How to Pass

Last year by the end of the season I was pretty much fed up with all of the different passing scenarios that had occurred.  I have been in the thick of it where I have been passed and I do the passing, and nothing is more frustrating to a rider than a pass gone bad.  After putting some thought in to it I decided to share my perspective on how to pass, prior to the ICup race season beginning.  Some of you may read this entire blog, some may not, so I am going to give my conclusion at the very first.

When asked to pass let the person pass, if you are faster then you will get the opportunity to pass them back.  It doesn't matter what division they are in, expect at the very end of the race, then if needs be sprint it out to the end.  Do you really want to be on the podium knowing you hogged the trail and prevented 3 other people from passing you--were you really faster?

PASSING

1. Let the rider know you are coming. One of the best ways is holler “rider back” This gives the rider in front an opportunity to determine a good place to let you pass.

Last year during the Draper race, a rider behind me called “rider back” I looked ahead and found the perfect place to pull over – made my move, and he sailed right by. I was able to keep accelerate as soon as he went by. Both of us ended up in a good situation. Same thing happened at The Canyons race. Both parties are happy and very little if any time is lost.

2. Clearly state your intention to pass i.e. “on your left”, “on your right” “pass please”,. This lets the rider ahead know what you want to do.

Two years ago at Deer Valley race I had a rider approach behind me and due to my ear warmers that were on (it was about 25 degrees that race), all I heard was a mumbled “meer”. Not knowing what he said my reply was “what???”. He repeated himself with a little more clarity “pro”. My thoughts, “oh I think he wants to pass.” I let him by. As he went by I called out “I am racing too.” I get you are a pro and another fast guy is probably going to be coming up soon, but telling me what division you are in does not help.

A similar incident happened again last year at the Draper race. On my last lap heading up the little hill to the parking lot, where the lap and finish split is, a rider came behind me and said “expert”. At this point in the race I really could have cared less—I was sick, tired and just wanted to finish. My reply to his declaration of his division, “how’s that working for you?” Funny thing he never replied.

3. When passing wait until the rider ahead gives you the go ahead. This is for the safety of you and for the rider you are passing.

Last year at the Sundance race while I was riding Archie’s I had a rider pull up and tell me he wanted to pass. I looked ahead and told him just a moment, right up here. He yelled “no, now!” and then shoved right by me. I ended in into the side of the mountain and luckily he did not end off the edge of Archie’s. Not 2 seconds later another rider came up, he waited and we both had a safe pass. Really is it worth it?!?

GETTING PASSED

1. If someone behind you asks to pass let them pass! This is by far most the most important rule. If they are asking they are faster than you, LET THEM BY! Who cares if they are in the same division as you, who cares if it is a chick and you ego feels a little bruised, if you are faster then you will pass them back. Do you really want to win a race by hogging the trail and preventing the other three people behind you from passing!

Last year at The Canyons race I was doing pretty good, but eventually on the uphill I got passed. We hit some downhill and I passed people back. Then uphill again and I was passed. Final descent I passed a lot of people, one was in my division (who by the way I had let pass me on the up). She let me pass and I was able to fly downhill. Had she not let me pass it would have been dangerous for both of us, because I was riding right on her tail. She actually ended up beating me across the finish line, but we passed each other back and forth the entire race—now that is a race!

2. When riding narrow singletrack on a mountain side pull over toward the mountainside (hill/steep) and let the rider go around you.  If you go inside they have to deal with bushes and trees and may not get around.

These are a few of my thoughts or suggestions on passing.  Anyone care to add to the list???

In the Deep of It

Sally and I were supposed to go cross country skiing yesterday at the Sundance Ladies Day.  We drove up to the nordic center only to find it had been cancelled due to snow conditions.  Luckily we had a back up plan and decided to go snow shoeing.  So we kept going up the road and headed up to Aspen Grove.

The snow was powder and deep.  At one point I ended up in waist high snow!  I can't believe how hard it is to cut a path in deep snow--whew! 

Good Morning?!?

(Old pic) My puppies trying to convince me to get up.

I am not a morning person, and early mornings are my least favorite part of the day.  But if I want to workout I must get up early in the morning.  Why you ask???  Well mostly, because I have a full-time job that keeps me away from home until 4:30 pm and a family I need to take care of when I get home.  Of course I am pretty sure my family would be okay with me not being home until later and they would be totally supportive of me coming home late, but my conscience does not.  So this means I must workout in the morning and I am NOT a morning person--in fact, it is best to give me about an hour before you talk to me if it is early morning.

So this morning my alarm clock went off at 4:35 am and I began to have the typical morning conversation between the "it's okay to stay in bed" and the "get out of bed and workout" angel/devil.  The first voice "you know your tired, just sleep in for a couple of more hours and you can workout when you get home"  Then comes the second voice "get up and workout, you know you need to".  Back comes the first voice with pretty much the same thought of sleeping in and workout later.  The second voice "get up and workout, you know you won't work out when you get home".  First voice the same.  Second voice "get up and workout, you are fat and out of shape and there is no way you will get fast  if you don't work out."  The second voice is a bit more cruel and ends up winning.

I drag my body out of bed and gloomily get ready to ride the spin bike or something like that.  Eventually about 30 minutes into the workout I start to feel pretty good and by the end I am completely awake and ready to take on the day. And although I feel really good by the end of the workout, it still does not change the fact I am not a morning person and I wish there was a different time of day to workout.

So what do I need to do.  I need to find a way to make me a morning person (not likely this will change), or find another solution.  Any suggestions???

First Ski Day

The last time I went skiing was 16 years ago.  I was new to skiing then and only had the opportunity to go twice.  So when a friend told me about the great program they had at Park City I jumped at the chance for Mandy and I to go and learn to ski.

The instructors were great and I felt soooooo comfortable skiing.  I couldn't believe how quickly I learned to go down the hill.  Last time I remember skiing I distintcly remember the hills being very, very scare.  I can't wait to go back and learn more and get better so I can ski other slopes.

Best part of the day.  As I was practicing turns behind my instructor, a little girl in a bright pink coat whizzed right past me.  So cool to see my daughter burning down the hill with no fear.

Getting ready to go out for lessons.

 Posing as she comes down the run.

Unplugged

I have been so busy I haven't had much time to blog or even be online.  Here are just a few of the things that have kept me busy.

Painting Christmas Decorations

 Bringing in the New Year!

 New Years Day Snow Shoeing in 9 degree weather!

 Ladies Day Cross Country Skiing at Sundance.

 Snow Shoeing, Snow Shoeing and Snow Shoeing.

 Ooops with some sledding thrown in too.

 And a little bit of cross country skiing thrown into the mix.

It has been a fun busy time.  So no promises that I will keep current on the blogging, but I will sure try.

Ride after ride after ride

I twisted my knee Wednesday as I was heading onto the trail to ride my bike.  It was kind of a silly thing.  I was riding to go on the trail and did not pay attention to the smashed pumpkin in the road--I probably should have.  Apparently I road over a tiny bit of it, and before I knew it I was on the hard cement.  Somehow while going down I twisted my knee.  I sat there, about 5 feet from my car, for a good 5 minutes not sure if I would be able to ride or not.  It actually hurt pretty bad.  Finally the pain subsided enough for me to stand up, so I decided to try and ride.  Much to my good luck it did not hurt to ride, so I rode.  However later that night I could hardly get up the stairs. 

The next day it was still hurting, but I really wanted to ride.  Can you blame me, the weather has been amazing.  Not wanting to put too much stress on my knee I went for a very flat and level road ride--at least as flat as you can get considering we live near mountains.  Knee seemed okay, but it was definitely irratated.
I decided to take pictures while I rode on my bike without stopping, but I did take one stopped.  Can you guess which one it is?

 

The next day I woke up and my knee was still bothering me.  I was having kind of a down in the dumps day.  Basically I was feeling sorry for myself.  I felt bad about not having a job and not having any responses yet to my apps.  I was discouraged with the knee hurting, because now I am finally getting better and low and behold one more thing.  Basically it was one of those days.  So my plans, despite the weather, was to take a couple of keyboarding tests, and sit around with ice on my knee all day long.  Oh I should mention it is not the top of the knee that is hurt, but underneath.  Which I know is technically not your knee, but it serves as my knee for me.  Anyway while I was sitting preparing my application and getting ready to go take a test, when I get a phone call from Heather.  She wants to know if I want to go for a mountain bike ride this afternoon.  I wanted to say no, because that was how miserable I was feeling, but I didn't, I said yes.  Boy am I glad I did. 

Heather and I met up about 1 pm and headed to Corner Canyon.  I don't think you could have asked for a more beautiful day to ride.  The temperature was nice and trail conditions were perfect.  We did have a few mishapes on the way.  One of the gals we were going to meet got in a car accident and couldn't make it.  I feel so bad for her, what an awful thing to happen on your way to having fun--actually what an awful thing to happen.  We met Gayle on Clarks and it turns out she was having brake problems and her back wheel wouldn't turn.  She ended up having to bail and not getting to ride.  With all of those things that happened we still had a great ride, and  b the time we finished I felt a bazillion times better.  I am so glad I have friends that like to ride otherwise I would have sat moping all day long.

Saturday the plan was for Sally and me to ride AF Canyon.  We met in the morning and headed up the canyon.  Since the gate is closed we decided to ride up the road to get on the trail.  About the time we came to the road at Timpanoke campground we noticed snow!  We became a little concerned about how the conditions of the trial were going to be, but decided to continue up the road to see.  Once we got to the trail it looked pretty muddy.  Knowing how the rest of the trail takes up the water we decided to turn around and ride corner canyon. 

Sally took me to Hogs Hollow to start the ride.  I have always wanted to ride there, but did not know where it was or the way to go.  Thanks Sally so much for showing me.  I loved the ride up and I loved the ride back.  We had a great time riding and since Sally knows those trails so well, I learned some new ways the trails connect up--way cool.  I had such a great time riding that I forgot to take pictures both days.  So you'll just have to believe me about how great it was.

Halloween

Halloween was a lot of fun, and we got to dress up 2 days in a row--Friday and Saturday.  I know on the calendar Halloween was on Sunday, but we went trick or treating on Saturday.  I have lived outside of the state of Utah and did the same thing there when Halloween  was on Sunday, it just works out that way.
Mandy is Frankie from Monster High--can you guess which one that is?

Royce is a witch doctor and me just a witch.

We had a great time.  I love going out all dressed up.

Yes, It's True, I am a City Girl

This may or may not be a surprise, but I am a city girl. If it wasn’t for mountain biking I would still be in my sheltered city girl life. But thanks to mountain biking there are many things I have learned to do.


I have learned to set up a tent. My first and only tent set up was last year at 24 hours of Moab. I had never set a tent up before, but with the help of team mates I learned and set one up. Can I do it again? I think so, but have not had the chance to find out, and if I am lucky will not have to.

I can use an outhouse. Now this is not my bathroom set up of choice, but before mountain biking I would just hold it until I found a bathroom. Now I can go in an outhouse. Oh, and I have learned to keep a roll of toilet paper and hand sanitizer in the car thanks to those outhouse visits! Mountain biking has still not gotten me comfortable with going to the bathroom in the woods. I have to be to the point of floating before dropping the drawers in the woods! There is something so wrong about your butt hanging out in the air for all of nature to see. It definitely can give you stage fright and make it impossible to go.

I spit. Yes, that’s right, I spit. I spit during my ride, I spit after my ride. And as horrible and disgusting as it may seem, if I don’t I am going to end up choking on my own mucous…yuck!

On of the newest things I have learned to do, is probably the most disgusting thing I have observed. When I first started riding I watched as people would lean over their bike and blow snot right out their nose. In one word….gross! I didn’t understand how they could do this, it was gross for one thing and for the other how do you get enough mucous built up in your nose to be able to blow without it getting on you?!? So for two and a half years I watched as others took on this feat. Then it happened. I broke my nose, had nose surgery and I am out riding and all of the sudden I have a nose filled with mucous and no where for it to go. What should I do??? Well, I did the unthinkable, I leaned over to the right plugged the left nostril and blew! Out it came…icky. However, I no longer had a stuffed up nose. Since that time I have learned the fine art of launching snot rockets while riding a bike. It still seems gross, but it is better than having snot run down my face.

So yes, mountain biking has added a little bit of variety to this city girl. It hasn’t taken the city out of me, but it has definitely broadened my horizons.

Great Fall Riding

So I have been taking a few days off the bike, in fact, almost 2 weeks.  I have been dreaming about getting on my bike, but the couple of times I tried riding my road bike it really hurt.  Well, today was a girl's ride, and with the weather looking less than great for next week I decided to take a chance. 

The ride for today was corner canyon.  The ride up was great and didn't bother my finger a bit.  The ride coming down....not so much.  Was it worth it????

It was most defnitely worth it!

Moab - The bits and pieces

This is very long.  Sorry, but I don't know how you can condense 24 hours.

I am not sure what the attraction is to 24 Hours of Moab, but crazy enough every time I think of the race it puts a smile on my face. For some this is pure craziness, for others it gives them the same smile. Why? Perhaps it is the challenges of the trail or the team unity that emerges as you undertake riding for the next 24 hours. Maybe it is the pure challenge of putting your body through every type of extreme possible in the next 24 hours and conquering it. Whatever it is, it puts a smile on my face.

Pre-Race Days
For me 24 Hours of Moab began Thursday evening. I drove down with Ty and Amber in heavy, pouring rain. The whole way down we were tentative as to what type of weather we would be arriving in, but as we got closer to Moab, the clouds parted and the stars shone bright. This was the beginning to a great weekend.

Friday morning we woke up and began setting up camp. For any that have been at the Mad Dog camp, it is quite the set up. We have a tent for eating, a tent for our bike wrench, tables, chairs, generators and pretty much anything you can think of. Although it is an elaborate set up, with lots of hands it does not take long to set up.

Setting up camp.

After setting up, Amber and I went out on our pre-ride. I was excited for this ride; anxious to see the changes in the trail, and hopeful that my skills had improved enough the trail would not seem so hard. Funny thing about this trail, the rock drops and the triple xxx danger zones do not scare me. No, funny enough what scares me is the big sand hill berms and it showed on the pre-ride. I was so afraid of washing out that is exactly what I did. Oh well, better on the pre-ride and not the race. After the berms I cleared everything, rode strong and felt great. I had only one minor mishape I turned wrong in the sand and went down so fast I didn’t have time to thing. You would think lucky I was in the sand, but no I hit a rock and it took a big chunk of skin off my knee. When I got back Karl (the best ER doc around) cut the skin and helped me out. Funny thing, he reminded me that during the race he wouldn’t necessarily have time for minor injuries, only emergencies. No worries, because during a race I don’t even pay attention to minor injuries.

The hike a bike sand hill.

In the background one of the triple xxx's. If you click on the picture you can see a 4-wheeler trying to manuever it's way down.

Amber on the trail.

Pre-ride injuries.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out with the team, eating fabulous food prepared by Abby and getting to bed early so I would be rested for the next day.

The next morning I hung out, went to the racers’ meeting in my pjs, and prepared for the race to start. The start seems to always provide laughter as we watch the run begin. I really do not envy all of those people running in the dust. After the run we set up our chairs at the front of camp and prepare for the riders to come by—58 minutes later the first rider is in! From here on out it is cheering for team mates, other riders and general fun. Great for me as I was going 4th, so I had a little time to kill.

Teammate Leslie & me at the racer's meeting.

Watching racers ride in.

Keith on the megaphone.

Lap 1
My first lap came quick—my team mates were kicking it! While waiting in the event tent for Dorothy to come I discovered my cleat was loose on my shoe. I grabbed a racer who had just finished riding and he helped me tighten my cleat. He finished helping just in time. Whew! Thanks mister random rider.

I went out on the trail and felt great. I came to the first triple xxx and started down. Now so you know there is more than one way down most of the triple xxx’s; usually there is an easy way and one not as easy. When I started down there was a rider directly in front of me. I followed him thinking he would go down the easy way—the way I knew and was used to. I got a quarter of the way down when it dawned on me this was not the easy way! Immediately I proclaimed for all to hear “shit almighty, this is not the way I normally take!” I know once again I cursed, but really I don’t think my brain knows any differently when I am in such a situation. I guess my exclamation was an indicator to the rider behind me I was going to walk, because he attempted to pass. I let him know to wait and continued to roll on down. All of the sudden he did pass me, and came right in front of me, causing me to have to stop. He apologized; I went “oh well”, got off my bike and then back on. I continued on my way, cleared the next triple xxx and then my troubles began.

You see the cleat I had tightened up didn’t stay tight, it became loose. For those who don’t know what this means, it means trouble. It means coming unclipped from my pedal is very difficult, and there are no quick escapes if I need them. After this when I needed to dab I couldn’t, and when I tried to dab it usually ended up in a crash. I crashed on a rock drop, I crashed in a sticker bush, and I crashed on a turn. Each time I crashed I was stuck in my pedal and struggled to get out. Riders would pass by and offer to help, but I politely told them no and eventually forcibly would get out.

As I rode I kept praying I would not crash. I was getting tired and frustrated of being stuck. I finally arrived to the final triple xxx. I like this triple xxx, and enjoy bombing down. I dropped off the ledge and then I went down. And by down I do not mean down the hill, but instead I crashed, and I crashed hard. I am not sure how I went down, all I know was once again I was down and my shoe was still clipped in. I was mad. Once again I worked my shoe out of the pedal, picked up my bike and started to walk. I didn’t get too far when I realized my finger was throbbing and had instantly swelled up—I had broken my finger! Wonderful, not only could I not come unclipped, but now my finger was broken. I finished my lap in pain and a little fear—I really did not want to go down anymore. Across the sand I pedaled hard and at one point I almost wiped out, had you been right by me you would have heard me chanting “pedal, pedal, pedal”; this was to ensure I did not crash. I finished with my clock showing I was 4 minutes faster than last year- granny did not match my clock and had me 4 minutes slower. Either way a great time and it shows my health is getting stronger every day.

Broken finger.

When I arrived at camp I went and saw doc—I figured a broken finger was a slight emergency. He looked at it and confirmed it was broke. There wasn’t anything that could be done, other than ice, rest and elevation. I could do the ice and elevation, but rest would have to wait. I ate a wonderful dinner prepared by Abby and the other volunteers then went to bed and iced my hand. I only lasted a few hours before I couldn’t take the cold anymore. At this point I got ready for my next lap and went and sat in the warm tent.

Hanging out in the warm tent in between laps.

Lap 2
My night lap was not too bad. When you’re out on the course everything gets blurred. No longer can you see the path the other tires have gone, lines are not definite, and perception is slightly off. As I rode out the first rider I passed announced this was her very first night ride! Of course I was amazed, surprised and felt bad for this poor girl. What a way to be initiated into the night. As I rode off I let her know after this all night rides would seem easy.

This year my night ride went better. I was better able to distinguish where I wanted to go, but my perception was still off. The first triple xxx I got lost and had to wait for a rider to go by—funny thing it was a Mad Dog rider. I watched him go by and proceeded on my way. The next triple xxx I rode down, but discovered having a broken finger made it difficult to maneuver my bike. From here on out all difficult maneuvering was done by walking my bike—I didn’t need anymore broken bones.

I finished my night lap safe and feeling good. I really couldn’t compare to the year before, because last year I got a flat. This year no major problems and only minor ones Dave and Carl were able to fix.

After my lap I had some warm chicken noodle soup and then carted myself off to bed. I think this time is most key for getting your rest for the race. You try to sleep, but in reality you cannot get the sleep you need. Your body and mind are anticipating the lap or laps that are coming up. But what rest you do get provides your body with hopefully what you will need to complete the race.

Prior to Lap 3
Prior to my final lap there was discussion among teammates as to what we should do. Leslie had somehow miraculously cleaned Nose Dive only to have crashed on the little sand hill going to the mats and injuring her thumb. We knew if I went out strong we could get in 2 more laps, but did we want to. The discussion was whether we should or not. The team that was beating us there was no chance to catch. They were throwing down times as fast as the pros and had already lapped us. We were out here to have a good time, do our race and finish strong, so we reached a decision, we were done.

Now the big decision—should I go out or not. This was a lot for me to contemplate. No one on my team felt the need for me to go out. They were more concerned with my health and making sure I was okay. With no pressure whatsoever, I had to decide what I would do.

I went to the tent, got warm and tried to eat, while I thought about what I should do. Like last year my stomach did not want any food. However, this year I only dry heaved once versus many, many times. Since I couldn’t eat food I was not sure what to do. I was already calorie deficit and knew if I went out without eating I was setting myself up to bonk. As I sat I remembered my CarboRocket. I quickly went and filled my bottle and began to drink. Perfect, my stomach was no longer sick and I had gotten some calories into me. I decided to go out, however, this lap was not going to be a race lap it was going to be a leisure lap.

Lap 3
Dorothy pulled up and we had a great exchange. I let her know we were done with the race and I was going to drag out my next lap. I gave her, her coat and my sweat pants then casually walked to my bike. Yes, I was taking this leisure ride very seriously.

I rode at a steady pace and actually felt really quite good. It wasn’t long before I got hot and had to stop to get out of my vest and arm warmers. This was actually quite the task as I had to take everything out of my vest pockets and put them in my jersey pockets. Then I rolled up my vest, put it in my camel bak and began to ride once again.

About 2.5 miles into the race I began to get hungry. I expected this as I knew I had not had enough calories, so I had brought extra food. I pulled over and took a moment to get my food to eat and then continued on my way.

I rode up to the first triple xxx and began to walk—with my finger there was no more riding rough sections. I was in a lot of pain and anything that required gripping the handle bar was out of the question. I visited with a young rider who is 10 years old. This was his 5th lap of the day—he was doing a solo! Can you imagine riding that course at 10 years old??? I can barely imagine riding it now! We talked for a moment and then parted ways.

I rode and rode and got to meet many great riders. I was so impressed with their perseverance and stamina, so many solo riders going on and on all night long—wow! I don’t know how you do it, but my hat is off to you. At the end of the course I picked up the pace and came in strong. I felt good and was very hungry. For me this was a good sign, because last year beginning at 1 am and going into Monday afternoon I couldn’t get any solid food into my stomach. This time I was able to eat a half a sandwich, and did not feel sick.

Final
Our team ended up getting 2nd place, but for me that was not the most important thing. Instead the most important thing was we hit our goal. As a team we rode hard and had fun. I rode with a great bunch of ladies and made some great friends. Funny thing, we never got a team picture. We were so busy riding we forgot. Because of my finger we didn’t stay for podium, but hopefully we’ll hear from granny and get our medals and prizes soon.

I also have to thank all of the volunteers that helped at the race.  Had it not been for them I actually would have to put effort into other things besides racing.  But thanks to them all I had to do was eat, sleep and race.  It is nice to be so well taken care of.
Follow Up
Monday I went to the orthopedic doctor to follow up on my finger. Lucky for me I got in, when I initially called they couldn’t get me in until Thursday. After hanging up, and crying a bit, I called back to reaffirm there was no appointments available. There were not with a doctor, but I could see the PA. That worked for me and I went in. My finger is broken at the tip—this is known as a tuft fracture. But not only is it broken, it is comminuted—which means shattered. I currently have to wear a splint and cannot have it removed until after I see the doctor in 6 weeks. The bad news is apparently this type of break can hurt for up to 6 months. Oh well, I guess I can deal with that as long as I can ride my bike.