It was beginning to be an epic, hot, blister-causing hike up in Sabino Canyon. We stopped for lunch. I was ready to get the hike over with and was up and ready to get moving. TJ was taking his time, and I was getting impatient. He then asked for my hand, and thinking he was asking for help getting up I had a sassy reply, “no, get yourself up!” Then I realized he was kneeling, then he asked me to marry him and !!!!!!!!!! Anyway, it turned out to be a beautiful, wonderful, easy hike after that.

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MTB Nationals

Ugh. I had really hoped to have a strong performance at Nationals, but instead, I DNF’d the cross-country and crashed myself out of the lead group of short track. The cross-country started well and I found myself in 7th or 8th position after the first 1/2 lap and held that spot clear through the first full lap. Then I pretty much dove straight back through the field on laps 2 & 3. Devastated I wasn’t pulled before the final lap, I pulled out of the race with one to go. The problem that day was part physical (low back pain), but mostly mental. I hated the course, hated the altitude. There was a problem before I even started the race.

Short track was no less frustrating for me. I crashed myself in the second lap, lost and jammed my chain, and wound up dead last. I chased really hard for a number of laps, caught the top-10, and settled into a rhythm. Then Katie Compton lapped me, and I buried myself to move up before I got pulled. But I didn’t get pulled. Despite the fact that there were no more than 12 women on course at that point (the rest getting pulled), the officials messed the results up and had me finishing in 20th. In fact, I finished in 9th place. I’d like to set that record straight.

On a positive note from the race weekend, team Tokyo Joe’s & Co had the best host housing accommodations one could hope for. Huge thanks to the Tanner’s for the cozy house, wonderful meals, and great company. It was also a highlight to have my parents, Miriam, and Nicole come up to the race and make some noise for me.

Euro World Cup #2

Val di Sole was sunny, dusty, and the course had climbs too steep for my gearing and corners too sharp for my big wheels. Well, not quite. It was a hard course, agonizingly short hard climbs followed by shorter steep descents and 180 corners up another wall. I made do with my gearing and big wheels, and maybe went faster on account (I certainly would have used any bail-out gears I had). I finished 41st out of 100+ starters. During the race I had no clue if I was top-30 or top-80, there’s too much mayhem to really have any clue what’s going on. I just pedal and enjoy the ride.

New home

TJ and I are now (town)homeowners in Tucson, AZ. We jumped at the opportunity to take advantage of the first time home buyers tax credit and interest rates around 5%. Now we’re stuck in Tucson for quite a while and we’re thrilled about having a semi-permanent home in one of the best cities for biking in the country. Currently, I’m trying to identify some of the flora in our courtyards (front and back). I think we have 5 different varieties of succulents in our yard, 2 mesquite trees (one with thorns, one without), 1 nandina (or Heavenly Bamboo) bush, 2 Mexican Birds of Paradise plants, mint, lots of vines, an ugly juniper-ish thing (which unfortunately didn’t die over the summer), and 2 or 3 unknown plants. We also have a lot of dirt and rocks in our yard. Luckily, the yard is very low-maintenance and looks pretty. I am hoping that nothing dies on my watch (my plants need to be very resilient).

New job (Intership #2)

For my last semester, and last requirement in my program, I have a six-credit internship to complete. Just this past week things have fallen in place and I’ve wound up with a paid internship, working on a project I’m very excited about (but may also kick my butt). I’ve been hired by UA Parking & Transportation as a Student Office Assistant, but my time will will be spent working on CABPNP (Campus Area Bicycle & Pedestrian Network Plan). CABPNP will take more than a semester to complete, and the report may be completed by an independent contracting firm in the end, but the final product will provide a sort of roadmap for meeting certain goals related to bike and pedestrian use on and around campus (within a 5-mile radius). The goals relate to bike/ped traffic flow, updating facilities, revising design standards, increasing education and encouragement efforts, and providing an implementation plan for recommendations. I’ll be a part of the committee involved with the study and it seems my work may involve data collection, research, and writing. Anyway, this is a pretty exciting opportunity to be involved with the creation of a document that will help guide future infrastructure projects, policies, and programs relating to bicycle & pedestrian use around campus.

The BAC

I am now sworn to, “protect our Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” That’s a lot of responsibility. I’m not quite sure how I feel about that… Anyway, I am now an official representative for council office Ward 4 on the Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee. This was a somewhat unexpected arrangement, but I’m happy to be a part of the committee and hope that my multiple bike community hats will come in handy (racer, commuter, race promoter, UA Cycling Club ex-treasurer, secretary and vice-president, former TDOT employee, and current PTS employee–whew!). The meetings are entertaining and always open to the public!

Sis

Shannon has been exploring the world, and has traveled to Turkey, Jordan, Isreal, Egypt, and is now in Shanghai, China with my Dad. The two of them are beginning a two-month journey from the headwaters of the Mekong to the delta in Viet Nam, along the way they’ll be photographing hydroelectric projects along the river. I guess this trip is the beginning of a joint photo-journalism project for the two of them. Hopefully they will stay out of trouble.

TJ

The stud just won Ore to Shore, one of the triple-crown races of the Midwest. He pointed out to me that, “the win is worth about 3 mortgage payments.” Oh my. I think TJ has now pulled in more dough than me bike racing this year. I need to catch up…

He’ll be joining me back in Tucson for the next week and a half. Then he’ll be off doing his own adventure in Europe for two months. He’s going to be a research subject in the French Alps in a study related to altitude training for elite cyclists. Maybe he’ll start blogging again in Europe…make it at least two posts in a year.

I am guessing my Mom may be the only one to make it through this post. Over 800 words and only 1 picture–I think I just broke every rule in blogworld. Well thanks for checking in!

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Summer is rapidly closing in on the start of school, my last semester of school. It will take me 4.5 years to finish and I’ll graduate with a B.S. in Community Health Education. With that degree, I want to race bikes. While I’ve kept up bike racing through school, traveled to Argentina, Chile, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland, Canada (x3), Australia, and probably 10 states for bike racing, I’ve identified myself as much as a student as a professional bike racer. I hauled a chemistry textbook to Scotland, wrote papers on airplanes, finished readings in cars, and memorized the names of microorganisms responsible for various diseases while at the World Championships in Canberra, AUS. I joke that everything I do is half-assed. I miss too much school to be a straight-A student, my mountain bike results have stagnated for three years, I imagine a hundred ways to up student involvement in the UA Cycling Club but things rarely come to fruition, and I never do the core fitness work I desperately need.

But, I’ve traveled more than anyone else I know my age and I don’t hesitate at taking on a difficult task. There are weeks that, in retrospect, I don’t believe I made it through without throwing in the towel. I’m truly thankful for all my opportunities and for everyone who’s given me encouragement and believed that I can do something great in academics, professionally, or on the bike. Now the question keeps popping up about what’s coming next in my life. I’ve started to tell people that I’m going to race bikes. Part of my rationale is, “I’ve made it this far so why give up now?” Or, “I wonder what I can do if I live, train, eat, and sleep like a professional athlete.” Or simply, “I love riding bikes.”

So, I’m going to consider this semester as my transition into professional athleteism (sorry, I think I made that one up). I won’t be racing (probably not true) or following a training plan, but I want to improve my overall fitness to a ‘fit’ point. Currently, I’m fearful of hurting myself if I do a cartwheel. Yoga, weights, jogs (closer to slogging), early bedtime, stretching, etc. So let that be Goal #1. My second goal is to get my sh*t together in the cyber world and start taking social media seriously! I neglect my Facebook profile, and inbox (so sorry if I didn’t respond to a message), and don’t even know what to do with my Twitter account. These things need to change. And I’m officially going on the books to announce I’m going to launch a website, which Shannon will help design and build. (She’s currently in Shanghai, China with my Dad. They are getting ready to set off for the headwaters of the Mekong for a two-month journey down the river visiting and photographing hydroelectric projects. So, the website project will start in November.) For the final goal, I want to be an advocate for slow biking–commuting, errands, joy-rides, and social rides. I want to help legitimize cycling as a form transportation. I want to make it my transportation as much as possible, and luckily, I live in a beautiful bike-friendly community.

With that, I’m going to introduce my slow bike. This bike is almost #1 on my list of all-time favorites:

Make: Gary Fisher
Model: Simple City 3
Year: ’09

That’s it for now. Thanks for checking in!

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Two days ago I lined up for my first European World Cup in Champery, Switzerland. I finished in 49th place out of a 110-some starters. I’ve never spent so much time off my bike–running, stumbling, slipping around in mud. I’ve also never had so many girls yell at me in languages I cannot understand. I raced hard, but a little apprehensive at times on the technical sections. Overall, I had a great time and am happy with a top-50 finish. Dave McElwaine took some good pictures of me which he published on cyclingnews.

Champery, Switzerland is beautiful place.

Next up: Val di Sole World Cup in Almazzago, Italy. I hope to have this course dialed before race day.

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Prochiuto, fromage, and pane…repeat.

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For the final round of the Pro XCT in Colorado Springs this past weekend, I collected a trio of my best results to date. The race was a UCI format stage race, so for the first day we raced a time trial, day two was the standard cross-country and day three was an hour long short track race (the cross-country criterium). These events are also referred to as the XCT, XCO, XCC–not to be confusing. My results:

XCT – 4th
XCO – 7th
XCC – 5th
Overall – 7th
UCI points – 40

XCT

The time trial course was a 7.5 km loop that started up a 30 second paved climb, then turned onto some twisty packed granite singletrack. The course then climbed (and continued to twist) becoming more technical with some rocks and small boulders. Just before five minutes, the course squeezed around a boulder and hopped onto a rock outcrop before dropping down into a rocky stream bed. The climb out was the technical part, as the trail had to conform around some bushes, more boulders, and a slew of rocks. Very few smooth lines existed, although the big wheels meant there were some options. In practice (the morning of the XCT), I rode this section about ten times. While I may have only cleaned this section 50% of the time in my practice runs, I became pretty adept at salvaging my run. In the end, I figured a dab hardly lost time. Maybe the practice runs were a little overkill, but I had no doubts coming into that section during my race and it paid off since I had a clean run.

Photo: Michael Kane

The course opened up after the first few minutes and the race became more about short, all-out efforts, and not loosing control on the fine granite surface. I raced Maxxis Aspen 2.1 tires, which worked very well on the course. For pressure, I believe I ran 20 psi in the front, and 22 psi in the rear. With a clean and fast run-in to the finish, I managed to squeeze into fourth place just 2 seconds behind Heather Irmiger and 2 seconds ahead of Mary McConneloug.

XCO

The start of this race was not my finest. I had a front row call-up, a hard climb up a paved road ahead, and a good warm-up in my legs–so everything was aligned for a good start. And I blew it. Not entirely, but my first lap wasn’t as fast as it could have been. The question is whether I had more left in the tank on the fourth lap as a result. Who knows.

The course was very similar to the time trial course, was 7.9 km in length, but had a more extended climb and a rougher descent. We raced a total of four laps on the course, which I finished in just under two hours. My lap times showed consistency which doesn’t always happen with my racing.

Lap 1 – 28:25
Lap 2 – 29:11
Lap 3 – 28:56
Lap 4 – 29:51

Overall, it was one of the most solid XC races I’ve had. No mechanicals, no crashes, no melt-downs, and a turkey flock sighting on the first lap. The only thing I missed out on (maybe it was lucky miss) was a mountain lion that was sighted on course during our race.

XCC

What is a cross-country criterium? Well, I’m not quite sure. The XCC we raced was a mini XC course (2.1km), which we raced around for 30 minutes plus five laps. In the first two laps, a group of seven or so separated from the field. Again, I was a little further back then ideal since there weren’t many passing opportunities on course. Two laps into the race, Georgia, Willow, and Katie separated from the rest of us. I was riding in the second group with Pua and Mary. A few laps later, Pua attacked and I was still recovering from the blazin’ fast first laps and couldn’t respond. So as Pua rode away, I settled into a comfortable pace behind Mary McConneloug. I admit, I let her pull through the windy, paved, climb, lap after lap. Once recovered, and once Mary sat up on the paved climb, I put in an attack and was able to hold off fifth place for the finish! Holy crap that was a fun race!

I’d like to thank all my sponsors, teammates, TJ, and my Mom and Dad for their incredible support. I will also add to this race report that my Mom helped out in the ‘Feed Zone’ during the XC race for the first time at one of these big races. She had some excellent coaching from Lorraine York, who was also a huge help during the XC race.

Thanks for checking in!

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TJ and I just finished up a three weekend trip in the Midwest. To start, we loaded up the Taurus with four bikes, our gear, and took off to Wisconsin. To break up the drive we stayed with some friends in St. Peter, MN, where TJ added a Hypoxico Altitude Tent to his collection of training toys. Oh joy. All in all, the trip turned out to be about 2,600 miles.

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After St. Peter, we took a circuitous route through Minneapolis on our way to TJ’s mom’s house. We stopped by Calhoun Cycles and Dunn Bros Coffee, which conveniently had conjoined buildings (it’s usually raining). This was my first of three experiences in Minneapolis that involved tasty coffee and bikes next door. Not any bike shops, but utility bicyclist oriented bike shops. It’s no wonder that Minneapolis was picked as America’s #1 Biking City by Bicycling Magazine. No doubt I’d cast my vote for Minneapolis (and second Tucson–no bias here!).

Our first race was the Dirt Spanker Classic in Mt. Du Lac near Duluth, MN. It was a little muddy. Actually, it was the kind of mud that sticks to bike parts and tires and itself, which after about 10 minutes, makes pedaling a bike impossible. Then after 30 minutes, pushing the bike was even impossible. So after ‘racing’ a 3-mile course in about an hour–I gave up, quit, called it good.

After hours of bike washing and more hours of scrubbing mud from shoes and bike clothes, I started to pack for another trip. This one was for the Nature Valley Grand Prix where I raced with Specialized D4W/Bicycle Haus. I wrote a recap of the event for Women’s Bike Talk, here’s the link. I actually won something at a road race. We took home the Green Jersey which is the award for the Top Amateur competition. Here’s TJ’s nephew Mason modeling the jersey

Next, we packed up the Taurus (again) and drove to Mt. Morris, WI for the fourth round of the Subaru Cup Pro XCT. This event is a pretty big deal for the Midwest racing scene, which hasn’t seen a national-level event since 2001. WORS (Wisconsin Off-Road Series) is one of the most successful and the largest mountain bike series in the country. It’s very apparent from the couple WORS races I’ve been too. The spectators are dense, there’s energy, the fields are large (even the women’s), there’s 12 races a year, and the entry fees are sub $30! A huge thanks to Don Edberg for bringing the Subaru Cup to the Pro XCT and putting on a fantastic event.

Luckily, I had a good cross-country race and finished in 9th. I spent most the race in 7th, then crashed and lost some rhythm. Then I was 8th, racing neck-to-neck with Jenna Reinhart (which is where we always wind up at the end of a race). Unfortunately, in the last bit of downhill I flatted the front, rolled the tire in a corner, but I was able to get it to re-seal with a Big Air. Jenna got by me but luckily there was plenty of time before the next rider. So 9th it was. I’m feeling pretty strong on the bike again and am looking forward to the Pro XCT finals in Colorado Springs.

Photo credit: Dave McElwaine

Thanks for checking in!

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I won the “Best Amateur” jersey at the Nature Valley Grand Prix this past weekend racing for Specialized D4W/Bicycle Haus. I’ve had a couple people question how I can race in the amateur competition. Well, it’s really a Category 2 race within the race. Since I mostly mountain bike, and have seldom done more than a couple road races a year, I just haven’t had the points to upgrade. It was just in 2008 that I got my Cat 2 upgrade. Also, I am an amateur on the road–through and through.

I’m pretty stoked about this jersey! I can’t even stop smiling in my interview after the Stillwater Crit.

Nature Valley Grand Prix Interview

I’m on a blog-updating roll here. Check out this more in depth blog post I wrote.

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The XC

The course at the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, CO was a true Colorado mountain bike race; which is a slow painful climb up a ski run followed by a blazin’ fast bone-jarring singletrack descent. Luckily, I had a Gary Fisher Superfly to take care of the worst bumps and ruts on the descent. It’s where the trail gets roughest that I appreciate the extra-large wheels the most.

The Teva Games are one of the highlights of my summer. The racing is competitive, there’s a hefty prize purse, jumping dogs, rocks climbers, mud runs, a road-event for mountain bikers, lots of free samples of all sorts of gourmet ‘energy’ foods, and the most amazing registration bag ever compiled for a two-wheeled event. Plus, my sister made the trip up to Vail for the weekend and took care of heckling and bottle feeds during the cross-country race. Really, the right elements were in place for a great weekend.

Then I flatted on lap two of the cross-country race, fumbled to seal the tire with a Big Air, then resorted to a tube since the cut in my tire was just too big for sealant. Bummer. I resumed the race ten-minutes back from where I flatted, but the race-vibe never really kicked back in. Up until that flat, the race was unfolding surprising well. I rode somewhat conservatively on lap one in seventh place, never letter fifth place out of sight. I believe I had somewhat of an advantage on the downhill with the Superfly. The singletrack was so rough and bumpy that big wheels helped lessen the abuse on my legs and back. Plus, I love that kind of riding (but who doesn’t?). On the lap 2 climb, I rode into sixth but lost a little time to fifth. And then I flatted. I came out of this race a bit more wiser about my flat-changing capabilities mid-race. But I was also happy about where my fitness was considering a long break from racing and a busy month of school and moving.

It was also pretty exciting to see Tokyo Joe’s teammates Matt Beaton, Mitch Hoke, Jungle Jay, and Erin Huck all in the top-ten. Plus Gretchen took home the super bad-ass ultimate mountain challenge title which required she compete in the mountain bike, hill climb, trail running, and kayaking events. And I thought two events were hard!

The HC

I like hill climbs, most of the time. But there’s something about a hill climb up Vail Pass that is just a bad idea. It’s usually cold, windy, and not to mention the elevation factor. But this year the conditions were perfect, the competition tough, and they were paying out the prize money one place deeper than previous years. This really worked out in my favor since I barely squeezed in a fourth place, the last paying spot on the podium. Overall, I was pleased with my race although my pacing strategy was not ideal. I was a little too gassed for the climb at the finish. Live and learn. Next year, I won’t go as hard on the flat and save a little for the climb.

Overall, it’s great to be back racing with the Tokyo Joe’s crew. Up next, I’m traveling to the Midwest for a Minnesota Series mountain bike race, the Nature Valley Grand Prix, and then the Subaru Cup in Mt. Morris, WI. Then I’ll be back for the Colorado Springs Pro XCT and Nationals in Sol Vista, CO. Thanks for checking in!

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What a great weekend of racing, camping, and driving. Saturday was the High Desert Screamer in Gallup, NM which we followed up with the Mt. Graham Hill Climb near Safford, AZ. The riding in Gallup did not disappoint–30+ miles of singletrack. The following day I broke the Cat 2 record on Mt. Graham and won a hand-painted ceramic pony, plus there were cookies and subs for all the racers afterwards–one of the many things that made the weekend. Even the local press wrote a story on the race. So here’s the U of A mountain bike team and everyone who toughed out almost 1,000 miles of driving over the weekend:

Currently, we’re leading the “A” category points in the SWCCC (that is, the Southwest Collegiate Cycling Conference) which means we are on our way to qualifying our team for Nationals.

Other news? TJ is now back in Tucson and our little guesthouse is overflowing with bikes! We’ve got 2 in the living room, 1 in the bedroom, 2 in the office, 1 in the laundry room, 4+ in the shed, and my commuter in the courtyard. He had a pretty busy extended weekend as well: 1 wedding (Congrats John and Nora!), 2 cyclocross races, 2,000 miles of driving, and a visit with my parents. He also delivered a CD of pictures my Dad took in Canberra–so I’ll post those in a few days with a tardy race recap.

Some more pictures from the weekend:

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Instead of descending on Las Vegas for the Interbike spectacle, I’ve been getting ready for a little weekend trip:

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Point D: 3:00pm Friday departure
Point B: 31 mile MTB Race
Point C: 26 mile hill climb

The Saturday mountain bike race is an important race to qualify the U of A for Collegiate Nats. I’ve also heard rumors that we may encounter some of the worlds finest single track in Gallup. It’s amazing what can be found in some unlikely places. The 26-mile hill climb (AZ State Champs!) is just for fun. Sometimes I wonder why I do this…

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One week ago there was a horrific accident on a Saturday morning group ride in Tucson. A woman drove her car through a pack of ten cyclists, hitting 8 of them. Miraculously, no one was killed. That’s the first question I had when I heard the news. One of the riders is still in the hospital following a surgery to repair a shattered femur, I believe.

What are the consequences when a driver acts recklessly, sending four human beings to the hospital with serious and potentially life-threatening injuries, all of whom were over the age of 50? You get an improper passing citation. All of the riders were in their right, law abiding, and riding on a remote, flat, straight, road at 6:00am. It was light by the time the accident occurred, and they all had blinky lights on their bikes anyway.

I don’t think the driver should be allowed to drive anytime soon, and I hope she thinks about what happened every single time she gets behind the wheel of a car. I hope somebody gives her a bike, a helmet, some road safety lessons, driver’s ed, and a year or two, and then maybe the privilege of driving again.

Her ‘improper passing’ risked 10 human lives and has inflicted life-lasting injuries, and a horrific life-changing experience for all of them. I’m disappointed in the local media for initially not reporting the accident, and then underplaying its severity. I’m disappointed in the ’slap on the wrist’ they handed the driver. But most importantly, everyone survived and I wish them all a thorough recovery.

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