Soldier Hollow Pre-ride

I went to ride the trail I will be racing Saturday yesterday. My plan was to ride it twice, once by myself and then once with a group. I did it once, and was not sure I could do it again....whew, it tuckered me out. I got back to my car and I was not sure I would be able to go again. Luckily I was able to rest for about 45 minutes, so I was ready to go when the rest of the group showed up. It sure was a lot of fun to go with a group. I like riding with a group, because it makes it fun and adds to the joy of riding. Yet I also like riding by myself, because I can do the trail how I want and not feel like I am holding anyone back. The trail is not too challenging technically, but cardio wise it is a kick. You go up a hill and then down a hill, and then back up and up and up. I am definitely going to have to figure out how to pace myself for the race. I am going again tomorrow and hopefully it will give me a better idea of how to ride the trail.

A funny thing did happen to me yesterday. I changed out my tires to tubless and sure enough while I was on the trail I accidently rode over a cactus! I probably with a tubed tire would have gotten a flat, but as luck would have it I did not and was able to continue on! Now is the big question. Do I dare not take a tube during the race....I guess I will have to think on that.

Not the best picture, but for some reason my camera was acting up. Oh well, hopefully at

the race I will have better.

Sherwood Mud Fest

This was my 4th Icup race. We arrived at 8 am to a soggy, but not sloshy ground. While we were getting ready there was a rumor the race would be delayed an hour, but as rumors go it was only a rumor and we started on time. This race was a 4.9 mile loop, so they started all of the divisions separately. Our race started at 9 am. As usual they started the men first and the women went last. Since there was only a few women in beginner and a few in 35+ we optioned to start all together. Being at the back of the pack we ended up going through a chewed up and very muddy trail. Some of it was impossible to get through, because it was so slippery. I didn't get a chance to ride the trail before, so in addition to a muddy trail I rode blind. I had a blast. It was the hardest 4.9 miles I have ridden. Mud bogged down my bike, but I kept going, I was determined not to stop. At the first of the race 3 of us broke out front. It was Dot, Tasha and me. There may have been a beginner woman with us, but I am not sure. The very first had a single track that turned through a snow packed trail and went up a hill. I took this with good momentum and was able to get right up the hill, where I saw others have to get off and climb. We were on single track for a short time and then on to double track. I saw Dot and Tasha on the double track, and was able to catch Tasha as we headed in to the trees and more single track. Dot was in the trees quickly and that was the last time I saw her. Tasha and I went back and forth for a little bit, but then we hit a long section of downhill singletrack and I let her pass me. I saw her in front of me the whole time, but never did catch her. I tried on a few the straight aways, but she was too far ahead, and I couldn't get her. I came in 3rd at this race with a time of 1:02. That's a long time for 4.9 miles, unless you consider all of the mud and the bogged down track. Even though it was hard it was fun, and if I was given a choice I would do it all over again.

Mandy's race went great. She took first out of all the 9 and under girls and she took 3rd overall in the 9 and under division. She got very muddy, and had mud bogged down on her bike. It looked like she had a lot of fun.

Step Up and Help

Normally I would write about my game and how things went, but this is much more important than a game. It has given me a great appreciation for my family and what a wonderful life I have, and how lucky I really am. Recently I have been reading the blog Fat Cyclist I have read this blog off and on since I started mountain biking and cycling in October. He and his family have face several challenges. The most recent is heartbraking, and sad, and yet I feel it needs to be shared. After reading below the comment from one of his readers, please go through and read the fat cyclist blog. Get acquainted with his life and start a new appreciation for your own.

Dear Readers of Fatcyclist.com,

This last week has been truly tragic learning of the down turn of Suzan’s illness. As I read these comments left by all you good people, the over all theme is the same. “What can we do for Elden, Susan and their kids?” I decided it was time to stop wondering and time to start doing. I set up a bank account in Elden’s name at a local bank here in Utah. It is linked to pay pal. The pay pal account is winsusannelson@gmail.com . If you don’t have a pay pal account you can also donate by going to my business’s website http://www.kennysphoto.com/ and clicking on the link in the middle of the page, where you can donate with the credit card of your choice. Please know that all funds collected will go directly to this bank account and after a two month period will be given to Elden, Susan and Family. Elden is unaware of this account, until now, of course. I’m not sure how he will react to this comment, but if he removes it, I’m going to continue to put it back on his blog and I invite you as fatcyclist readers to also put this on your own respective blogs. I truly believe that we bless our own lives, when we help others, so I hope that Elden will allow us to help him through this very trying time in his life. He truly has touched each one of us, through his writing and his friendship.
Respectfully yours,
Kenny

I know I haven't shared my blog, but in this case I am sharing and hoping you will pass this on and share with others.

We Won!

Last night was a big coed softball game for me. Both teams were undefeated, and both of us had beaten the teams that historically have been the most challenging. We new it would be close, but it ended up going right down to the last inning. We were the home team with last ups the score was 7 - 8, so we needed to score 2 points to win. I was the fourth batter up and I thought I might need to change something up when I got up. My past 2 times I had hit right one strong near the line and the other mid. I was sure the team knew I would do the same thing, so I thought about changing to the left or center. However as one team mate said why change something that works, so I agreed and decided to stay right. I got up and the perfect pitch came and I swung. Much to my surprise it did not sail out to right field. Instead it dribbled down the first base line. At that moment fear and shock goes through you and you know you need to run like you have never run before. I did and made it to first. How lucky was I.....whew! Oh, and the kicker, I have pulled muscle on the inside of my quad and running fast hurts like nobodies business. Oh well, I made it and had a runner take my place. After I got on we only had 2 more up to bat, and we ended up winning the game by 1 point. The team was a fun, good team to play, and I can't wait to play them in tournament....I'm sure it will be a close game then too.

Two Knee Caps

Went on a light ride today. Thought I would do the Provo Race Course. It is fairly easy with rolling hills and some down hill. It is a loop you can do a few times and not get tired out. At the entrance to the trail you drop down hill camber to the left and then go up the hill. The hill down has one section that is all rock and is unsteady. As you come along on the camber/turn it is gravely and loose. Today I made a huge mistake and decide to break and go slow. When I braked I skidded out lost my balance and ended up off my bike. On the way down my knee hit a nice size rock and created a huge bump on my knee, which now looks like a second knee cap. Needless to say it hurt enough that I sat on the trail for a minute. I then got up and had to walk up the hill. Eventually as I rode I forgot about the knee and had fun. I noticed I am going slower on my down hills. I think this is due to my crash at the race. Hopefully soon I will start to feel more comfortable going faster.

5 Mile Pass Race

Today was the 3rd Icup race. It was an 11 mile race that took place about 29 miles west of Lehi, Ut. The race course was mostly double track, with a lot of hills with rocks and churned up sand. It had a fun wash, and of course you had lots of opportunity to pass.

Mandy started her race with the 9 and under at 9 am. She did awesome! The funniest part of the race is when she reached the end at the spaghetti bowl. The hill was somewhat steep going up and down. Instead of riding down, she decided to walk her bike down. However, it was steep and slippery, so she let go of her bike and let it go down without her. I guess if you need to get down that is one way to go. Then she went to the finish line. She would have had 1st place, but a 10 year old girl was allowed to race in the 9 and under. She is doing great and having a lot of fun. I hope she keeps having fun.

Mandy racing towards the finish line.

My race went well. I raced in the 35+ division. I was nervous, more so than the previous race. I warmed up until about 5 minutes before my race started. This was good because my legs stayed warm, and it was not so good because I was at the back of the pack. But it ended up not mattering much, because I got a good start, and pulled up to the front at the very first. The first part goes up a gradual hill, and then does a quick downhill drop with a turn and then back up hill. By the time we got to the downhill it was me and one other racer (Dot from Mad Dog). When we it the downhill I used this to pull ahead, and it worked. Then for a little bit I was in the front. This lasted for a little bit, until I was passed by 2 other riders. I know one was Tasha, but I don't know who the other rider was. We stayed together for a while, until about the 2nd hill climb. I struggled and had to walk this got Dot to pass me, and the others to pull a little bit more away. On the next hill Jolene from utahmountainbiking.com passed we. We were close together until the yellow page hill (hike a bike hill)--that was the last time I saw her. Right after the hike a bike is a single track. Every time I have pre-ridden the single track I had to walk parts of it. Today, I conquered the whole thing. The next part was down hill for a short moment, then a gradual uphill. After a minute I increased my cadence and started to pass people. Then I hit the fun part he downhill and the wash. I love the wash it is fast with some great berms. This time I went a little to fast and ended up crashing in the wash. I was okay, but I slowed probably a little slower than I should have. I was passed by 2 more women in my division. Eventually I made it to the end and in good time. My time was 1:36, not sure of the exact race time yet, but when it comes out I wil update. The cool part was I took 7th (which I am happy about), and I got a prize, because 7 was the lucky number for winning a prize.










At the starting line.














Taking off from the finish line.

I really enjoyed this race, and can't wait for the next one next week.

Skills Day

On Monday of this week utahmountainbiking.com had a skills evening for members, family and friends. My husband Royce and I went together. Ryan and Jared took the time to show us how to pedal wheelie over obstacles, lift our back tire and jump off a ramp. After that we used these skills to go over an obstacle course.

Royce clears all of the obstacles....wish I had done that.

Cholla Race

This race was Saturday April 12th, I didn't write about it quickly, but here is a quick update. Mandy did great at the race. She took 3rd out of the girls and 12th overall. The route for the 12 and under was somewhat difficult. They started out riding down the road, and then they have a steep drop down a hill that has a big rut in the middle of the road. Mandy got off her bike and walked this hill, which was probably good, since she had not pre-ridden before the race. After that it was taking off around on the dirt road. Mandy did great and passed quit a few riders here. As she headed towards the end she got off her bike and walked up an enormously steep hill and then jumped back on to finish the last few feet of the ride. Way to go Mandy!!!

Mandy riding the course.

Mandy pushing her bike up the steep hill towards the finish line.

I wish the race had gone half as good for me as for Mandy. I changed divisions and joined the 35+ division. This division has a lot of great riders. I moved up so I would become a better rider by following and learning from them, and of course with hopes that eventually I would get good enough to beat some of them. My race started out exactly as I hoped. I stayed to the back, because I new I had different lines than most on the slick rock and I was going to use this to get me ahead of others, and it worked. I passed 3 women right at the first using my lines on the slick rock, as I was preparing to continue on I all of the sudden had mechanical problems that stopped me dead in my tracks. I jumped off my bike and inspected it to see what was the problem, and found out my front brake cable had gotten caught between my tire and front fork. Okay, this is not so bad. I pulled it out and took off. Unfortunately the time it took for me to find and fix the problem I was passed by one girl. Which meant I now had to take off and go full steam ahead. Which I did. I did fine for about 2 miles before eventually slowing down due to asthma and lack of oxygen. I was passed by Meri Bruin from the same team as me (she is in womens beginngin division and rocks at riding) about this time. She rode my tail for quit a while unknownling to me it was a teammate. Which is funny because when she passed me I was so happy it was her, I thought she could take over and catch the others. I kept going until the hike a bike hill. I didn't do too well getting my bike up the hill, and got passed by another rider. But was not worried, and rode right on her tail until the dirt road, where just as was getting ready to pass her, started to have front cable issues again. This time it got worse and worse and the cable pulled in if I bumped a rock or turned sharply. At the time I did not know why, but after the race I figured out it was due to the nobs on my tire pulling the cable in. Eventually the cable pulled in to my fork caused so much trouble I ended up walking about 2 miles of the race. This was discouraging and at some points because I got passed by a lot of people, including 3 I had passed from my division! The worst part was towards the end when some started making comments that I did not have much further to go. At that point my frustration took hold and I shouted to about 5 riders that my bike had mechanical problems, not that I couldn't ride the route. Anyway, I was able to get on my bike the last mile--probably because it was flat and straight. I ended up 7th out of 9th which was surprising, because I thought for sure I had been passed by most in my division. I have gotten my biked fixed, and I can't wait for the next race.

Going up the slick rock with a big smile on my face having just passed 3 riders!

Fear Factor

Today I rode the Provo Canyon Race Loop Trail. This trail is a single track with up and down rolling hills and a gravely downhill drop. For those who do not know, downhill can be a little scary for me. Some downhill no problem, Bobsled I did not have any problems, I went down it without stopping and loved every minute of it. Downhills near edges and with gravel frighten me. More often than not I will walk down the hill. This is what happened today. I came rolling up to this hill began to go down, began to skid and then got off my bike and walked. I went around and again the same thing, except this time I looked back and looked for the line that would be safest for me to go down. I picked it, and then decided I would do one final loop and give it another shot. I went around, and had a nice pace as I came to the hill. This time I hung on, went light on the brakes and went for it, and I did it!!! I went down the hill and took the turn without any problems. I was so excited about it I let out a big "I did it!" and a "wohoo". The feeling was great, so great that I had to do the loop one more time. I did the loop again, and again I hit the hill without any problems. I had the biggest smile on my face that lasted all the ride home, and for quite a while at home.
Downhill view of the hill I conquered.

Time Flies

Camp was awesome. I was sooooo busy riding all day I did not have the time I thought to blog about the experience. Camp started every morning at 9:45 and ended anywhere from 4 to 6, and then we were out riding the trails, until about 8. That gave me enough time to go back to my room shower, go out to eat, and get back to sleep.





I learned a ton at Gene Hamilton's BetterRide Camp, and since going to his camp I can know get over obstacles I could not get over, ride slick rock with out any problems, and my turning on corners and switchbacks is a piece cake. I descend better on downhill, but still have a ways to go, before I feel completely comfortable. Another cool thing I learned to do was jumps, and I have done some. Who would have thought! I never would have attempted a jump before this camp, now I am trying and working on my form.





The camp has also helped me with my xc racing. I can now hang with the rest of the pack.




This is the gropu at the trail, reviewing what we learned and going application of what we learned.