Jackson Day 1

Technically our first day in Jackson was yesterday, but we arrived in the evening and did not go out and do anything other than some small grocery shopping. Today was a day of what we should do. Of course we decided to go mountain biking. After visiting one of the local bike stores, getting a trail map, we headed to a trail that was supposed to be a Mandy type of trail.

When we arrived we were a little confused about what trail we should go on. After asking a rider that had just come down the trail, we got some directions and headed off. However, we ended up taking a bit of a wrong turn as we heard a trail in our head and could not remember which way we were supposed to go, so we turned onto Hagan's--the wrong way! Mandy did great, but because we did not go the right way we had a huge hike a bike, so big that Royce had to take Mandy's bike up for her.

After we got up the road we realized we had gone on the wrong trail, and we were supposed to go on Putt-Putt. We continued up the double track we eventually came to Putt-Putt. This was a fun trail. A little bit of up, and a lot of down--of course if you ask Mandy she may think there was more up. Note to self and others. When you arrive at the top and it is flat do not, I repeat DO NOT tell the young rider that it is flat from here, especially if you have not been on the trail. The young rider will take it literally and not understand that at this point it is flat, but down the trail it could change. There were a couple of times I said this and we would ride and then all of the sudden it went up...oops. After we finished Royce and I took turns riding the trail by ourselves. A lot of fun, simple trail, great for the family.

Looks like my Superfly may have a crack in it again! It is under the clear coat, so I am not sure. This was the start of the day.
Mandy was not happy about going in the flowers for a picture she was determined she would get stung by a bee. Look at all of the flowers, very beautiful.

Royce taking off up Cache Creek trail.

Royce coming through the trees on Hagans trail.

Mandy coming through the trees and hikers not wanting to wait.

This time in the trails by herself.

Royce crested the hill and then went off the trail. I know I shouldn't show this, but it Mandy and I were right there, and it was really funny.

The hike a bike on Hagan's - this is 1/4 of the way up.

Coming across one of the flat sections--almost a smile on her face.

Coming across the trail.

View from the top.

Checkout the horses in front of the Cowboy bar.

Solitude ICup State Championship

What a great morning for a race--perfect temperature and great course. The race started out going up a road and down single track. I rode downhill fairly tentative--I was being cautious due to my already broken nose. Once I hit the new part of the up hill I settled in to a good pace and rode--my legs felt good. On the downhill I felt great and as I went down I became more confident in my skills and less concerned about falling and hurting my nose.

The second lap I felt good, but I am pretty sure my body was tired. I slipped on a couple of uphill switchbacks, and I was talking with Patty as we rode up the trail--you cannot have conversations when you are at race pace. Since we were in different categories we stayed together without the pressure of losing our positions. As we headed into the down hill Patty let me in first since she felt I would go faster. I was feeling good this time around on the downhill and went much faster than the first time. On the down I passed Hayden on a rocky section and continued to feel confident, and then it happened. Somewhere a rock, a turn or something caused me to fly off my bike. I went down hard, on the left side of my body and hit the left side of my face. Luckily I did not hit my nose--just by it. I quickly jumped up, and let everyone that was around know that I was fine and to not tell my husband. I jumped back on my bike and continued down As I rode I discovered my seat had twisted to the side. Since it was near the end of the course I kept riding and finished with a crooked seat.

At the finish line I was pretty dirty and dusty and the people noticed my arm was ripped up--so much for keeping the crash a secret from my husband, I didn't even notice it, although there was a lot of blood. I was directed over to first aid where they actually took a hose to my arm and legs to get all of the dirt, rocks and blood off me. Once they were done it still wasn't clean enough so I had to go and scrub the dirt out of my wounds in the bathroom. The ladies in the bathroom were less than thrilled to see me grit my teeth and scrub out the blood and dirt. After I was done back to first aid to get bandage upped. Oh, and after all that I ended up in first place.
Sally and me on the podium. Dorthy had to go or she would also be on the podium.
Next Day - Sore and bruised, but anxious to get on my bike.

Broken Nose, Birthday and Rock Climbing

Tuesday
Was in the championship softball game, second inning of tie breaker heading into the third. Runner is coming into home-first throws to home and I go in for a low tag, because the runner is supposed to slide--runner did not slide and I took it hard to the face. I ended up with a whiplash, 3 stiches and a broken nose. Saw the nose doctor on Friday and he said I had to wait for the break to heal inside and then he would do surgery--my septum is now deviated from the break. Oh, and riding a bike I found out I breathe more through my nose than I thought. Solitude is going to be interesting.
I put on make up so you couldn't see my black eyes. It doesn't look bad, but it sure does hurt!
Wednesday

Mandy had her 10th birthday. A day full of skating, swimming, cake and the movie Harry Potter. Oh and she got the guitar that she has been asking for, for the last 2 years!

Friday

Mandy has been going to the Quarry all week for climbing camp. Here are pictures of her climbing.

Mandy climbing up the white sections.

Doing the king swing.

Moose Crossing

Went to pre-ride Solitude tonight. Love the new course it is a lot of fun. Jen and I almost ran into two moose on our way towards the upper loop, just before the up hill climb begins. They were about 2 years old and were probably siblings. I don't know how long moose stay with their mom, but luckily we did not see a mom.

Blurred, but I got the picture.
Jen enjoying the trail.

Quick break for a picture-don't know who the rider is in the background.

Snowbird Icup Race

The morning of the race started out a bit sluggish. For those of you who do not know, I play on four softball teams. Right now we are in tournament. Three of the teams I am on are very competitive and we usually place in the top two of our division, one of the teams is a family team and we are not the best, but not the worst. Last night was the family team tournament. We played at 7 pm and if we won we kept playing until we lost. I was not worried about playing all night due to our past games, so I did not get a sub for the night, instead I showed up to play. Well you guessed it we played all night. By the time we finished I had pulled lmy eg muscle and did not get home until 10:30 pm, which meant I did not get to bed until 11:30 pm. By the time I got up, drove to Snowbird and got to the start line I was feeling very tired and unmotivated to race.

It seems being unmotivated to race only plays a small part in how I ride. As we worked our way up the line to the start I started to get the nervous, anticipation feeling. My competitiveness was starting to kick in. At the start line it was the normal joking and then it was down to business. As we started I took off. I could feel the hang over from playing the night before, but that was okay I still was going to pull to the front, and I did. Mentally I was not completely up for this, but apparently I have a stronger drive than I realize.

I ended up at the front of the pack, but Jolene was right there with me. I could hear her as we rounded corners, and by this I mean we actually were talking about the race and the course. We pulled over together twice to let a couple of young riders pass, we talked about the course and how we did not like a turn, we discussed whether I was going fast enough or not--I decided I was, especially because I knew we had another lap to do. We talked back and forth throughout the entire first lap and stayed together the whole time. We had more than one spectator comment that we should be racing not socializing, and apparently Royce felt the same way. I disagree it was nice to have someone close that first lap.

The second lap was a little bit different. This lap we were not as close, but we were still pretty close. We rode fairly close together throughout the first of the single track and then we came to the new section of trail. I kept pretty steady through here and then when I hit the switchbacks I finally got into race mode and decided to turn up the pace a bit. This turned out to be a necessity for later in the race.

Going up the switchbacks I could see Jolene behind me instead of hear her behind. At the top of the hill I hit the dreaded gravel road. My first time down this hill Jolene caught me and stayed right behind me, the second time down I rode it much better and did not see her the entire time, although I knew she was close behind. By the time I got to the bottom under the chairlift/tram I saw Jolene closing the gap. Once again I picked up the pace a bit as I climbed the road to the single track. It was about this time I heard wheels coming up speedily behind me. If Jolene was going that fast I would be happy to let her pass me. It turned out to be a young boy going through some voice changes--he sounded a lot like her, I sure hope it changes for the better.



Heading down the single track to the finish all I could think was don't screw this up, and of course about the time I thought this I screwed it up. There is a large bridge you go over and then you go to a little up hill that has some rocks you need to clear. I have never struggled to get over these rocks, but this time I lost traction and ended up off my bike. I was sure Jolene was going to get me right there and pass me. Lucky for me she did not, but she sure did get close. Glad I had put a little bit of distance between us.

I continued along and kept pushing hoping to increase the distance between us. I know how good Jolene is at sprinting at the end and I really did not want to have to sprint against her. I ended up on the road to the finish first and pushed it up the road. I crossed the finish line and just stayed there exhausted from the last little push. Jolene crossed 15 seconds later. We both hung on our bikes for a moment, gave our congrats' and moved on. I then took off to meet Mandy.



A final note. Apparently Ed has forgotten the 35+ division and the sport women division. We stood in the rain patiently waiting for him to call our division and names. After a bit we realized he was talking and it appeared podium was over. We had to get his attention and sure enough he had forgotten us. So we have now gone from getting our awards last, to being totally forgotten. Ed, I think you owe us and we need to be called first for the rest of the year at awards. ;-)
Racers lining up to the start. Having fun at the finish line before we start to race. Congrats and exhaustion at the finish line.
The forgotten podium in the rain. Mandy's Race

I would venture to say Mandy did not have fun at this race, and I guess I can't blame her if I was in her shoes. She is a funny little girl, she loves to go to the races, but struggles doing physical activity during the week. Today's race though I think she started with less than a happy face.

Mandy at the start line.

I dare say she got off to a good start, but this course is hard and the majority of it is climbing. On my second lap I saw Mandy on the new cut trail walking her bike just coming out of the trees. I gave her advice for the downhill and then did not see her again until after I had finished.

Starting off good.

After my finish I went and met Mandy. She was coming up the hill from under the chair lift/tram. Needless to say I did not come upon a happy campier. She is very discouraged about always being in last, and walking her bike so much. As we walked and sometimes rode the last part of the trail Mandy vented and let me know exactly how she felt about today's race.

She was very mad I did not tell her how hard the trail was. I should have told her it was mostly uphill and not very fun. She thought the down hill was not fun and boring on the road, and the other part was hard because of the rocks. She did not like the down hill at all. She was mad I had wasted her day, because she could have done better things with her time. When we got to the road and I was riding by her towards the finish, she asked me to go ahead because she was embarrassed to ride with me. I went ahead and she ended up eventually riding through the finish.

I had her stay for podium and as you can see there is a very unhappy face. Eventually the unhappy face disappeared with recovery of a Big Mac, fries and a drink. Well deserved after all she went through.

I struggle with having Mandy race. She likes the races and at the same time she hates them. She gets very discouraged coming in last and talks about what a horrible rider is. I worry because I don't want this to have a negative affect on her. I get her to ride her bike but not often enough--not from lack of trying. Yet she loves to ride when she does, loves going down hill and of course hates going up. The race courses are hard and she isn't skilled enough yet for them. So what does a mom do? She likes it, she doesn't? She has fun, she doesn't? Does she keep racing or does she stop?
The 12- under podium group.

Cold, tired and ready to go home.

Sharing

Royce and I do not get the opportunity to ride together very often. But the other day we were both home at the same time and I wanted to go ride BST north--so we quickly took off for a short one hour ride. I have told Royce about this trail many times, but have not had the chance to show him the trail, so I was very excited about showing it to him. I made sure he knew where to meet me, and then I took off riding to the trail and he met me in the car.

Royce met me near the top of 2000 North. My goal knowing how much hill climbing there was, was to keep it short and end on the downhill instead of having to climb back to the car. In theory this was good, but it was 93 degrees out, and Royce is not used to climbing, however he kept going and we made it to the top of Dry Canyon Road. Originally I had planned to go north--this involves more climbing, but then you go down, down, down which is a lot of fun. Once we got to the top though I decided I had shared enough in the pain pellet of riding (see Fat Cyclist Blog) Instead of going up and then down we just went down. I think I had shared enough pain for the day, although by the look on his face I don't think he was in too much pain.

The New Hair Cut

Mandy has quite the history of hair cuts. When she was little she cut her own hair not once, not twice, but three times! Each time we took her to the hair stylist to fix the mis-shapened hair. The third time I rushed her to the stylist as I knew her dad would be less than pleased to see the crooked short hair once again. Mandy loved going to get her hair cut and thought this was fun. Other times when we went to get her hair cut it would be a battle. I insisted she have bangs, she did not want bangs--mom's decision stood. Another time there mis-communication between mom, the stylist and dad (dad had taken her to get her hair cut), instead of coming home with a trim and bangs she came home with short hair. Poof dad he got in so much trouble for that one, so now the stylist and I have phone conversations about what type of hair cut Mandy will have.

This last time I called her up to let her know that Mandy could do whatever she wanted to her hair, except for no black, pink streaks and absolutely no color in her hair. Since Mandy was growing her hair long I figured she would come back with a trim. Wrong. Check out the new hairstyle she picked out herself.

Very Cute Hair Cut!

New Trail Ride

No work today, great weather, and mountain biking most of the day--could you ask for anything more. I went with Dot and Jen this morning to pre-ride the new Snowbird course. This year we do not have to ride up the yucky gravel hill, instead there is a new trail to ride up. I wanted to make sure I got a chance to ride it and today was the perfect day for it.

When we arrived around 8:30 am and the temperature was about 57 degrees--perfect riding weather. The trail was a little wet from the rain the day before, but no too bad. There were some slick roots and rocks along the way, but for the most part it was negotiable. Then we came to the new trail.

The first part of the new trail is still in grass. I don't know if they are going to dig this out or not, but it does ride through a somewhat swampy area. The first lap I walked through the grass to a portion that was cut out, the second lap there was no getting off the bike and getting my feet wet--it helps to know what to expect.

The first little portion of the new trail is very nice. It is close together much like the first, and a little rough of course, because people have not been on it much. I am sure it will not take long for it to get packed down. After a little bit the single track opens up into a wider, faster trail. Yohoo!!! Great passing and lots of fun. Well at least lap 2 was. The first lap it was still very damp and the dirt stuck to my tires and I ended up not having any tread showing the entire way up the hill. By the time I got to the top I felt like I had been carrying 20 pounds extra on my bike.

Going up is very nice the trail is wide, there are many switchbacks going up, and there is plenty of passing room. Although if I had the opportunity I would prefer to go down this trail, it looks like it would be a rip. The good part getting to the top of Snowbird is now fun and relatively easy as long as you are not caring an extra 20 pounds.

At the top of the trail you start back into the old trail with the dreaded gravel road descent. For the most part today it was not so bad, but I think the rain had a lot to do with that. There are still a lot of precarious places and you need to be careful. I am glad I ride the race at the first and not the end this time--I am sure there will be a lot more loose rocks later in the day.

The trail is in great shape and a lot more fun with this new single track. I ended up doing 2 laps and letting Dot do 3 while I took a lot of pictures of the new trail. As you will see it is pretty nice.
Towards the first of the course. This is not the new section.
First part of the new trail when it opens up.

One of the many switchbacks leading up the hill.

View from the trail to the top.

I thought this huge rock where the switchback was cool.

View from the new trail.....isn't it beautiful.

Rock formation leading to the end. Helps with the water drainage.

Trail at the top of the hill.

Another spectacular view...I am sure I will not notice this during the race.

I like how the clouds enveloped the mountain.

Dot riding towards the end of the trail.

Second part of the day was spent riding Lambert Park with my family and Karl and Dot's family. Dot, Jonny and Joey have never been to Lambert and I have been telling them forever how much fun Rodeo Down is. Mandy ending up being in the lead and took us down River and back up High Bench. I was really impressed with how well Joey did, he is only 5 and was able to do most the of trail.

At the top of the 3 way intersection we headed towards Rodeo Up. This time I took the lead. All of the kids did great, but they were tired by the time we got to the top. We rested on the bench and I let them know how much fun the down hill was going to be. I don't think they were totally convinced.

Mandy has been down Rodeo Down, so we let her go first and then I followed. I can't believe how well she did going down the trail. She loves going down--somehow I need to convince her up is not so bad.

At the bottom we waited for the rest of the crew. Jonny and Dot showed up first. Jonny liked it and said it was not bad at all. Then came Joey, Karl and Royce. You should have seen Joey's face he was beaming from ear to ear. He had a blast. In fact it didn't take much to convince him to do it again. So up we went to the top and then back down. Everyone was still smiles at the end. I don't think there could have been a better day than riding with friends and family.