Sometimes you need to rest... Sometimes you race in a parking garage.

So, after putting in 2,200 miles during the Bike Arlington Freezing Saddles competition, I decided to take a week off of training and hard riding to just have some fun on the bike. Plus, I recently purchased a new mountain bike and have not had a chance to ride it. So, after an easy week of only commuting four days and the last Crystal City Wednesday Night Spins Race (recap below), I spent some time with teammates and my significant other and played in the dirt.

The SO rolling down a drop.

Baker's Dozen is a 13 hour mountain bike race that happens once a year on a private farm. The owners open the trails a few weekends prior to the race for pre-riding.  Saturday was the first pre-ride of the season, which means Spring is officially here!  We headed out and suited up and hit the trails. The first lap was a bit slick and I fell back and worked on a few things solo with the SO. After the first lap, we headed back in and I ended up in a smaller group and nailed everything in the main loop except the big rock step up...  Which I will probably never be able to make it up that.

Erik on his new bike...  After getting taught the hard way about keeping your weight back!

It was a great day on the bike and I am feeling a bit more confident about doing that race after all the gravel endurance I have been doing.

Madison (non-teammate) showing us how to REALLY have fun on that drop!

Sometimes you race in parking garages!

So, part two of this update (and I guess, really the REAL reason for it), is to give a race report (or four... actually) for my first foray into non-dirt/gravel/cross racing.  Every Wednesday this month, Crystal City BID and Crosshairs Cycling puts on a parking garage race.  I guess it is kind of like a cross race, since it is a super short course with tons of twists and turns.  But WAY scarier.

Week 1:
I brought my gravel bike and did a quick lap around as I was arriving at the parking garage. I immediately felt really squirrelly and dropped the pressure in my tires. After doing 10-12 pre-ride laps (the laps are about a half mile...  maybe less?), the ladies all lined up for the race. It was great to see so many folks that I had not seen since cross season. Smiling faces made me slightly less terrified.

And then we were off! Well, sort of...  There was a crash right in front of me at the start, so I got delayed behind that. Unfortunately, one of the girls that went down broke her ankle. She is healing well, but will be off the bike for a while.

Terror...  Determination...  Trying to catch Samantha!
Photo courtesy of Bruce Buckley

It took a little before I actually caught up to anyone. And when I did, I realized it was my friend Samantha! I actually hung behind her for a while and followed her lines through the corners and started to feel a little more confident. I ended up passing her and we raced back and forth for the remainder of the race. It was super fun to actually get to "race" with someone, and it was made better because it was Samantha!

Smiles!  So many smiles!
Photo courtesy of Bruce Buckley

I was a little disappointed when the race was over, because I felt like I was finally starting to be able to take the wider corners at speed. I ended up having a blast, even though I was pretty terrified.  You would never know it by the pictures, though!

Who giggles during a race?  This girl does!
Photo courtesy of Bruce Buckley

I even had a decent sized cheering squad out there!  Huge thanks to Team Bikenetic and my Freezing Saddles friends for rooting for me!  I believe I ended up 12th of 15.

Matt & Dane...  Were not cheering me on in this photo...
Photo courtesy of Bruce Buckley

Week 2:
The second week, I felt a little better going into it since I knew what to expect. Oh, I was still terrified, just a little less so. The beginning went off a little better than previously since no one crashed right in front of me.

Well, at least not yet...  After several laps and some good racing, a junior (whom I was waiting to pass until we got out of the tight turns) crashed right in front of me. Her rear wheel clipped my front and I went down, too.

Luckily, it was a pretty slow speed crash and I was fine. However, I could not get unclipped from the bike! I am sure it was a hilarious sight. I did eventually get untangled from the bike and kept going. My knee was starting to swell, so I did about three laps of easy spinning just to keep moving and get my mojo back.

There was a huge field of women racing this week, which was a GREAT thing.  I finished 24th out of 34, which I was very pleased with, especially considering the crash.

I look way more relaxed than I felt!
Photo courtesy of Firespire Photography

Week 3:

I was MUCH more nervous going into this race because of going down the week before. There is honestly not much to say about it.

I started fairly strong after my initial terrible start, but got passed by a few folks throughout the race since I was definitely being more cautious on the corners.

Slow and smiling!
Photo courtesy of Trey Harris (I think?)

I still had fun, though and enjoyed the extra experience! 

Easy spinning and LOTS of concentration after the previous week's crash.
Photo courtesy of Trey Harris (I think?) 

I finished 15th out of 21.  

Week 4:

The FINAL in the women's series. After the previous week, I decided I was going to ride my rigid mountain bike just to see how I fared. I am always more confident on flat bars and even decided to keep my pretty aggressive mountain tires on the bike for an additional boost. This turned out to be the best decision I could have made.

Starting in the pre-ride, I felt pretty unstoppable. I did not want to get over-confident, as that could lead to some pretty...  disastrous results. So I kept the speed down and worked on leaning the bike around the corners. I was at a disadvantage because my gearing is for mountain biking. I ended up keeping it in the smallest ring in the back and treated it as a 36x12 singlespeed. Apparently that worked well.

We lined up for the start, and my favourite photographer of all time made a snide remark about those of us in the "back row"...

"Hey now!"
Photo courtesy of Bruce Buckley

 As per my usual race starting procedure, I had a terrible start. But, I made up for it, and immediately started passing people. They could definitely tell I was coming, my tires were NOT stealthy.

Passing Amy on the inside.
Photo courtesy of Bruce Buckley

Being able to corner with flat bars made a huge difference in just about everything in the race. I felt confident and could take corners tighter than I had been able to in the past. Things just seem to work for me on flat bars.

It also helps to have friends yelling at you to go faster. Yes, I know your grandma can ride a bike faster than me!

 All in all, I felt great and had the best finish for me all month.  I ended up 11th out of 20. (Almost Top 10!)  If I had appropriate gearing on that bike, I might have squeaked out another place or two.

This coming week is Week 5, but there is no women's race. I will be teaming up with two Bikenetic teammates for the relay. It should be fun, but I am expecting it to be a little more terrifying with men on the course at the same time. I will be riding the rigid Niner again, since I am definitely more confident on that bike. Plus I can throw my elbows out and make those dudes give me more space!  

What do you mean there is no smiling in racing?!
Photo courtesy of Bruce Buckley

2,000 Miles - All Smiles

So, on my commute to work this morning, I surpassed 2,000 miles for the year.  For some of you, this may not be a big deal.  For me, it is pretty huge.  I already have more than 600 more miles than I did at this point last year.  I have racked up six metric centuries, four of which were on gravel.  I hit an all time monthly mileage high for January and then surpassed it in February.  I feel GOOD.

Even though we have had a relatively mild winter, the cold and the wind came back with full force this past weekend.  The weekend that I had an 80 mile training ride planned.  I had several people commit to riding at least part of the way with me, so I dragged myself out of bed early Saturday morning and checked the temperature outside.  It was 22F degrees at my house, which means that it was even colder in Leesburg at the ride start.  The forecast did not indicate it would warm up much and it was going to be quite breezy.

What to wear? What to wear?  This winter has left me forgetting how to dress for long cold rides.  But, I planned appropriately and was fairly comfortable most of the day.

The few, the proud, the cold.
Photo courtesy of Laurie Johnson

In addition, I had been noticing some pretty significant mid back and shoulder pain while wearing a standard hydration pack.  I know that I will need more than two bottles for Kanza and drinking out of a pack is so much easier on gravel than bottles.  So I needed a solution. Luckily for me, I went out to Stokesville, Virginia the previous weekend for Shenandoah Mountain Touring's 60/40 race with Team Bikenetic (I ended up doing a jeep road "gravel" ride instead of the trail ride...  Because Kanza).  Two awesome bike friends had just purchased "fanny" packs and rode with them and RAVED about them.  I was intrigued.  I talked to another friend who rode with a different type of "fanny" pack and she also really liked it.

So I spent three days researching and ended up ordering one.  I ended up with Source's Hipster pack, which is the same one that Chris and Libby had at the Stokesville 60/40.  I was a little skeptical about how it would fit as I am fairly tiny and it is unisex, but it worked out well and I still had about six inches of belt left to tighten if needed.  It felt great on the hips empty, but I was a little worried about how it would feel with 50 ounces of water balanced on my butt.  I probably should have tried it out before starting an 80 mile ride, but...

Unfortunately, no one got a photo of me from the rear (Crandle, where were you when I needed you?!), so I do not have a great photo of the pack on.  But, because I like posting photos, here is the only one where you can kind of see the pack:

In the end, there were only three.
Photo courtesy of Jan Feuchtner 

When I first got on the bike, it was a little weird having this thing hanging off my butt.  But once I remembered it was there, getting on and off the bike was fine.  Sitting and pedaling, I barely noticed it was there.  It was SO much better than wearing a standard pack.  Standing up felt a little weird because I could feel the water sloshing, but I got used to it pretty quickly. It was pretty amazing not having a super sweaty back (or back/shoulder pain), especially when we stopped for snacks.  The only issue I had was trying to put away the hydration hose once I was finished drinking. I suspect this is just because it was my first time using it, and I need to learn where the little magnetic clip is on the belt.

There was plenty of storage for extra CO2 cartridges, snacks, and my wallet.  I probably could have even fit an extra tube in there if needed.  And while I bought this for use with the drop bar gravel bike, I can definitely see me using it for mountain bike rides, too.  I am curious to know how well it stays in place going over some large obstacles and drops.  

So, I DEFINITELY recommend the Hipster for long gravel rides where you need more than two bottles but hate wearing a pack.  I will probably post an actual review at some point after I have used it more than once and have done some rough single track rides with it (and have more photos!).

Anyway, the ride itself was great.  The temperature had risen to about 27F degrees at the start and there were some snow showers.  All in all, a "lovely" way to start the ride.  As soon as we left the parking lot, the wind smacked us right in the face.  I seriously thought my sinuses were going to freeze solid right then and there.  Luckily, the first three miles or so of the route had us climbing up Old Waterford Road.  So we warmed up pretty quickly.

Most everyone in the group decided to peel off for the shorter route (42 miles versus 81) since it was so cold and windy.  Five of us (Chris, Jan, Maureen, Tony, and myself) forged on.  We skipped a water stop in Round Hill at about mile 30, since everyone was still good on water and the normal routes have us in Philomont in about 10 more miles.  I had forgotten that I had added some extra miles to this route, since it was originally only supposed to be 70ish.  So, we ended up doing 20 more miles before hitting Philomont.

We stopped and a couple of the guys went in and grabbed some snacks, but everyone was still doing pretty good on water, and the ford crossing was coming up soon and we wanted to head out.  So it was a five minute stop there to shove some snacks in our faces before we headed down Jeb Stuart Road to Beaverdam Creek.  This is my favourite part of these rides, especially if I am with people who have never forded the creek before.  I was a little behind the three guys (who had never crossed the ford) and stopped a little farther up the road and watched them for a second try and figure out how to cross the creek.

For those that have never seen it, here is a picture from June (keep in mind I am 5'9" and have long legs):

A nice cool dip in the Beaverdam Creek Ford.
Photo courtesy of Pete Beers

It was probably a few inches less deep in this spot since we have had such a dry winter, but it was not yet above freezing at this point in the ride.  I did not say anything, just made my way up the bank while they kept looking at the creek.  There is a nice shallow section that you have to drop down to get to, but as long as there are at least two people, it is pretty easy.  I laid my bike down and hopped down and waited for the guys and Maureen to catch on.  They came over, handed me my bike, and we started the process of getting bikes and people down the bank.  

They were totally conferring about how much of a genius I am.

The water in this section was pretty shallow, maybe 4 inches deep.  

Jan got to be the guinea pig and go first.

It was an easy ride across and most everyone's feet stayed dry.  Tony may have ridden a little too far to the left and put his foot down in the water.  Whoops.

Water is a little deeper on that side.  Sorry, Tony!

Everyone made it across with ease and Maureen has now agreed that she should buy a mountain bike.  YAY!

She says, "Nothing to it!"

Luckily, Jan grabbed a photo of me coming across to join the rest of the group. 

 

"Donotfalldonotfalldonotfall...  Everyone is watching!"

Ten miles later, we stopped in Middleburg for water/snacks.  Chris and Tony ended up at a coffee shop down the street and Jan, Maureen, and I ended up at Middleburg Deli.  It was warm, the food was delicious (and much needed), and they had a bathroom.  The only other thing I could have asked for was beer.

At this point, we had thawed out and had 20 miles to go.  I felt surprisingly good, especially after an egg salad sandwich and some juice.  We hit the road with good spirits and full-ish bellies.  

We ended up on Hogback Mountain Road, which I keep meaning to avoid on Saturdays, but fail miserably because it is such a lovely climb. There is a huge "fancy" winery at the top that creates a lot of traffic on the climb. The road is wide enough, but on a dry day, that much traffic creates a LOT of dust.  Plus, some of them are coming FROM the winery, so could potentially be intoxicated.

We finally passed by Zephaniah Winery (owned by a teammate's family) after several "Oh!  I think this is the road to Zephaniah!" cries by me.  Whoops.  It was getting pretty late, so we did not stop, but waved to the barn as we rode by.  At this point, we had about four miles to go and we were getting hungry again.  Frozen shot blocks do NOT count as a full meal, by the way.  

As we came back into Leesburg, the wind met us head on again, which was a fitting way to end the ride.  We landed back in the parking lot at Rust Library right at 5:00.  Perfect timing. Jan, Maureen, and I ended up at Loudoun Brewing Company to rehydrate and eat some greasy Pizza Hut carry out since Fireworks Pizza had a 45 minute wait.  We ran into Crandle there and hung out with him for a bit.  

Beer and Pizza.  No better way to end the day!

Reflecting on the ride now, I felt great and could not have asked for a better support team. So a huge thanks to those that came out and brave the cold and the wind! 

Things that went right:

Clothing - My clothing choice was just about perfect.  My hands were a little cold, but I honestly think it was because my gloves were too think under the Bar Mitts.

Bike - The bike felt great.  Thanks Salsa!

Contact Points - Chamois Butt'r for the win. Hands felt great.  Feet were fine.

Nutrition - I felt great, but I probably should have eaten more on the road.

Hydration - Also felt great, but I only went through the equivalent of 2.5 bottles and a bottle of juice.  

Battery Power - I had my Garmin plugged in the whole time with routing and live track. Ended with 100% power on the Garmin and more than 70% power on the battery backup.  I think I will only need three for DK200.  Two for my Garmin and one for phone/lights.

Things that could be improved:

Nutrition and Hydration - Obviously.  I am getting better, but still need to dial this in.

Pacing - I would like to be faster.  But, at an average moving speed of 12.4 mph in below freezing temperatures with 20+mph winds...  I will take it.  

Pedals - I think it might (SOB) be time to replace my beloved Time Atac Alium pedals.  They are getting increasingly difficult to get in and out of.

Descents - I am still breaking a little more than I would like to.  I have been trying to pedal through the downhills to refrain from braking, which is helping.  But...  I still freak out a bit with the drop bars.  I think doing a ride when it is warmer and without Bar Mitts may help, since I will be able to get in the drops and modulate the braking a little better.

Gear List

Bike:

Bike - Salsa Warbird, SRAM Rival

Bar Tape - SupaCaz

Bar Mitts - Bar Mitts for internally routed cables

Pedals - Time Atac Alium

Saddle - Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow

Tires - Maxxis Rambler 40mm

Clothing:

Shoes - Giro Alipineduro

Gloves - Gore Windstopper

Chamois - Shebeast (blue chamois)

Base layer - Underarmour Cold Weather

Outer layer - Zoic Knickers

Base layer (top) - Smartwool mid-weight

Outer layer (top) - Gore Windstopper

Neck - Turtle Fur Gaiter

Head - Buff & Bikenetic Cap

Helmet - Lazer Pink

Etc:

Source Hipster hydration pack

Garmin Edge 520

Anker PowerCore 5000 battery back up

Huge thanks, as always, to Pete and Jan (and everyone else) at Bikenetic Falls Church for everything they do to keep me motivated and rolling!  You people are AWESOME!

2017 Monster Cross (Minus Results)

So, it turns out, training works!

I have been riding quite a bit, with some structured workouts scattered here and there, in anticipation of Dirty Kanza.  Well, part of my training plan was to compete in Monster Cross.

This is not the first time I have done this race.  I do it every year and suffer through, finishing well after everyone else and quite a bit after the post-race beer has been tapped out.  It is always a fun time though, since this is the first time I have seen many of my racing friends since the end of cross season.  Last year, I had my best overall time, which was 4 hours 38 minutes (slow...).

This year, I felt great going into the race, with over 1,200 miles on my legs since the first of the year and several 60+ mile rides in the past few weeks.  Fifty miles should be pretty easy, right?  Well, it never is at race pace, but it was definitely better than previous years.

My only goal was to finish faster than last year's time.  I knew I was not a podium contender, and only wanted to race against myself.  Because I felt so good and was on a "gravel specfic" bike (even though drop bars are still scary!), I set my goal VERY high.  I wanted to finish 45 minutes faster than last year.  So, I needed to finish in 3 hours 53 minutes.

Lining up at the start is always a bit of a cluster.  There were over 700 racers this year.

Racers starting to line up.
Photo courtesy of Jesse Peters/VORS 

I positioned myself with my female teammates (there are a couple of groups of pink helmets, we are the smaller group in the middle left side of the photo behind all the taller dudes without pink helmets!) and chit chatted while we waited for the racer director to let the pro/elites go out a few minutes earlier than the rest of us.  I was nervous, especially since this is the first year I have lined up near the middle of the pack, and not in the back.

After a few minutes of nervous anticipation, we were off.  I HATE mass starts like this.  It was chaotic and racers do really stupid things.  I was already freaked out about doing this course on drop bars and was feeling a little squirrely when someone hit my right foot.  I managed to stay upright, but whoever it was knocked the Boa fastener on my shoe loose.  I tried to pedal it out to smoother ground, but my foot kept trying to come out of the shoe.  I had to stop and fix it.

After getting back on the bike and waiting for a break in the traffic to get back on course, I kept my elbows out (like the mountain biker I am) and practically dared someone to get too close to me.  I was NOT stopping again for something stupid and totally preventable.  Most people were good about calling their passes if they were overtaking me, but a couple of people passed way too closely without warning.  My elbows were getting ready to become weapons.

Luckily things spread out a bit and I got my confidence back.  I hung back a bit to just breathe and let the chaos ahead of me disperse a bit.  After a few minutes, I started to feel pretty good and my legs were warming up nicely.  At this point, I started picking people off and doing what I do best, which is kill them on the climbs.

I played leap frog with several guys on mountain bikes for most of the first lap.  I would pass them on the climbs and they would pass back on the descents.  I kept thinking that this really is a mountain bike course.  The gravel was deep, the sand was loose, and the rocks were pretty chunky.  Oh, and there were a few root gardens thrown in for good measure on the descents, too.  I REALLY missed my 2" knobbies!

I made it through all three stream crossings without incident on the first lap and was feeling great.  I wore a hydration pack to start getting used to it for Kanza and drinking during a rough gravel race has never been easier.  I was also trying to remember to eat, but honestly should have eaten more.

I crossed the finish area with the elapsed time on my Garmin telling me it had been 1:55 since I started it (about 2.5 minutes from the time we actually took off).  I did the math.  I could TOTALLY reach my goal!  I was elated and almost cried.  I took off with renewed vigour and determination.

On the second lap, I started to pick off the ladies in my category (Women's Open Cross) one by one.  I played leap frog with one of the gals from the DC area cyclocross scene.  She was quite surprised to see me not on a mountain bike.  I passed pretty much everyone in my category that I knew, which was surprising.  I always assume I am the slowest rider out there, even though I have been working my butt off getting ready for Kanza.  I will say that the only reason I passed Jamie (on the first lap, no less) was because she had flatted one of her tubeless tires on a stream crossing.  I swear, she needs run flat tires!

I was still feeling pretty great going into the "lollipop" section across the bridge.  I had gotten in with a couple of people that I knew and was having a grand time playing leap frog on the climbs and descents.

About a mile into that last section, things started to fall apart a bit.  My body was getting beaten up pretty badly due to the roughness on the course.  I was using tubes, so I did not want to lower my tire pressure any that what it already was.  I think going tubeless may help with the vibration fatigue.  I also failed to eat enough on course.  This is a huge problem for me and one that I really have to figure out how to fix before Kanza.  I honestly think if I had eaten more, I would not have slowed down so much on that last leg of the course.

About three miles from the finish, my friend Laurie that I had passed on the first lap caught up to me.  She was on a mountain bike and not in my category, so it was nice to see a friendly female face.  She knows my timidness descending on drop bars and rode behind me for a bit and told me I was crushing it.  And by crushing it, I am pretty sure she was just happy that I was easing off the brakes a bit and not crashing!  Either way, it was great to hear.

Laurie (and David, who was one of the guys I was leap frogging) passed me just before the last creek crossing with about a mile to go.  My body was so fatigued going into the creek crossing that I lost focus and plowed front tire first right into the muddy, leafy bog on the left side of the crossing.  I came to a dead stop in boggy water up to my front hub and my left foot completely submerged in cool (although quite disgusting) creek water.  Whoops.

Getting off my bike, I had to put both feet in the water, and it felt quite refreshing.  My right foot was hurting and my left had been threatening to cramp for a few miles.  I quickly got back on the bike and headed up the last real climb of the day just as Laurie and David sailed out of view.  I was by myself and so ready to just be off the bike.  But I glanced down at my Garmin and saw the elapsed time...  I was getting close to not making my goal, but if I just kept at it, I could finish in time.

I kept pushing myself until the last little rooty descent that comes around the bend where you could see the bridge right before the last little kicker to the finish.  Seriously, who puts the finish at the top of a 15% grade!?  I saw my Garmin as it ticked over to 3:47... WHAT?!?!?!  GO GO GO GO GO!

Elated that I CRUSHED my goal!
Photo courtesy of Jen Wheeler

I crossed the finish line with my Garmin reading 3:48:andsomeseconds.  I surpassed my already extremely lofty goal by FIVE MINUTES!  I can only imagine what would have happened had I kept up with my nutrition.

Either way, I was elated.  There was a smile a mile wide on my face.  I had a great race and even though I was tired and my body was pretty wrecked, I could have kept riding. Especially after a substantial snack.

Needless to say, I got not only ONE post-race beer, but two!  Woohoo!

Race results are pending, so I am not sure where I placed.  Due to a pretty nasty crash on course, apparently the pro/elite's and a few of the fastest citizen racers were stopped for about 20 minutes on course while the girl that crashed was med-evac'ed out.  My thoughts are with her, her teammates, and her friends/family as I have not heard an update on her condition.

Things that I learned:

• Hydration.  The hydration pack was key.  I filled it with 70 ounces of water and drained it about four miles from the finish.  I had a bottle filled with water and a Fizz tab, and drank about half of it.  I need to figure out a way to fit two bottles with my frame pack for DK200.
• Food.  I need to eat more.  I need to get better at eating while riding.  I HAVE to figure this out in the next few weeks.  Shot Bloks are great, but I need more solid fuel, too.
• Rough Terrain.  I was actually surprised by how beat my body felt after this race.  As a mountain biker (especially one that rides a rigid frame half the time), I felt I should have been more prepared for the roughness of Monster Cross.  I know tire pressure and volume have a lot to do with this.  I am second guessing my tire choice (40mm Maxxis Ramblers) and thinking I should get a slightly wider tire.  But I need to try setting this bike up tubeless and trying lower pressure.  
• Shoes.  I have no idea why my right foot started to hurt so bad.  I think I may need different insoles for these shoes.  But...  these shoes are awesome.  They are the perfect stiffness for me, plus the soles are super walkable.  Also, they dry SO fast. This is not the first time they have been fully submerged in a creek crossing (or splashed so badly that they got completely soaked) and have been dry (or almost been dry) by the end of the ride.  This weekend, they were not quite dry, but they were soaked less than 15 minutes before the end of the race.  Pearl Izumi figured this out great.  My last pair would take DAYS to dry.
• Hands.  The one thing that did not bother me all day was my hands.  Even after having a death grip on the brakes for most of the chunky descents, my hands felt great.  I think it is a combination of the most amazing bar tape ever (Supacaz Kush) and gloves that do not bunch or pinch or do anything except protect your hands (thanks Handup Gloves!).  

Lastly, I just want to say that it is amazing having the greatest team ever behind me.  From my teammates cheering me on during the race to offering support after their race was tragically cut short due to a mechanical, seeing Team Bikenetic's smiling faces on race day (and well, every day) really helps me get over my "Impostor Syndrome".   

Team Bikenetic gets photobombed by Jeremiah Bishop!
Photo courtesy of Arden Sperty and Jeremiah Bishop

All the miles...

So, in anticipation of Dirty Kanza, my training has started and I am riding as much as I can. Which, thanks to this lovely mild winter we are having here in the DC area, is more than ever.  I ended January with over 750 miles and rides greater than 100 km.  That is pretty impressive considering that my previous highest mileage month was in June 2016 with 633 miles.  I am feeling good and having fun on the bike.  That is what really matters most though.

I went out on a solo ride to Leesburg a couple of weeks ago to just get more base miles and grab a beer or two at two of my favourite breweries.  I ended up with 70+ miles and a renewed appreciation for solo long rides on the W&OD on a cold, sunny January day.

The Warbird at Crooked Run Brewing in Leesburg

Feet propped up, drinking a delicious brew in style at
Loudoun Brewing company in Leesburg

Last weekend, I started my official DK200 training with a 60 mile ride on the gorgeous gravel roads of Loudoun County, designed by the one and only Pete Beers.  Since it was my first official training ride, I thought it would be nice to have some company out there.  This was especially important since it was going to be pretty chilly and a bit windy.  I get quite discouraged with headwinds, which is something that I need to get over before Kanza.

So, I made a small event on Facebook and invited teammates and a few friends.  Turns out, there are a ton of amazing cyclists that want to encourage and support me in this crazy adventure.  Over 20 people RSVP'ed that they were in for the ride!  A friend made a shorter route that stuck with those doing the full 60 for the first 25 or so miles, so most people were going to do that instead of the whole shebang, but still.  I felt SO loved.

Waking up on the day of the training ride, I made the mistake of looking at the temperature at the starting point.  It was 19 degrees.  EEK!  Luckily, it warmed up a bit.  By the time we arrived at the starting point, it had warmed up to about 27 degrees.  A few folks bailed because of the cold, which, I would have to if it were not MY training ride!

Most of the posse that came out to support my crazy adventure!
Photo by Laurie Johnson

We had 22 people at the start of the ride.  I was blown away and almost cried in my "you guys are so awesome" speech right before we rolled out.  Seriously, I have the most amazing friends.

Happy faces before starting the climb up Old Waterford.
Photo by Joe Reiman

They made me roll out first, which always makes me nervous, because I am NOT fast and the start of the ride was a three mile climb with some pretty steep sections (thanks Pete!). Turns out, I climb pretty decent out of the gate.  I felt horrible about dropping most of the group, but I heard they had a great ride without me.  Which, I am glad that I could get them out on their bikes on a cold and windy February morning, but I wish I had seen more of their awesome faces.

See that mountain, yep, we are going to climb it!
Photo by Joe Reiman

The first few miles went without incident.  I had a good chat with my friend Mark about his gravel race adventures and got some excellent advice from both him and Eric Williams, who is a very accomplished randonneur(er?).

We crossed the ford on Jeb Stuart without anyone getting fully dunked in the creek.  Frank may have gotten his feet wet, though.  But it was all in good fun.  By this time (about 29 miles in) we were down to six riders with most everyone else doing the shorter route.  One of my teammates who is also doing Kanza took off out the gate, passing me halfway up Old Waterford never to be seen again (well, until the next day, that is).  And three others were taking a more casual approach and stopped a few times to check out the scenery.  The six left with me were all pretty similarly paced and we stuck together for the rest of the ride.

We had a slight extended stop around mile 38 to refill water and grab some extra calories (Fig Newtons for the win!).  After that, it was smooth sailing until I got a little overconfident on one of the descents.  I was riding next to my buddy Crandle on the left side of a narrowish gravel road.  I hit a pot hole and it threw my bike up and on the very soft and loose shoulder.  I hit the brakes, threw my weight back, and had a mini-mental freak out that I was going down on gravel (YIKES!).  Well, down I went...  into the softest bank imaginable. It was the most incredible bike crash I have ever had.  The after effects were a wet (and cold) knee and a teeny tiny bruise on the inside of my knee where my frame it it.  Not bad for crashing going 20 mph on a gravel road.

We only had one more incident, where a teammate took a corner a little too wide and slid out on gravel.  He was fine, but according to his heart rate data (the strap came unhooked), he actually died in that crash.  Whoops.

After making it back, someone asked about beer.  I said yes, but only if I can chase it with an entire pizza.  We ended the day at Fireworks Pizza, enjoying some tasty beverages and we each ate an entire pizza.  It was a marvelous day on the bike.

OmmNommNomm!  Cheers!

So, first major training ride in the books:
Total Mileage: 60.8 miles
Total Elevation: 4,639 feet
Total Time: 5:29
Average Temperature: 34F
Average Speed: 12.7 mph
PR's: 16
Top 10's: 7
QOM's: 1 (!!!!)
https://www.strava.com/activities/855263937

January Happenings

Sometimes the things we get talked into can be the best things that ever happen to us.

At least, that is what I keep telling myself.  A couple of weeks ago, this happened:

DK200 Registration Confirmation

A huge thanks to several of the women's cyclocross group and a few of my incredibly supportive teammates for having the confidence in me that I do not have in myself.  Their unwavering faith in my strength and endurance caused me to re-evaluate what I wanted to accomplish this year.  After talking myself out of registering for the full Dirty Kanza 200, I was planning to do the 100 mile ride to support those that were actually going to race.  I got figuratively smacked in the back of the head by several people who told me that I can ride 100 miles of gravel "tomorrow if you had to" and be fine.  I realized they were right.  If I was going to travel to Kansas, I might as well set my sights high and race.  

Go Big or Go Home...  So, while in a race briefing for a winter adventure race, I frantically refreshed the BikeReg website until registration opened at 9:00.  With shaking hands (and only half listening to the race briefing), I entered my data, paid my fee, and before I knew it, I was in!  Woohoo!  

Wait...  I was in.  Oh shit.  On June 3, 2017 (that would be about 18-ish weeks from now, by the way), I am going to race 200 miles on back country gravel roads in the Flint Hills of Kansas.  Unsupported.  I only rarely ride 200 miles in an entire week, how I am going to do that in less than 21 hours (preferably less than 18)?  Did I also mention that I hate training for endurance events?  But...  I am in.  I am going to do this.  And I am going to finish.  

New planner that I even had personalized!

I bought an actual planner.  The first one I have had since I stopped working for Circuit City in 2005.  In it, I have outlined a decent training plan that will get me several 150 mile rides before the race.  I will have to do hill and sprint intervals (ugh), I will have to do cadence work (even worse), and I will have to do long rides (those should be fun, right?).  I will be working on a nutrition plan to combat my chronic problem of never eating or drinking enough on long rides.  I will be getting more and more comfortable with my drop bar gravel bike.

Check, Check, and...  Check!

So while I am incredibly nervous and even a little terrified, I have a plan.  I have two amazingly brave and confident ladies that I raced cyclocross with that have also signed up for DK200 to train and race with.  I have lodging and support lined up.  Things are coming together quite nicely.  Now, I just need to get out and ride my bike.  A lot.  

RACE DAY!!!!  The countdown is on.

Oh yeah...  I did an adventure race on the day I signed up for Dirty Kanza.  I did it with two of my favourite cycling ladies (Bobbie Joy and Kieran).  It was cold (31 degrees) and freezing rain, but we had a blast and I learned a lot about navigation from Bobbie.  Here are some photos that tell the tale way better than I could with words!

Dry and warm before the race.
Photo courtesy of Kieran Doucette

Plan of attack!
Photo courtesy of Kieran Doucette

All smiles as we knocked the ice off our bikes and headed out from TA1.
Photo courtesy of Vladimir Bukalo

Hanging out with Mark out of the rain for a minute at TA2.
Photo courtesy of Vladimir Bukalo

 
 

Obligatory mud butt shot!
Photo courtesy of Vladimir Bukalo

I promise we were colder than we look.
Photo courtesy of Vladimir Bukalo

First Place! (I think this was our second time on the podium since we forgot to get a photo the first time!)
Photo courtesy of Vladimir Bukalo

One Weekend, Three Races: Part 2 - Sunday

Sunday was at my second favourite course of the Super 8 Series: Capital Cross at Lake Fairfax Park.  I feel like this is my home course, since I mountain bike at Lake Fairfax on a weekly basis and know the trails like the back of my hand.  Unfortunately (or so I thought), the course was going to be completely reworked due to a stream restoration project happening in the lower part of the park where half of the course used to run through.  I was a bit apprehensive about racing on a new course, especially since I loved the old one so much.

Sunday morning started out early, as per usual.  We got to the park right around 7:00.  I carried both bikes and my bike cube over to the team tent area to stake out our team's spot. Before I had even dropped the bikes, a bike friend hailed me down.  It is always great to see smiling familiar faces that early in the morning when you are having pre-race nerves!  I picked up my number and headed to the nicely heated bathroom to pin it on my jersey and help some other women get their's on before heading to pre-ride.  Several teammates were ready to pre-ride, so I headed out with them to check out the new course.  I was really apprehensive about the new design and worried it was going to be another power course instead of the techy course that I loved.

But, it turns out, the new course design was spectacular.  I enjoyed it MUCH more than the old course.  Serious kudos to Bruce Buckley and the Bike Lane team for turning what could have been a sore spot into something fabulous.  The course had just about the right amount of balance between techy and power sections.  Obviously in my opinion, the more techy the better, but then again, I feel much more at home on rooty and rocky single track than I do on a grassy false flat.

As per usual, I had a bad start.  It was compounded by being a paved uphill section that quickly turned into a grassy false flat.  I was in the top ten by the time we headed down short paved section into a downhill grassy turn.  Unfortunately, one of my teammates was knocked down hard by a passing racer in the off camber section after that corner.  She was untangling herself from her bike and tape when I came through.  She was second at that time and was pretty disappointed in addition to getting a pretty big bruise on her knee from it.

The barriers were right after a sharp corner and I was worried about scrubbing enough speed going into them.  I had trouble with the barriers on every lap, but apparently I looked pretty pro getting off my bike!

Dismounting is fun!
Photo courtesy of Trey Harris

After the barriers, we went across the dam and up the stairs, which was part of the course last year.  Other than the false flat, that was my least favourite part of the course.  Granted, anything that requires me to get off my bike on a hill that is totally rideable is never a fun thing in my book.  Remounting at the top of the stairs brought you into an amazing house party complete with energizer bunny and disco ball!  There was a mini chute with some tight loose switchbacks which was super fun!  After that was the rooty uphill that I was so glad I could ride.  While it was almost as fast to run it, I was able to put some distance between myself and others while they remounted.  At one point, I may have been in sixth place because of that hill!

Then came the best part of the whole course.  The CHUTE!  It was a relatively long and steep downhill with banked turns and amazing flow.  I LOVED it.  This was also a leftover from previous years and I am so glad they were able to keep it.  Unfortunately, I have not found a photo of me going down it yet, but I was getting some decent air off the bermed corner.  It was a blast.

After the chute was another short steep uphill that was actually faster to run it than ride it. Then back over the damn, by the team tent area and then through the start/finish hill.

By the end of the second lap, I had put a decent gap between myself and the three ladies that were chasing me.  I was feeling pretty good, and even gave some smiles and thumbs up to a teammate taking pictures!

Cross is so much fun!
Photo courtesy of Trey Harris

By the last lap, my legs were getting a little tired (mostly because of that grassy false flat!) and my competition was catching up.  A teammate, Helen, caught me coming across the damn and passed me on the little short kicker before the team tents.  We were both all smiles, though!

Buddies!
Photo courtesy of Trey Harris

As Helen and I rounded the corner onto the paved start/finish stretch, Evelyn from Pheonix Bicycles blew by us as if we were standing still!  She got almost three seconds on us at the finish with less than half a second between Helen and myself.  Out of a very strong field, I finished 9th.  I was pretty happy about that.

It turns out, I was so happy, I decided to race again!  But this time, I wanted to race for handups instead of trying to kill myself in the 3/4 race.  And I was able to talk Maureen into doing it with me.

Needless to say, the course itself was just as fun as the first race.  But, the handup game was the most fun I have had in a cross race EVER.  There was beer.  There was whisky. And there were cookies.   I am sure I will update this with more photos as I come across them.  But here are a few that I giggled at this morning when I saw them posted!

PIIIIIIIIIIE!
Photo courtesy of Trey Harris

Oh yeah!
Photo courtesy of Trey Harris

This is what I have been working for my whole life!
Photo courtesy of Trey Harris

Hmm...  Now I have to get back on my bike...  And eat...
Photo courtesy of Trey Harris

Second lap, or third...  There was whisky and another pie!

Whisky?  Why yes, yes I shall!
Photo courtesy of Trey Harris

Knocking it back like a pro! (While not riding my bike!)
Photo courtesy of Trey Harris

All smiles as I head towards more beer!Photo courtesy of Trey Harris

I dropped my chain trying to ride up the little kicker on the third lap after being goaded by some hecklers on the previous lap.  Thick gloves and a clutch derailleur (and probably the whisky and beer) made for a difficult time getting the chain back on.  Maureen waited for me and we did another lap even after being given the option for early retirement.  We ended up high fiving on the finishing stretch and coming in 24th and 25th out of 29 starters.  We totally won the whole race, even if the results say otherwise! 

 

One Weekend, Three Races: Part 1, Saturday

The race on Saturday at Red Shedman Brewery was not part of either local series, so the race times were a bit different than normal.  The women's races were at 1:00 and I was solo for the day since my significant other was not interested in another two race weekend, so no need to get up early for the men's races.  Woohoo for getting to sleep in for once!

The venue was pretty cool.  There was both a winery and a brewery on the grounds and there was beer flowing from both the local place and from Monocacy, another local brewery. One of the main reasons for me going to this race was because I had never had their beer. And trust me, it was worth the drive!

Lining up for the race was a bit confusing as there were four women's fields: 1/2/3, Master's 40+ 1/2/3, Beginner 4, and Master's 40+ Beginner 4.  There was also the added confusion of Bike Reg advising that the 1/2/3 races would be 40 minutes and the Beginner races would be 3 laps.  After doing one pre-ride lap, we realized the course was really short (barely 1.3 miles), everyone in the beginner category was confused since that would mean our race would only be about 20-25 minutes.  The officials were just as confused as we were and did not give proper instruction at the start of the race, so we all assumed all of us would race the full 40 minutes.

For once, I actually got a decent start.  I did not seem to struggle off the line and only got passed by a few women before we hit the hole shot.  I quickly started to pick people off as usual and after the barriers was in sixth spot.  The course was pretty easy with no real technical spots, so it was a course that favoured those with power, and I am not one of those racers.  I managed to hang on and ended up moving into fourth on the second lap.  I battled back and forth and bounced between fourth and sixth for the next half lap when I heard the announcer say there were four laps to go.  I slacked off, since I knew I could not keep that pace up for another four full laps (there was a LOT of flat power sections and gradual hills that I was redlining on).

Battling it out on the third lap.  Photo courtesy of Jason Calderon.

I let a couple of girls get by me to try and recover before starting the downhill into the start/finish stretch thinking I had a few more laps to pick them back off in the rooty/rocky woods section.  I could easily see the first and second place women go through the start finish and go out for another lap, so I was not setting up for a sprint up the finish stretch.  And then...  we got pulled.  The officials let several of the Cat 4 Master's and Cat 4 Open racers go through for another lap, but pulled several of us after three laps.  

Needless to say, I was not a happy camper at that point since I feel that had we all (including the officals) known at the start what the plan was, I could have had a podium spot.  But either way, it was a fun course and many of the women expressed their frustration to the race director, so I am sure next year it will be better and they will let all of the women's fields race for the full 40 minutes.

After the race, a teammate grabbed me a beer (Red Shedman Vanilla Porter, go have it, it is DELICIOUS!) and all was right with the world again.  I congratulated Laura and Sarah who both came in first place in the W4 and the Master's W4 races (they both totally deserved their wins and crushed the competition!).  High fived all the other women that raced because we are awesome and ran to my car to change clothes.  It was COLD!

Women's Cat 4 Open Podium

Women's Master's Cat 4 Podium (Not Pictured, Tania in 4th and Jocelyn in 5th)

I ended up hanging out for the last two races of the day and was glad I did.  I got to hang out with some mountain bike buddies that were helping out with the race and a few more than stopped by to spectate.  I got to heckle with friends and enjoy some more great beer.  This race, while frustrating for most of the women's Cat 4 group, was a ton of fun and at an amazing venue.  If you did not make it out this year, I highly recommend it.