Maskenthine

When I found out that Steve was bringing the girls back to Bettendorf for a visit this weekend, I have to admit that I was really hoping this race would get rained out for a third time this year so that we could go back and have some twin time instead of driving to BFE, Nebraska for a bike meet. However, the weather had better ideas and the day was picture-perfect to race on the dirt. Aside from the 3.5 hour duration, the drive over was great.

As usual, I was hoping for a decent turn-out of females to compete against. But, also as usual, there was just one other woman who made the trip (which, as it turned out, was only about a 10 minute drive for her). My recon lap went well, but I recall thinking that the laps were pretty short, so I assumed that we'd be doing at least three laps. Standing on the starting line, I was shocked to find out that the Cat 2 women were only scheduled for 2 laps. I tried to convince the other competitor that we should do three laps, but she declined. This was gonna be a quick race for us.

We started with the 45+ Cat 2 men, and I took the lead (after the men...) into the most technical section following the start up the gravel road. That may have been a mistake as Rhonda, the other woman, really had a home field advantage, living so close to the venue. I'm sure she had a better grasp on how to get through this section, and my suspicions were confirmed because she was right on my butt throughout that whole portion. The course opens up a bit after the initial section of single track, so I was able to slowly pull away. It took me the first half of the lap to get my gap to stick, though.

My legs weren't great at during my warm-up or lap one, but they really started to feel pretty good at the beginning of lap two. With Chequamegon coming up in three short weeks, I wanted to push the pace in the more open sections to see what I could do and to make sure I was getting a decent workout and not just putting in the minimum to win. When I dropped the hammer, I started picking people off, one by one, and sometimes three at a time. At one point, I even passed the (lone) Cat 1 woman racer who started 2 minutes ahead of me!

All too soon, the second lap was over and so was my race. I was just starting to feel good, too! The most disappointing part was that I had driven 3.5 hours each way for what ended up being less than a one hour race. In fact, I got done with my race, waited for Rhonda to finish, watched for Cam to come by a couple minutes later to start his fourth lap, made it back to the car to change clothes, and was back before Cam came around again.

Too short. Bummer. I could have used a good, long, high intensity workout to help prep for Chequamegon. It is what it is, though.

Cam had an outstanding race. He let Kevin lead for a couple of laps before whipping past him and never looking back. He won by 3.5 minutes.

Two Ws for Team Vardaman-Kirkpatrick again! We were home in time for me to get up the next morning and still make the trip to the Quad-Cities for a quick visit with Steve and the girls and some Happy Joes pizza!

Seven Oaks - Boone, Iowa

They say ignorance is bliss. That was certainly the case for me when it comes to Boone. Although it is just a few minutes down the road from Ames, I’d never ridden at Seven Oaks before. I’d seen Cam race there twice last year, but I’d never turned a single pedal stroke there myself. Either I wasn’t paying attention to the course while I was watching Cam race or my mind blocked out what I was seeing; regardless, that place is tough.

Cam and I went over for a little course recon on Saturday. We’d had some rain, so we weren’t sure what the course conditions would be. Literally, just as we were pedaling our way onto the first few feet of the trail, I asked Cam if I was correct in assuming that the biggest challenge of riding/racing at Seven Oaks was the climbing. He quickly corrected me – it is a very technical course. And he spent the next 75 minutes showing me example after example after example of the technical nature of this ski hill.

At some point about halfway through the single lap that we did together, I decided I wasn’t having fun anymore! The course was still a little slick from the rain, I had so much mud caked in my shoes and pedals that I could barely get clipped in and out, and I was spending a bunch of time off the bike pushing it around some of the trickier switchbacks. I honestly had a fleeting thought about the Hickory Grove triathlon being held the next day and if I thought I could still enter and compete there rather than at the Boone race! Thankfully, the last quarter of the lap gets a little bit easier, so I banished the triathlon thought from my head, and took a needed little rest in the back of the truck while Cam did another lap at his pace… Cam said the course had dried out quite a bit between his first and second laps, and he thought it would be good to go for the race on Sunday.

Race day was perfect – like 70-75 degrees, a light breeze, and not a single cloud in the sky – that kind of good! There was a good turnout of people, especially with three females in the beginner class, three in Cat 2, and one in Cat 1. Keely and I rode the beginner loop for a warm-up, then soon it was go time.

The experts took off at noon, with the rest of us 5 minutes later. Generally, we women start off in the back and have to pass a bunch of dudes shortly after entering the singletrack. I wanted to avoid doing any more passing than necessary, because there are very limited locations where a safe pass can be made (at least with my skill level) at Boone. I pushed it a little at the start and was thankful that my legs were able to respond. That would never happen at a bigger race…

Still, as soon as we all hit the singletrack, the pace slowed considerably and there was a lot of walking to be had by all. I stayed on my bike more than I thought I might, and was able to get around a couple more dudes in the process. I had managed to get in front of Keely and Kristin at the start and hoped to keep a couple of guys between us as much as possible.

The initial climb is challenging, but then it just gets worse from there. However, I found myself really enjoying it much more than the day before. For one, the course was much drier, and the parts I couldn’t ride were far less slick than on Saturday. Secondly, the pace was obviously higher during the race, so the momentum created by the speed eased some of the climbs. I was still working my butt off, but I was having a lot more fun doing it! I enjoyed riding with some of the guys during the first lap. We all seemed to struggle with the same technical areas, but somehow I managed to gain a little ground on most of them for the remainder of the lap. There were no major mishaps on lap one, but I did find myself laughing out loud a couple of times at some silly mistakes or total catastrophes that were narrowly avoided. Near the end of the lap, I could feel my back starting to revolt against the strain of the technical nature of the course.

Lap two started well, but not more than about five minutes in, I took a crazy line down a little drop, hit something at the bottom, and before I knew it I was on the ground and the bike was piled up underneath me. I knew there was one guy behind me who could very easily run me right over if he didn’t see me until too late. I grabbed the bike, did a really fast glance to make sure nothing was totally mangled, then remounted in a hurry. My body was fine, but not too long after, I heard the front brakes start rubbing. I stopped to see what was up with the brakes, and right then Cam came around (on his third lap!), so it was a perfect opportunity for him to pass me without putting myself into a tree. He asked me if I was in the lead, which seemed strange to me, because I knew that he would have had to pass Kristin and Keely to get up to me! I kind of pondered that in my head as I finished the lap.

I got the brakes to work without rubbing, and soldiered on to the finish. The only major mistake was stopping to let one of the leaders by me, but I mistook the Cat 2 guy behind me for the leader. Basically, I pulled over and let someone by who really should have fought me for the spot. It wasn’t Keely or Kristin, so it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, but I need to not make that mistake again!

After the race, Cam asked if I had won. I thought I had, but he said he never saw Keely. I wondered if she had to drop out or if something had happened to her. I saw her after we did a cool-down, and she said thought she was gaining on me at the end of the first lap, but then she’d taken a wrong turn (onto the beginner loop) at the start of lap two. It took her a while to figure out what had happened and how to get back to where she needed to be. That’s a bummer – it would have been fun to battle it out with her on the second lap!

Looking back, it really was a fun race. Painful, but fun. The only carnage from the race was a whole bunch of bruising on my legs, a little scrape on my elbow and one broken piece on the front brakes of the bike. The day was picture-perfect and we ended it well with a great post-race meal at Hickory Park!

WORS / MNSCS Border Battle

It’s been a little while since Cam and I headed to the Great White North for a race – actually it was the middle of June since I’d gone racin’ in Wisconsin. I’ve been enjoying some fun times testing my skillz in some recent Iowa and Nebraska races, but I was ready to throw down with the larger women’s fields in the north. A quick check of the MNSCS and WORS schedules showed the annual Border Battle between the two series.

Before we could head out for the weekend’s race, we had another little something to do on Friday night: the Iowa State Fair! Cam’s company gives him two admission tickets and $20 worth of food tickets. Plus, one of my favorites, Gary Allan, was playing at the Grandstand on Friday night. If that wasn’t good enough, the first Friday of the Fair is also traditionally East Sider Night, so the people-watching would be exceptionally good! We ate our way through the evening (sadly, nothing we had was on a stick) at the Beef Producers booth, the Turkey Producer’s booth, and the ice cream trailer; we also managed to take in the Big Bull, the Big Boar, some sheep judging, and even a little bit of beer drinking. Although Cam isn’t much of a country music fan, the company was good and we enjoyed our little evening out. Then it was time to start thinking about racing again!

Held in River Falls, WI, the Border Battle pits the Wisconsin riders against the ones from Minnesota for a year’s worth of bragging rights and a traveling trophy. Being from Iowa, our rides would be of no consequence to that end, but having basically twice the competition would mean that we would need to step up our game to compete!

We weren’t really sure what the weather would do – rain was forecast, but no one was saying exactly when or how much it would be. The pre-ride on Saturday turned out to be perfect – the weather, the course, everything. We hit the grocery store on the way back to the cabin we shared with Tyrine, Tim, and Michelle, and cooked up a great dinner. We were able to eat dinner out on the deck before the rain started. It rained all night long, and only started to clear off by a couple hours before my race. As soon as I was partially warmed-up, I rode over to see how muddy the racers in the beginner class were, and to my surprise they looked pretty clean!

The rest of my warm-up was similar to my experiences at these bigger races. My stomach was doing flip-flops and I felt like I was on the verge of bonking – just nothing in my legs. I’ve sorta learned to accept this as “normal” for me now, but I still haven’t figured out how to deal with it in a productive manner.

Twenty-four women lined up for the start of the Cat 2 race, including me and Michelle. I knew I was gonna have another bad start, but I really got left behind this time! We took a short run through the grass to the base of the first climb; I was in dead last (again). I had hoped to make up some ground on the climb, and it didn’t take long for that to happen. People were unclipping all over the place, but I managed to find a workable line among them and cruise to the top. I think I passed 8-9 ladies on that climb.

I stuck to the wheels of a couple gals through the first half of the lap and worked my way around them and a few guys, too. The course was in great shape and despite a few minor hiccups with other competitors, everything was going well. Cam was out taking pictures on the first lap, so I had a little bit of a cheering section! Lap two was more of the same. A fourteen year old and I swapped places back and forth for awhile, until she took off and left me in her dust. After she faded into the distance, I rode alone primarily for the rest of the race, except for a couple of guys who made me work for my position. I never saw another female, either behind me or in front of me, for the rest of the race.

When I crossed the finish line, I noticed that I wasn’t working very hard. Apparently, I needed a rabbit of some sort to chase. That is an area that I really need to work on – keep diggin’ til the end of the race. I ended up 10th place overall, 2nd in my age group.

Cam’s race began soon after mine ended. I had a chance to get out on the course to snap a couple pictures. Following his warm-up, Cam wasn’t too sure his legs were 100% up to the challenge, but he marched his way steadily through the field and came out with a strong eighth place finish.
Next up is another race close to home: Seven Oaks in Boone. I’ve never raced there. In fact this is where I watched my first race last year. As I understand, there is a lot of climbing, but everyone seems to like to race there!

Lake Ahquabi

I couldn’t decide how I felt about going back to race at Ahquabi this year. Part of me was stoked to have the chance to ride this course again. After all, this was where I made my mountain bike racing debut just last year. On the other hand, I found it really hard to believe that a whole year had passed me by. Man, time does certainly fly! And a lot has changed since then.

A year ago, Cam and I weren’t even (officially, whatever that means) dating, he was busy making fun of the 300lbs. bike I was planning to race, and I was scared to death of actually trying to go “fast” on a mountain bike trail. Rolling up this year, I had to laugh a little about the changes from last year.

Last year, it took some convincing me that I would survive the race, let alone doing it without crashing into something or someone. This time around, I was recruiting any and every female who I knew owned a mountain bike. Last year, I thought I would die from the effort it would take to ride one lap at Ahquabi. This year, I was a little disappointed that we were only doing three laps – I thought seriously about heading back out for another lap or two in an effort to get a little more training for Chequamegon. A year ago, I was the one asking all the questions at the starting line, while this time I was one of the ones answering the newbie’s questions. Needless to say, I was much happier this year!

The one thing that didn’t change, however, was that I didn’t want to get beat in the race! Hopefully I won’t ever lose that drive! Actually, I think last year’s goal was to not get lapped by Cam. I figured this year, it would probably happen no matter what, so I just set a goal of not letting that happen until my third lap…

With increased recruitment efforts this year, we brought the Women’s Cat 2 field size up to four – All Nine Yards’ Kristin Reece, Rassmussen’s Sally Logan, Punk Rock Cycling’s Keely Shannon, and me. Keely is a complete stud on the bike, and probably has more experience that the other three of us combined despite her young age of 19. She used to race mountain bikes in her earlier years and now races Cat 3 on the road. Sally, Kristin, and I placed within about a minute of each other last week at Ingawanis, so I knew that I would have some good competition when the gun went off.

Temps were back into the 90s, but combined with the mostly shaded nature of this course, it felt maybe ten to fifteen degrees cooler than the sun-baked blast-furnace-like conditions of the race the day before. The skies (and the forecast) threatened big-time thunderstorms and hail, so we were all keeping an eye to the sky throughout our warm-ups leading up to the start.

Race director Bruce Brown put together an awesome course – 7+ challenging miles of Chequamegon-like trails. With 90% doubletrack and a fair amount of climbing, the conditions are perfect for beginner and experienced riders alike. Even the Dee and Dave Mable broke out the tandem for the day.

Bruce started the whole group of 60+ racers at the same time, with most of us pretty well self-seeded according to category. The start was pretty fast, even back where I started… I was just trying to keep Keely within my visual field, not let her get too far away! I was also pleasantly surprised to see Karolyn Zeller, newbie mountain bike studette, crank out some fast and furious first miles in her race. The crowds thinned out fairly quickly, and about midway through the first lap, I finally caught and passed Karolyn, then Keely. While Karolyn was only doing one lap, I knew I needed to keep the pace up to keep Keely from catching back up to me.

The course was fast, for the most part, and what surprised me the most was how much I was enjoying pushing myself through the tougher parts of the race, despite my fatigue from the previous day’s race, and despite the heat. I was feeling pretty fresh and my legs would go when I told them to. That is a great feeling.

I ended up riding the majority of the race by myself, but the two-way traffic sections meant I got to cheer on some of the other ladies and see Cam a couple times out there. It wasn’t until my final lap that he finally caught and lapped me. He had a big enough gap on second that we rode together for a couple of seconds before he took off.

The last few yards to the finish line was straight up a huge incline. Surprisingly, I still felt awesome by the time I got there, so I just dropped into an easy-ish gear and plugged my way to the top for the win!

This was one of the most fun races of the year so far. My favorite part was seeing so many newbies come out and try out the sport. At one point I walked away from Cam and told him, “I’m gonna go take advantage of having all these females here and go hang out with the girls!”

Hopefully, all these new ladies were bit by the bug that got me at Ahquabi last year, and they will be regulars on the Iowa MTB race circuit!

Tranquility Tire Tantrum

The forecast just sounded great: 100+ temps (never mind the heat index…) and 25mph winds, gusting to 45mph. Sounds like the makings of a pretty miserable day for a mountain bike race. I really don’t mind the heat nearly as much as I mind the cold, so I figured I’d do okay.

Cam and I loaded up and headed to Omaha, and tried to keep the Jeep from getting blown off the Interstate. Unfortunately, we did come across a motorcyclist who wasn’t able to keep it shiny side up. That image will be with me for a long time…

We arrived with enough time to do a recon lap and get a little acclimated to the heat. My legs didn’t feel the best on the recon lap, so I cut it a little short. I got enough of a feel for what I was going to be up against: switchback city and a little bit of climbing. Though it had rained pretty well on Friday, the majority of the course was pretty dry and dusty with just a couple of soggy spots. I also learned that the shade felt great, but the sun would bake you in a hurry! I hid out in the shade and dumped Gatorade down my throat until the race was ready to start.

As usual, there was a small turnout in the women’s fields: two of us in Cat 2 and no one showed for the Cat 1 race. Nebraska regular, Rox, was out with a wicked injury. Rhonda (the other female) and I lined up at the back of the men’s fields. I usually have a pretty slow start, so I’d just as soon not have any dudes breathing down my back right from the start.

After about 10 minutes of delay at the start for some interesting paperwork issues, we were finally off. I was even slower than usual coming off the line but saw no real reason to be pushing it at all right at the start. It was going to be a long, hot, brutal day no matter what, so I figured I’d just let all the rabbits tire themselves out; I would try to come on strong later in the race.

My only rabbit, Rhonda, hit the dirt about 3-4 minutes into the race, so I didn’t really have to work too hard to overtake her! Lap one was good. I got into the swing of things pretty quickly, and enjoyed chasing down some of the guys ahead of me. Apparently, this course uses some BMX trails, too, so I had some fun testing out my mad skills on those!

By the time I hit lap 2, I was starting to feel the heat. There were lots of other racers who were feeling it, too, evidenced by the carnage along the trail – lots of DNFs today! Since speed was no longer a huge worry, I tried to work on getting a few more fluids into my system. I could feel myself slowing down, and I knew I could be in a world of hurt in a hurry if I didn’t start to focus on hydration.

I passed a few more guys on the last half of the lap and was able to finish strong for the win. Not a really exciting race or win, but a win is a win, and I will take it. Cam was feeling the heat, put it in cruise control about halfway through the race for a second place finish.

Recovery was the next order of business. We threw down a huge smoothie and about a half gallon of water each. Tomorrow is another hot, humid race at Lake Ahquabi State Park in the Iowa Series.

Ingawanis

I get a little excited every time we go racing in Iowa. Not only do I know it’s gonna be a great course and full of fun people, but perhaps the best part is knowing that it’s gonna be a short drive! We can eat breakfast and dinner at home with some great racing between.

Ingawanis is a Boy Scout camp outside of Waverly. Cam told me that the course was pretty fun, but he wasn’t sure what to expect since part of the trail was shut down for logging (of all things…). He wondered if the best part wasn’t the part that was closed.

We arrived with plenty of time to get registered and get a practice lap done before go-time. I ran into Kristin Reece right when we arrived. She was a good person to lead me on a recon lap as she’d raced the time trial there the day before. The course was in great shape and a blast to ride.

Like most Iowa races, there were only three of us in the Cat 2 race, but there was another 3-4 women toeing the line for the Cat 1 cash! Cat 1 and 2 started in separate waves, but all men and women of the same class started together. Kristin, Sally Logan, and I hung out near the back of the Cat 2 field and shot the breeze waiting for the gun to sound. Having cool chicks around me at the start really helps me keep my heart from jumping out of my throat before any racing has occurred.

We took off with Kristin in the lead, followed by me, then Sally. I stayed on Kristin’s wheel for the first 4-5 minutes while I settled into a groove. We worked our way around some of the slower guys, then when I was nearing full-steam, Kristin let me by. She stayed close for a while, but by the end of lap one I was riding alone.

The course was fast and fun. There were a couple of tricky climbs, but without anyone breathing down my neck or slower traffic to contend with, I was able to get through them with little difficulty. The laps were going by well. I caught a few more guys, but the closer we got to the end, the more I started to see the tail end of the Cat 1 women’s field. I ran out of real estate just before I caught her, but it was good to know that I had made up the 2-3 minute start differential.

I came across the line first, and about a minute after me was Kristin, then barely another minute until Sally who nearly flatted and had to stop for air. Though we rarely saw each other on the course, we were a lot closer in the final standings.

I took a good cool-down spin with the Logans and others; they shared some Chequamegon tips with me. I’m really looking forward to the time we’ll all be spending in Hayward the weekend of the race! Good peeps!

Cam had a good race and even some good competition during the early laps. By the final lap he was riding alone in the lead. One downfall of the Iowa and Nebraska series is that we race at the same time, so I don’t get to watch his race progress any more than what I can see from the saddle of my bike! Still, it was yet another great day of racing for us! We are blessed!

RAGBRAI XXXVII - The Best Yet!

I know I say this every year, but again this year was the best ever! It just keeps getting better! If I had to put a title of this year's ride, it would be Family Ties. Riding with Team Satisfied this year was Sparkle, Sparkle's mom (Snake), Sparkle's cousin (Saucy) and Saucy's husband (The Shaman), plus my uncle (The Sjeff), and me (Sugar). I was so glad to have Jeff along this year. I've been very fortunate to be able to spend more and more time with my extended family over the last 8 years or so, and the more time we spend together, the more fun we have!

I knew that Jeff would like RAGBRAI for the people and for the riding. The way we did RAGBRAI in the early years was growing old for me (or am I that one that is getting old??), and I've begun to realize what I like most about the Ride is the riding! Jeff and I set a pre-ride goal of riding the whole thing. Honestly, I've never done that before, so I was excited about doing it!

Jeff had an adventurous trip to Iowa, including hitting a deer at 2am (in someone else's car), and met us in Council Bluffs on Saturday. I was without, for the first time, my traditional RAGBRAI bike. A day or two before Cam and I left for Colorado, I found a crack in the frame, so Cam let me borrow one of his bikes to take on RAGBRAI.

Some highlights of the trip:

1. We made a stop at Sid's on the way west, plus the traditional stop in Marne.

2. It was a very mild week, temperature-wise. I wore arm warmers for at least parts of 3 days.

3. Jeff and I did the century loop. This was also a first for any member of Team Satisfied.

4. I ate a lot of Pastafari. Whoa, the food is so good and the salmon is so worth the extra cha-ching!

5. I only ran into Team Emerson once the whole week. It was very strange not to see them as much this year.

6. I don't think we ever went to a single beer garden. Oh, I take that back. However, the only one we went to was off-route at the Cumming Tap.

7. Beer and Casey's pizza is always a good dinner at the end of a long day of riding bikes.

8. Snake is an awesome sag-driver. I learned from her that it is easier to ask forgiveness than ask permission.

9. This year's traditional thunderstorm took place the first night that we didn't have a house to stay housing us for the night.

10. I'm already looking forward to next year. Any other family up for the challenge?