12 Hours Mesa Verde Race

So you are probably wondering why I would register for a 12 hour race right after my surgery. Well, the truth is I registered before I knew I needed the surgery. When the doctor told me I needed surgery, he also told me I would be on my bike in 4 weeks, so although I knew I wouldn’t be in tip top shape, I thought it would be doable. Truth be told had I not registered before the surgery I never would have, but I did and I am glad I did, because it was a blast.


The Mesa Verde race is one of the most fun races I have been to. The course although long (17.23 miles), and technical, has some of the most fun downhill that makes every little bit of pain you go through worth it.

There was a large contingency of people there from Utah, and we totally represented. We also had a great group of Mad Dog Riders there—Brad & Dwight did a duo, Bill did 12 hour solo, Reed did a 12 hour solo, and KC & Chris Co-ed duo. We also had two women’s teams for the 3-4 female teams. I remember a time when I struggled to get people to ride a 12 hour race, and here were 7 women racing—way exciting.

The day started out great. Good temperatures and a slight breeze. For riding it was perfect, for sitting around and waiting your turn it was a little chilly. Since I was the last rider on our team I got to sit around and take pictures. Lucky me I also, got to see Dave Wiens race right by us, too bad I didn’t have my camera ready. I also had a moment of running to the bathroom a couple of times. I thought it was pre-nerve race jitters, turns out it wasn’t.

It wasn’t long before it was my turn to race. I went out on the course, and basically mentally sabotaged myself for almost the entire lap. I started out sick to my stomach and trying to throw up my banana for about the first 4 miles. During this time I kept thinking many depreciating thoughts of “how I sucked” “I am fat” “I am slow” “I can’t even climb hills on my bike anymore” “I am letting my team down”. I tried and tried to get rid of these thoughts, but no matter what I did they stayed. It didn’t help that many, many people rode by me, and the majority of those people said “keep up the good work, you’re doing great”. I must have looked pretty pathetic.

I did have one moment where I almost got rid of these thoughts. I had the thought of “Well at least Wendy is still behind me”. Not 10 minutes later she rode by me—oh the irony—you really have to laugh.

Because of my mental state I rode the rocky technical portion like a sissy girl. What I had easily cleared the day before, I now was bouncing around and struggling to ride. During this time KC passed me, and said “ride safe”. A mile later I had a hard endo, which ending up breaking my right shifter—it was usable, but was sticking straight out which changed my grip.

Sometime after my endo, I made it to the sweet downhill section. It was here that my attitude began to change. During the downhill I really began to enjoy the ride. I was hooping and hollering, and I found that I was passing people, and leaving many guys in the dust. Considering how many people had left me in the dust, this was a good feeling. I loved it when I cleared a section and 3 people were walking their bikes down this section. I needed these little accomplishments to help shake all the negativity I was carrying around.

Eventually I came in right at 2 hours. This may sound long, but when I left I was scared I would take 2 ½ hours. I felt a flood of relief and joy, knowing I made it in. Back at our site Bill’s wife Robin really helped me put things into perspective. I know my health has not been great, and I know I have been off my bike, but it was really hard to accept. I want to be back to my strong, healthy former self. However she helped me see the more realistic side of things which helped.

It turns out my pre-race visits to the bathroom was not nerves. Instead I had bad stomach cramps, and diarrhea which sent me to the bathroom 7 times. I was so cramped up, I spent Jen’s entire lap and part of Tiffany’s in the chair curled up like a ball. Luckily by the time I had to race again, I had nothing left to come out (at least that’s what I was hoping).

My second lap was much, much better than my first. Despite all the stomach issues I left riding good, and hard. I felt so good as I rode, and for this lap I had nothing but positive thoughts. I kept thinking “you rock” “you are going fast” “you just had heart surgery 6 weeks ago and look how you are riding”. Amazing what a difference those thoughts made. I was riding fast enough that the first half of the course I shaved 5 minutes off my previous time. Had my legs not actually fatigued by mile 11 I think I could have shaved almost 10 minutes off. But about the time I finished climbing Moki’s hill my legs decided they were tired. I spun and spun, but there was not a lot of push. Luckily it was not long before the downhill.

This time on the downhill I slowed down a bit. I didn’t want to crash. It was very important I cross in time for Jen to go out one last time. I was tired, and when you’re tired you can crash, so I took it a bit slower, and made it in across the finish line shaving 2 minutes off my previous lap time!

Our team ended up taking 7th out of 15 women’s teams, and the other Mad Dog women’s team took 6th. At one point we were vying for 5th with an all professional women’s team—what an accomplishment.

Although this course really beats you up, I can’t wait to race it again next year, and if I am lucky I will another great bunch of gals to race with.
My team.  Check out the sunset in the background.

The other Mad Dog Women's Team - they totally rocked!

Pre-race Mesa Verde

A group of us went down to the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde this weekend.  We left Thursday evening, so we would not be rushed Friday morning to get down, pre-ride and pick up packets.  It turns out that this was a good idea since Heather, Dorothy and I all needed to have our bikes looked at.  I lost my front brake again for the 5th time, Heather had to have her shifter adjusted, and Dorothy need to have her brake fixed.

We went to Kopelli Bike & Board.  These guys were terrific, so friendly and helpful.  They were willing to let me borrow a front brake just so I could race if mine kept collasping.

Picture taken from Brad's blog.

After getting bikes ready we went out to the course for a pre-ride.  We had so much fun on this course.  This course has everything, small climbs, technical parts, whoopdedoos, twisty turns, jumps and just lots of fun.  I was laughing and giggling so much.  I have never been on a race course that was so much fun.  The pre-ride was so much fun I could hardly wait to race on the course.

Wendy, Dorothy and Gayle

Heather ready to ride the course.

I had a jersey on that was too big.  It was so weighted down it went past my bum.I guess you could say I had a lot of junk in my trunk.

Group photo, you can't tell, but the view is beautiful.

I'm So Excited!

I got to ride my bike today!  It feels like it has been forever, and in a way it has been.  It was the perfect day for a ride.  I met Wendy up by water tower road and we took off.  The only plan was to ride Dragon's back.  Have you ever yearned to ride a trail, and just had to go ride it no matter what.  That's what it has been for me and Dragon's back.  Don't ask me why, but I love going down this trail.  It is fun, fast and bumpy--I love going over the rocks.  I couldn't wait to ride it.

Since there was no plan other than riding Dragons Back, Wendy and I improvised as we went.  We rode up water tower road, and had a fox scoot right in front of us across the road and up the hillside.  I have never seen a fox in that area.  It was really cool, and cute, it still had it's winter coat on.

At the top of water tower we decided to go up Betty.  We took Betty up to the alter.  This is only my second time going up.  The ride was great, and it seemed a lot easier than the first time I rode it.  KC and Chris showed up a little after we did at the alter.  Wendy predicted they would be there, and sure enough they were.  I think it is their second home.

We then went down Franks so we could get to Dragon's back, quickly.  I don't think many people ride Franks, because there were a lot of loose rocks.  I would say this is not the best downhill, but it is quick to get to where you need to go.

I was so happy to go down Dragons Back, it was fun and fast, and I still really like it.  At the bottom I somehow lost Wendy.  I went right to go down the single track, she apparently went left.  Once I realized I lost her I went back up the hill, and rode along the road but never found her.  Not knowing where she was I eventually turned around and went down.  By the time I made it to the Texaco at the Provo trail head Wendy called.  She was home, happy and off to yoga.  I was glad she was okay.  Funny how we never saw each other split up.

My ride went well, but my legs were tired after all was said and done  I have a ways to go to get my fitness back, but I think my legs will get back in shape fairly quickly.  My heart may take longer, I don't know.  The doctor told me it would take 6 months to a year for complete healing.
So this means what?  What it means is my heart has to get used to riding a mountain bike.  Normally when I ride I like push it on the uphills.  Right now I can't.  When I go up a hill my heart rate escalates way too high, and I end up exploding.  So I have to gauage the hills and figure out the best gear to go in.  You see my legs go up fine, at least until my heart rate escalates.  Once my heart rate escalates I can only go so long and then my whole body decides it is done.  What does it escalates to?  Try in the 180s and up.  Way too high for simple riding.  Steep hills okay, but simple hills, not so much.  Which means my heart rate is up most of the time, and I am not racing!

I don't know how long it will take for it to get conditioned to riding, but I am hoping not long.  In the mean time, I am closely monitoring my heart rate, distance and speed.  I noticed by doing this I see improvement.  Very small improvement, but improvement which will help on those days when I am discouraged.

I am also going to write about my progress, the ups and downs.  Forgive me if it drives you crazy, but there are others who have health issues, and it gets really hard sometimes to overcome them.  Maybe they will be able to relate.  I know right now when I read Karl's blog I can sometimes relate.  Totally different stuff, but I know the feeling of not being able to race or ride, so I can relate.  Which is why I am going to write about it.
Which means there may positive stuff to read and discouraging stuff.  I hope you don't get lost in it all.

What to Write

For 2 weeks I have been wondering what I should write about.  There hasn't been a lot to write about.  I got released from the doctor to ride my bike two weeks ago.rode 3 days and then ended up getting a severe sinus infection.  Ended up in bed for a week, sleeping most of the days away...ugh, seems like such a waste of a day, but that is all I could do.

I am on my second round of antibiotics and feeling a little bit better, but have not been able to ride my bike since getting sick.  It has  me pretty bummed out and anxious about where I am physically.  One month off the bike for my heart, and now 2 more weeks from a sinus affection.  Hopefully the weather will clear and I can get out and get some rides in.

Whiting Trail Group Ride

I have gone on a few group rides, and loved all of them.  However, tonight's ride was extra special.  What made this group ride so special?  Three things.  One Scott and I were leading the ride.  I have never led a ride, so this was a first.  The second, this was the first time back on the trails since surgery.  The third, I rode my new bike.

The ride Scott and I led was Whiting trail.  I have never been on this trail, but Scott had and he said it would be perfect.  We decided to have those in north county meet at Mad Dog Cycles and those in south county meet at the trail head.  It turns out this was a great plan, and we ended up with a large group of 16 riders for this ride!

Scott did a great job picking the trail.  It is absolutely beautiful, and there are a lot of fun things on the ride.  It has a lot of ups and downs, stairs and a lot of variety.  The trail was perfect for riding.  We had reports it might be muddy, but instead we ended up with a nice tacky trail.

For our ride Scott stayed in the front and I took the back.  It was great to be at the back, I got to talk with the riders, and I needed to be at the back.  First day back on the trail was hard on my heart and I maxed out pretty quickly-try a 183 hr, trust me this trail is not a 183 hr trail.  I actually had to stop at one point.  Little discouraged about that, but hopefully in time my heart will quit spiking to such a high heart rate and all will be good again.

The ride up the trail is mostly up with a few ups and downs, so it is not a straight up hill climb.  There is nothing too difficult, but there was a couple of tight turns that led to some steep ups.  Why are there always steep ups in percarious places???  The downhill was a blast.  Nice curvy turns, with quick up and downs.  You could really pick up some speed and go really fast down this trail. 

About half way on the down Scott traded me places, and I got to let my bike go.  Sooooo much fun.  It rode great.  It felt so good to go fast.  Thanks Scott for trading me.

I didn't get any pictures of the trail, but I did get pictures of a few of the riders riding down the trail.  If you look closely you can see how pretty the  trail is. 
Scott leading the ride on the down.

I think Dave needs water.

Carson - our sheep dogger for the night.

Group Ride Invite

Mad Dog Race Team sponsors group rides almost every Thursday.  The rides are for you, your friends, family and anyone who might like to ride a bike.  All of the rides are led by some of the Mad Dog Team Riders.  Tomorrow I get to lead on of those rides with Scott Billings!

We are going to ride Whiting Trail, which is in the Springville area.  I haven't ridden the trail, but according to Scott it is a pretty nice trail.  Everyone is invited to come.  It is a no drop ride--since this is my first mountain bike ride since surgery you definitely do not need to worry about being dropped.

We are meeting at Mad Dog Cycle in Orem at 5:30 pm  and the trail at 6:15 pm.  Here are directions:

From Interstate 15, exit at Springville (Exit 260). Head East 2 miles to intersection of Main Street and 400 South. Turn right (South) on Main Street, staying in the right lane toward Highway 89/Price. Continue approx. 2.3 miles to Maple Street. Turn left (East) on Maple/State Hwy 147 for approx. .9 mile to Main Street in Mapleton. Turn left (North) on Main Street. Turn right (East) on 400 North. Drive East on 400 North for approx 2.7 miles until you reach Whiting Campground.

See ya' tomorrow.

New York

It has been 22 years since I have been in New York.  I lived there, loved it, but moved back to Utah to help my family, and never got to come back.  Arriving on the plane and driving to my destination brought back a flood of good memories from when I was here.  One of those was the beauty of New York.

I remembered how beautiful New York is, but for some reason seeing it again is more breath taking than when I lived here.  I guess you appreciate things more with time.  Another thing I remembered was the ugly highway patrol cars.  I can't believe they haven't changed.  They look like they are more than 20 years old.

It sure is good to be in New York again.  But it will be nice when I get to come home.
Outside City Hall in Saratoga Springs.

Part of the main shopping area

Congress Park is beautiful.  I couldn't take enough pictures to even come close to show how pretty it is.

Fun New Stuff

The past two days I have gotten some really cool stuff.  The best is at the very bottom.

New suitcase for traveling--going to New York soon, so it will come in handy.

I love the side compartment for my laptop.

Droid cell phone.  Mine went the way of the world after 3 years and it was time for a new one.  It has some really cool stuff, the gps will be really helpful when I travel.

I have bought Tifso glasses since I started to ride.  One of the cool things about Tifso is if you loose any of the lenses they will replace them.  The other cool thing is they sponsor the Mad Dog Race Team.  Thanks to Tifso giving us a pro deal I was able to get some glasses for this year.  Thank goodnes, because last year I had 4 glasses lost, run over, smashed, and broken.  I was in desperate need of some glasses, and now I have some backup glasses too.
These are the envy.  They are a little bit more sporty, and will go nicely with my new helmet (it's black and silver)

These are the DEA a little more fashoinable.  Black and pink will go nicely with my other helmet.

My new bike has been built by Mad Dog Cycle and is home!  I rode it to work this moning, and next week it will get to go on the dirt.  I can't wait!!!

What I do When I Can't Race

Easter Eggs!

Status Update

It is not that I haven't had anything to write about, the fact of the matter is I have been so busy the last 2 weeks, I haven't had time to write!

It has been 2 weeks since my ASD repair, and things are going well.  A week ago I was given the green light for riding my road bike (no mountain bike yet).  So last Saturday I went for a ride.  I thought it would be a good idea to go with Mandy, so I would have a nice calm ride.  For those who know Mandy you are probably laughing right now.  However, this ride actually turned out pretty good.  She wanted to show me she could make it to Vivian park, unfortunately there was snow just before bridal veil, and I needed to be careful, so we turned around.  I kept my heart rate low and felt really good for my first ride since surgery.
Mom please don't talk to me while I'm riding.

Now we are picture perfect.

Mandy rode in the snow!

That was my only ride until today.  This morning when I woke up, the weather looked good, so I opted for a quick short ride up the provo trail.  It felt good to be out.  With every pedal stroke there was a sense of exhiliration and freedom.  I rode at a nice tempo, but nothing that hurt me.  I paid close attention to my chest making sure I didn't feel in pain or pressure.  This is the gauge the doctor told me to look for--any chest pain, or pressure means I need to slow down.  This ride no chest pain!  My hr did get a little high a couple of times and my hr alarm went off, so I just backed it off a bit.

I can't tell you how good it felt to ride.  There is nothing better than the freedom you feel from riding.  I am so looking forward to many more rides.