A Friendly Ride

I took my friend Katie today to AF Canyon to do the Summit/Timpanooke Loop. Katie is a great athlete, but has ridden a mountain bike two times with me, and then before that when she was in college, but I felt confident she could do this ride. After we got going though I could see it might be better to do the up and back instead of the entire loop. Katie climbs pretty well, but like me she is in to self preservation, and the downhill made her a bit nervous. I didn't want to take her down south fork until she felt more comfortable, so up and back it was. The trail was fun. It had some loose spots with some rocks kicked across it, but it was not too bad. It is amazing how the vegetation has grown since the last time I was up there. It has gotten very big and bushy and couple of places on the trail it is actually difficult to see due to the vegetation growth. The ride up and back was fun, but I can't wait to do the loop again. And by the end of the ride, Katie was becoming much more confident on the trail and picked up her speed on the downhill. I don't think it will be too long before she will be able to do the entire loop.



Katie making her way across the meadow.

Before MTB - After MTB

This picture was taken around the first couple of weeks in November 2007. I had been riding about a month when this was taken. I think this was probably my 4th time at Lambert Park. The purpose of this picture is to show everyone how heavy I was, yes that is my stomach not my shirt that is sooo big. Too bad you can't see the . I hated this picture when it was taken, so I didn't show it to anyone, now it's on display so you can see my transformation. Please scroll down.
This picture was taken June, 2008 (a month ago). Since starting to ride I have lost 42 pounds. It's not only from the riding, but I did change my diet. However, riding made it easy and fun. Although I am not at my goal weight I am getting close enough I wanted to share the difference.

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.

2.5 Endos

I went up today with Dale and Rachel Hutchings to pre-ride once again the Solitude race course. We met Sally and Ben Hutchings up there. As we started the climb and got pass the nine and under course we met a new team membe--for some reason his name escapes me at this moment, but if I remember I will fill it in. He is going to be racing in the beginning men 40+. His son is racing in sport 16-18. We talked for a minute, and then continued to ride. We started off with the intention of only doing the lower loop course, but after climbing the hill I volunteered to go with Ben up the upper loop. Glad I did it was fun to see a different part of the course, and we saw a few deer off to the side of the course. On the way down as Ben was helping me navigate different technical parts of the trail who should we see bombing down the trail none other than Jim and Kyle Jackson. We said hi, and I showed them my swollen lip. Consider the lighting, I'm not sure they got see the full effect. I am very self conscious about it right now, so I prefer to say something about my lip than feel like everyone is staring at it. We talked for a minute with Kyle and Jim, and then all of us went on our way. I went down the trail and felt really good about it, and had no problems with navigating the downhill. We met up with Sally, Rachel and Dale on the pavement, and continued down the course to the uphill single track. The uphill single track was not too bad. I am stilling having a couple of areas of struggle, but hopefully race day it will not be an issue. We hit the downhill again and we went off in a staggered group starting with Sally, Rachel, Dale, me and Ben anchoring the back. I was doing pretty well going down and passed Dale and Rachel (not because I was faster, but because there was a rock that stopped Rachel). I continued down and felt pretty good, when all of the sudden my bike skidded out, I must have braked, and I endoed, right in front of a Revolutionary Racer. He was nice and made sure I was okay, and even gave me an excuse for the endo saying it was loose dirt and difficult to ride, and went on his way. At this point Ben, Rachel and Dale catch up with me. I let them know I am okay, get on my bike go no more than 2 feet and begin to skid out again! This time instead of braking I grab a tree. I am holding on to the tree as my bike rides away and I am still clipped in. My bike starts to go up the embankment, I become unclipped, and Dale calls out "Don't break the tree". No sooner does he finish when snap! I broke the tree. This brings nothing but laughter. Poor tree I am sorry I broke it, but I am glad it was there to keep me from going down. Thus I become the comic relief for the night and have done what I now call a 1/2 endo. At this point I decide to walk my bike off the slippery part to a more level part of the trail and once again take off. We continue down the trail with dark coming on quickly. I am doing well and feel pretty good about my riding. I wasn't too fast since I was having trouble seeing, but I felt I was going fast enough. As I come to the lower end of the trail prior to the pavement there is a good, little rock garden. For some reason this time I take the wrong line and I begin to go off a rock realizing if I keep riding I am going to ride down the hill not the trail. Well I did a good, bad thing as I am half way dropped off a big rock I brake. I end up endoing again, and me and my bike roll down the hill instead of riding down the hill. Actually there is nothing good about this riding would probably be muh better. Once again a nice soft landing with my legs sticking straight up in the air. As Dale and Rachel ride by they see me down the hill, and I let them know I am okay. I get myself back on the trail and continue down with Ben backing me up. This time I went really slow to make sure I made it to the bottom without any more incidents. I made it back to the car with no more endos, wipe outs or crashes. The ride was fun and is definitely going to be memorable.

In the last week I have had 3.5 endos, road rash from sliding in to 3rd base and a fat lip and cut mouth from being hit in the mouth by a foul tip. Since the week is not up I have decided it is ending early and I am starting a new week and there will be no more mishaps.

Over the past 4 weeks I have had 3.5 endos and one good wipe out. It makes me wonder if I am becoming a more aggressive rider willing to take risks, or if I am getting worse and I don't realize it. I wonder how you gauge something like this? Right now I am somewhat at a bewilderment. I feel like I am going faster downhill, but I am not sure if my skills are getting better. I wish there was a definite way to tell. Maybe wrecking a lot is a sign of improvement, because I am trying and excelling and in order to pass the next level I need to have a few mishaps. I wish I knew.

Poor tree, life ended too soon for you....but thanks for keeping from completely hitting the ground.

Hit in the Face

I play catch on most of my teams. I prefer to play third, but only a few people dare play catch, and I am one of them. The reason is because of bats being thrown ( I have dodged or jumped quite a few thrown bats), runners coming in hard to home (one guy right hooked me across the face so he could cross the plate, a few have tried to cleat me), and of course the dreaded foul tips. Most foul tips I have deflected until tonight. Tonight I took one straight to the face. Luckily it hit my mouth area and not my nose area. The ball came in straight off the bat hard and fast, but the realization I was hit was slow. I sat there for a minute, felt around my teeth with my tongue to make sure no loose teeth, and then stared as everyone as they asked if I was okay. I couldn't talk, because my mouth hurt and I did not want to cry, and I was afraid if I opened my mouth I might cry. Luckily we had an extra player, so I pointed at her that she needed to catch so I could go in the dug out and shake it off. The funniest part was when the batter said she was so sorry and she didn't mean to do it. It made me laugh, because of course she didn't mean to do it--it helped to laugh. Lucky me for me that the was the last inning, and even better we won the game. I took pictures, but my self portrait pictures are not the best. My lip and under the nose area is swollen, and on the inside of my mouth I have a huge cut.

BTW honey, if you are reading this I am fine.

Cut on the inside of my lip...it kind of stings.Its kind of hard to tell it is swollen, but it is.Here is a better view of the swelling.

I need to ground my dog from the pool!

While I was typing my blog. My dog Liza saw the door was open a crack and went outside. This is fine and I paid no attention, until about 5 minutes after she came back in. I got up to close the door and the floor is soaking wet! The foot stools have water splashed on them, and a notebook is ruined. I looked at my dog and she is soaking wet. It appears she decided to go swimming.

I don't think she looks sad enough about getting wet.

Family Ride

Took the girls for a ride up the Provo Trail this afternoon. The ride was fun. We only went as far as Timpanogus Park and turned around, but it was not too bad for them. I think if it was not so hot out they may have been able to go further (we went at 3 in the afternoon). I showed them the shortcut to the park behind the drinking fountain. They thought this was cool. I forgot my camera, so the picture were taken with my camera phone, and are a bit blurry since I was riding when I took them.Shandy coming up the trail and Mandy taking a break.
Mandy riding down the road anxious to get home after the long ride.

Red Badge of Courage

These are the words I heard from 2 mountain bikers at the Summit Loop Parking lot noticing my bloody knees from my endo earlier going down Deer Creek South Fork. Yes, I endoed, going down one of the best trails, and it was worth it!

I love the Summit/Timpanooke Loop. It is a beautiful trail with fun climbs and fast downhill. Today I went with Jolene on the loop. It is always fun cruising the trails with Jolene. We took turns going along the trail and she pointed out some of her favorite parts of the trail. How lucky to see these trails, and the beauty that surrounds us.

Jolene standing in the damaged part of the trail. The motorcycles have made it longer and deeper. Catching a little bit of air going down Salamander Flats.

Results of my endo...not too bad...definitely worth the ride.

Earlier in the week Jolene and I rode the Solitude I-cup course. Thank goodness she went with me, or I never would have figured out the trail. This is a fun course. It starts out with a 1.7 mile climb on the pavement, and then down single track which leads to a single track climb back to the last portion of the pavement and back down the single track to the finish.On the trail at Solitude, climbing on the single track.

Can't tell if I am riding or sliding along this part of the trail. Hopefully this will be gone by race day.

Check This Out!

How cool is that. Funny how she tosses the ball to the left fielder.

Timpanooke Loop

Woke up early Friday morning (early for me) to go mountain biking with Tasha Keyes. Tasha is one of the ladies I race against in the 35+ Division in the Icup races. Tasha's daughter and I have the same first name, which I of course think is cool. Tasha is a phenomenal rider and a great gal, so I was looking forward to riding with her. My biggest concern was I would hold her back. I always worry about this when riding with others, because I still have a lot to learn and my endurance is not quite what theirs is.

The ride was great. We had the trail for the most part to ourselves. The conditions at the first part of the trail were a little sketchy, not because of the trail, but because of the sun. As I was going down the hill I had a hard time seeing the trail because the sun would hit in my eye, and I would momentarily loose the trail. Luckily this was only for the first.5 mile and then it was great. The conditions were perfect for riding we were able to stay cool and not get too hot, and conditions of the trail, other than the 25 foot section motorcycles tore up was great. Tasha had some bike troubles and were could not figure out exactly what the problem was. I noticed a crack in her chain pulley, and it seemed to be feeding incorrectly onto here cassette, but my mechanical knowledge is very limited. I had one wipe out that was funny. towards the bottom of south fork before you have to cross the road the trail has very loose, soft dirt. This is doable, and then the trail becomes a tight rut that you must stay in perfectly. I did not and had a mild wipe out where I ended up doing the splits! (lol) Somehow my bike went out from under me and my left foot stayed on the pedal while my right foot stepped onto the ground. I laughed as soon as I was done. Lucky for me I am flexible. I have a few bruises and road rash from the wipe out, but it was definitely one to remember for the books. On the way down the Salamander Flats (the tail end of the loop) Tasha and I ran in to a group of guys riding the loop. There were about 9 to 12 riders all spread out along the trail climbing the hill right after the road. Some had made it to the top where it flattens a bit and others were still struggling to get there. I felt bad for them if they planned to do the entire loop, because they were dying in the first mile! I wonder if they made it??? If they did then hopefully they loved this trail as much as I do.