. I joked with Jen about taking turns pulling on the service road. Shortly before the final climb to the service road I shifted to my granny and dropped my chain. And of course watched as Jen rode off. This was the pits. I eventually got my chain on and rode off, but since I couldn't push myself there was no way I would ever pass Jen or Theresa after this. I did see them on the service road and was tempted to push it, but I was more fearful of ending up not finishing the race due to health issues, so I kept my steady pace. After the service road I came to the technical climb and ended up meeting 2 team members going up this hill. I was doing well until I had to pass the second team member who was off his bike and for some unknown reason as he gave me kudos he did not move out of the way and I had to take the yucky line and end up off my bike shortly after that. I have thought about this and even if it is a team member I need to kindly speak up and ask him to move. After getting off I ended up walking to the next flat. As I got to the flat sure enough I look back and see Heather (revolution) behind me. I think Heather forgot I was sick, because she said "I know I am not the person you want to see" Since I wasn't feeling good I told her I was sick and not racing. Of course for the next mile or so as we went on the boardwalk and after you wouldn't know it, because we traded places a couple of times. However eventually she was able to get pass my steady pace. During the downhill portion I was having a blast, but was concentrating very hard on my lines, when all of the sudden a rider came up, announced himself, scared the living daylights out of me because I was so engrossed in my riding and then passed. It was the first set of pros to start to pass. A while later the next pro came by and drew what I thought was the perfect line through a place that is hard to find your line. I decided to follow him....oops this was a mistake. It seems I cannot maneuver my bike as well as a pro and ended up crashing in the big rocks...ouch. I ended up getting bruised and had a bent derailleur, but thank goodness nothing serious. I got up and continued on my way. I ended up finishing the race in 5th place with a pretty good time of 1:56 and no passing out. I had to stay seated after the race. Anytime for the rest of the evening I stood for very long I would get dizzy and ooosy. I had fun at the race, but I keep going back and forth about whether I should have pushed it or not. Since I am still not doing well today I think I made the right choice, but when you are competitive (and I am pretty sure I am) it's hard not to give it your all....it leaves you wondering. I guess I will have to wait until next year.

After the race Jolene and I got to go up to Karl and Dot's to take a a shower. I cannot say this enough, but there is nothing better than taking a shower after a dusty, long race like that. I actually felt refreshed and was happy I did not have to spend the rest of the day stinky and dirty. After cleaning up and hanging out for a bit we took off for the awards for the race and season. Dot took first for the season and a well deserved first. She took 1st place at every race but one. I took 2nd place and Jolene took 3rd place overall.

The cool part of the season was our team took first for the Icup Race and First for trail work points. Anyone on my team knows how bad I wanted us to win as a team. That's why there was always lots of encouragement to get team members out to the race. And it worked. Our team worked hard and we placed first. I don't think you could end the Icup race season on a better note.

Jackson/Teton Icup Race #11

This race was fun and technical. Mandy had a large division for Jackson and she did very well. Unlike the pre-ride Mandy was able to ride 3 laps. She came in 7th overall and was 1st out of the girls. She looks like she is having fun riding.

My race was great. I started out pulling ahead, but not going too fast as no one was by me until all of the sudden Theresa pulled up right by me. At that point I started to push it so I could get in ahead of her on the single track. However, I didn't need to worry as we got close Theresa let me know she was going to let me in first. This was kind of her, because I know she is strong at downhill and I needed to put some distance between us. Unfortunately this did not work too well. I would get some distance and then get stuck behind a rider or have a slip on a rock. (Note, when you clear everything in pre-ride this may not be a good sign for the race). Theresa came up on me on my slip and was great she got me calmed down and then I started to clear everything and put a little distance between us. However this did not last long as we hit the downhill and came up to the first set of switchbacks...ugh. I take switchbacks way too slow. Eventually there was a spot for Theresa and she passed. I wasn't too worried as I knew there was uphill that I could close the gap or pass. The first one we came to was a small technical climb. I downshifted to get in the best gear for the climb and dropped my chain. Besides dropping it also stuck. I grimaced as I watcher Theresa knowing I may have missed a good chance to catch and pass. I made the climb and continued on seeing her on the small uphill technical stuff, but never getting close enough. I had another chain drop on the course which of course was not at a good point. Then we came to the down hill. By this time Theresa was out of my sights and I was concentrating on the course. I went down fairly well came out of the single track and came to the part that I knew was good for me the long climb. I saw Theresa and thought all I need to do is stay on my bike. I did for 3/4 of the hill until my tire skid out and around forcing me off my bike. I would like to say I ran up the hill, but I didn't. I went fast and pushed past a few people, but not fast enough. I was walking and Theresa had crested and was heading downhill. I got to the top of the hill and headed down. I went fast hoping I might meet Theresa at the final sprint out. I actually went too fast and ended up wiping out on the final corner around to the finish, and once again dropping my chain. I started to fix it and then realized it was probably faster to run in, so I ran jumped on my bike and finished. I took 2nd and did really well. There were no asthma attacks and although my pressure is low I felt great. It was a fun race.

At the first of the race on the single track.Towards the end of the race.Podium- Me, Theresa, Sally & Ruth

Icup #10 - Snowbird

I was happy at some of the things I accomplished at this race and not has happy about some other things. This race starts on a gravel road and quickly goes onto a single track. I started out good. I was behind Dot as we entered the single track and had her close in my eye as we were going along. As I rode I was really pleased, because I cleared everything I had problems with on the pre-ride. Then we came to this switchback. I didn't have problems on the pre-ride, but this time I skidded out and down. I got off my bike, but did not have the energy to run up and around the switchback to get back on my bike. I got up and then waited as Jolene went by. I was glad to have her in front of me. We continued on the trail and I did pretty well up until the moment we entered Dick Bass and then once again I skidded out and could not get my tire to grip. I jumped off my bike and walked up a bit to find a spot to get back on. At this point I got passed by a new rider in our division Ali. Jared also started yelling at me to get on my bike. I am glad he did, because I needed the extra push. I sure was not feeling 100% as I rode up the hill. There came a point when I was ready to pass Ali, and make a move towards Jolene when all of the sudden I decided not to. I don't know why, but it was not in me to make any moves. I went down the gravel road okay at the first part, but the lower half I got slower and slower. After the gravel road it was back to the single track, around the road, more single track and then up the road for a second loop. My second loop once again I cleared everything but the switchback. Happy I could do this, but I was not very fast. As I entered Dick Bass I could see Jolene and Ali and thought for sure I could put it in to high gear and close the gap some. Well, as luck would have it this was not going to happen. About half way up I started to black out. I backed of and spun and at one point walked.....so disappointed about the walking part. I don't like to walk hills. The loop went well, and I ended up in 4th place. I am happy with how I did on the single track but wished I felt better about he hill climbs.

About 10 minutes after the finish as I was talking to friends I started to pass out. I quickly sat down and continued to pass out. Jared and my husband took me over to the medic truck. Where I rested in an almost lying down position. While I was there Royce saw Karl and asked him to come over. Karl was great. He figured out I had low blood pressure and told me what to do to get it up. I drank lots of water and got some food in to me which helped to bring it up. To let you know exactly how great Karl was, while he was racing he stopped and asked if my blood pressure was up. Now that's a nice guy. Eventually we got it to 90/58 and I was able to sit up without blacking out. We never got it up past that, but at least I was able to walk without passing out. The rest of the afternoon consisted of sitting under the team canopy, eating good food and talking with others from the team.

On a side note, my pressure is still low 90/58 and we don't know why. I saw the doctor today and he doesn't know why either. I am still light headed and tired, but hopefully this is just residual from the race.

Riding the single track.

Podium for the Women 35+ Division.

Mandy had a good race. This race she had to do 3 laps and rode the same single track I rode. There was a lot of walking, but there was also some riding. I am so impressed with how her riding skills have improved.

Mandy riding the single track.

Shanigans on the podium with the 9 and under division.

Solitude Race - Icup #9

What a great day for a race. Mandy's race was first today. She had to ride up the paved road and then drop down on the lower section of single track, and had to do this twice. I didn't tell her what to expect. I figured it is better for her to decide whether to ride it or not. She did ride it and did great. She rode down the single track without any problems. Later when I talked to her about the race she told me about the climb and how she did. She said it was tough, but she was able to push all the way up. I asked her what gear she climbed in. She climbed in 2 and 6. She is one tough girl. Maybe next time she will try a lower gear, but I am impressed. Way to crank it out. Mandy ended up taking 7th overall in the 9 and under division an 2nd out of the girls.

Mandy carving up the single track.

Mandy rides the course like a pro.

Mandy creates an easier path on the singletrack.

A tired racer after a long day of racing, cheering and playing.

A challenging course and great weather made for a fun race. There were not very women in my category today. The holiday seemed to have kept a lot of racers away. There were some of the regulars, Sally (UMB), Dot (Mad Dog) and then a new gal who moved over from the sport division Lisa (no team). The first of the race course starts with a 1.7 mile climb. It is not too bad of a climb. You climb for a bit and then have about a 5 second break and then you continue climbing for a good bit before you have a 10 second downhill and then it is the final climb on the pavement. At the top of the climb you go straight and slightly downhill for a bit before you drop on the singletrack. I did pretty well on the climb. I started out with Dot and then gradually she pulled away. I kept her in my sights instead of trying to keep up with her, I wanted to make sure I could make it through the singletrack climb and I wanted to keep my lungs intact. I felt as long as I could see her it would be good. So I climbed and saw her all the way up to the crest. During this time Lisa also passed me, and then I passed her back at the crest, pulled away and then she got me near the end of the straight away and was able to drop onto the single track right before me. Once again I was not too worried, because I felt prepared for the singletrack climb.

My first drop onto the downhill singletrack started with skidding and almost wiping out due to loose dirt conditions. Most of the downhill was very loose and slippery, and of course there was the reminder of my 2.5 endos two days earlier. So, as I was going down I kept thinking smooth and easy. This allowed me to go a good speed without loosing control. I could see my competitors down the hill, so I felt pretty good. I had a bit of a struggle on the uphill single track, but not near as many as my pre-ride. I kept telling myself if I am struggling so are the others, and I was right. Sure enough I passed Lisa, and eventually saw Dot again. I kept plugging away carefully. I knew if I went too fast I might loose it and I wanted to be able to keep going strong. Near the end of the single track climb I started to push and continued to push up the pavement. I put a good distance on me and Lisa and was hopeful for second (by this time I had lost sight of Dot for good). I dropped carefully onto the dh singletrack this time with no skidding or losing control. I felt good and started to put on the speed. No sooner did I do this than on the next turn I skidded out and ended up in the dirt. I quickly got up and started to go and then saw my chain had dropped. I got off put my chain on and took off. Still no one in sight. This time I went slower to avoid any more wipeouts--probably too slow and cautious. I went down and was going well when all of the sudden I heard "pass" I told her no. She said it was too slow, and I told her I would wipe out if I stopped. We kept going and then the track had a minor split where there was an easy route and a loose, rock route. She took the rock route, I took the grass route and she passed me. This was very demoralizing. I kept going downhill and luckily did not have any more accidents. I took third and came in 20 seconds after Lisa. Dot took first and beat me by 6 minutes. She must have really burned it out, because I saw her on some of serenity. She had a very impressive ride.

At first I was only okay about taking 3rd, mostly because I got passed on the downhill, and I want so badly to do better on downhill. However once I got home I realized I did a dang good job. This was a tough, technical course on less than optimal conditions. I watched the pro, expert and sport racers all skid in the same places I did. Granted they handled their bikes better, but they had the same struggles I did and had to slow down as the rode downhill. This made me feel better. And then I also realized that Lisa has been racing sport. She came over to 35+ which is now for her only doing half a race, and I held against her really darn well. With that said I am way excited about my 3rd place.

On a side note, one thing that really helped me this race was taking a caffine pill. This was to see if I could avoid having an asthma attack, and for the most part it worked. I paced myself, however normally I would have had an attack on the climb and I did not. I did have a mild one near the end of the singletrack hill climb, but it was mild and quickly became controllable. I am excited about this, because there is nothing better than being able to get air into your lungs while riding.

Racing up the hill against Dot. She is pushing it out.Notice I have the brakes on. This is near the place where I had 1.5 endos. Finishing the last part of the rock garden.Concentrating on the downhill portion of the course.I'm a blur on the downhill I'm going so fast.I missed podium and so did Dot. We were up riding the hill. So Mandy sat in for me and Joey sat in for Dot.Talking about the race and our results.After race festivities, good food and friends.More fun times waiting for awards.

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.

Icup #7 - Sundance

What a great day for a race. The weather was not too warm and not too cold. We arrived shortly after 7 am for registration and to get Mandy ready for her race. Mandy's race started at 8:15 am. Her race was held away from the main racing area, so while the kids were waiting to race a few of them wandered up to the main racing area. This caused the race to be delayed while we waited for the kids to get down to the starting line. Ed in order to keep the kids pre-occupied ran the course and had the kids follow on their bikes. As parents we found this very entertaining.





Once all the kids were there the race began. It was a short course, so they did 5 laps, which is not bad until you realize some of them forget what lap they are on and so they try to follow the leader in to the finish even though he may have lapped them 2 times. Luckily everyone got them back out racing without much time lost. Mandy had a great race. She took 6th overall and 2nd out of the girls. She rode down stairs which was awesome. When we first started riding she would not attempt anything, and now she is riding hills and going down stairs!!!

My race went great! Before I tell about the race I need to say I race against and ride with some of the greatest women ever. Dot (Mad Dog) gave me some great racing advice after our race was over. She didn't need to, but she did and it made me have a better understanding of some race strategy. How cool is that. And Jolene (UMB) instead of pushing by me on the bottom half of the downhill stayed with me and talked me out of my tense frustration I was having trying to get the downhill. If it wasn't for her I would have been more sketched riding down the hill. What 2 great women, and everyone in my category is that way. Which shows another reason why racing and the mtb community is so great.




My race started out just fine. I was out near the front with Dot, but not in a hurry I figured as long as she was close and I could see her all would be good. This was good, but I got a little worried as soon as we hit the single track. There was a beginning 13-15 UMB team member that was ahead of me. He was doing great, but was not going fast enough for me. I believe this was his first time racing in this division, so he didn't understand he needed to let me pass, and that it was okay. I was behind him, when all of the sudden he did an endo right off the trail and down the hill, by another rider in his division. I asked if he was okay, took my bike and picked it up over his and went on my way. (he was okay) Within just a moment I caught Dot, and we went neck and neck for quite a ways. I kept right behind her as we passed other riders. Amazing enough each rider let us both go by, I am glad for that, because it would have been harder to stay with her if a rider got between us. Eventually I found a spot to pass her and took my moment and passed. After that I didn't know where she was behind me, but I knew I needed to keep riding, when all of the sudden we came out to uphill double track and my heart sank. I completely forgot about this. Somewhere along this double track Dot passed me back and once again I had to hang on her tail. I did pretty good, but at one point we ended up having a rider in between us and I couldn't stay right with her, but I did see her and she was not far away. And then we hit the downhill and she was off and I tried to keep up. However downhill is not my strongest skill at this moment. I worked hard to stay with Dot when I came to this one section that has two little trees you have to go through. I kept thinking don't look at the trees, and as I went through my handle bar grabbed the tree and all of the sudden I was sailing through the air and my bike was flipping over. I hit the ground softly, jumped up, flipped my bike back up and took back off to catch Dot. (my first endo in a race and I was okay) After that I had aonther slight wipe out, and started to get frustrated, and then another wipe out that added to my frustration. My second wipe out Jolene caught up to me. She was awesome and talked to me amd calmed me down on the rest of the ride downhill. I get very frustrated that my downhill is not so great. She was great and the nice part later was she reminded me I haven't been mountain biking very long. I forget this and put a lot of expectation to be able to keep up with everyone else. At the bottom of the downhill you come out onto uphill pavement. Ouch....I got on the pavement and tore off riding to keep strong, and then I looked back and Jolene was not pushing the sprint, so I was able to back off some. Thank goodness, because it sure would have hurt if I had to keep going strong. Which also would have been fun. I ended up taking 2nd today. Good day for a race. Can't wait for the next one.