Jen Tilley's World

GGGGrowler!! YEAH BABY!!

2010-06-01T10:32:00.000-07:00

As i am sitting here typing this, I think back to the amazing trail i got the privilege to ride on Sunday- the Gunnison Gowler. Thanks to Dave Wiens, I got into this race that filled up back in February in 10 hours when the registration opened. Amazing. I emailed him last week in attempt to get in, knowing there's a goooood chance i probably won't, cuz everyone wants to do it. That just shows how awesome this race is- and luckily i was able to experience it.

Chris and I headed up and over the pass from Carbondale into Crested Butte on Friday. We rode some trails there (they are drying out quick! pretty exciting...) and afterward met up with Rachael, who we just hired as our wedding planner- i am so excited to have someone to help me to plan the wedding- its going to be so fun!! I feel like things are on track for the wedding, and i have no doubt its going to be so amazing- with plenty of bike riding over the weekend and beautiful scenery. every time i go to crested butte it takes my breath away. I could stare at those mountains all day...

We camped out with some friends Friday night down in Gunnison off the Hartman Rocks trails which i would be racing on for Sunday. Saturday morning we did a great ride out on the trails, doing a good portion of the course so i could get a taste of what was to come for the race. With the race being about 95% singletrack, i was in for some good times for sunday!!

Saturday eve we met up with Jen Gersbach, Miles Venzara and Nick Gould for some tasty dinner at Garlic Mikes outside of Gunnison. I stuffed myself with bread and pasta- its going to be a long day on the bike! I looked at lap times from last years results- gonna be around 7 hours- yep that would be the longest race i have ever done. i kept thinking about that as i stuffed as much food in as my belly would hold. and then, i was full.

Chris and I camped out in the van with the doggies in front of the comfort inn hotel where jen, miles and nick were staying- ok so we poached the breakfast in the morning- and utilized the bathrooms. the key things in the morning of a bike race- especially when it starts at 7am! Chris pulled out the french press and whipped up some supa euro coffee to get us going. I can't say that i am used to being ready to race my bike that early in the morning. I dont usually get up until about 830am. so this was a tad rough for me.

We rolled over to the start line around 645am and it was really chilly- like 36F. but knowing it was gonna get really hot later, and stopping to strip clothes wasn't going to happen, we shivered in shorts and short sleeves (gersbach had sleeveless! crazy chick) until the symbolic gun shots rang out at 7am sharp. we had a neutral roll out for the first 2 miles through town which lead us down to the gravel and the famous kill hill first climb. this is where the race started. the neutral car pulled off, and it was on. well sort of. with over 200 people around you climbing a steep hill with all types of abilities, needless to say it was a chaotic first lap. The neutral roll out didn't exactly space everyone out, and there was a waiting line to get onto the single track. after getting rolling, we were going pretty darn slow- like painfully slow. but there was no point in passing, since you wouldn't get very far. there were just so many people all racing together that the trails were solid with racers. so, i had to be patient, and know that it was a long day, and not to get too antsy. half way through, things started to spread out more and i could finally ride without tipping over. looking back i really needed to pass more people in the beginning before the singletrack- i guess i didn't really think that it would be that backed up the course.

i finally reached the end of the first lap and saw gersbach on the sidelines- she dropped out. she had taken a serious fall and it shook her up a little bit. she was fine, but i still wanted to talk to her. looking back on this, i should have kept riding and talked to her later... not sure what i was thinking. i wasted almost 10 minutes hanging out eating, talking, etc. i would never do that in another race. funny. Chris was there, and he ended up riding with me on the second lap. This was totally awesome no kidding. having him there riding behind me helped me mentally so much. just knowing that if anything happened, he would be there- and i always love riding with him-he kept encouraging me, pushing me to go harder, go faster- i wish he could ride with me in every race! the feed zones were great- one of them had cold coke (which was perfect!) and bacon- yeah i skipped on that since i still had quite a bit left to race... but the vibe of the race was just that- fun, exciting, and hardcore. i feel like i finished strong on my second lap- i was running on low but was still able to push through it and finish in 4th place- i actually didn't know how i finished until today when a friend called me to let me know. I had no idea, other than what people would say on the sidelines while i was racing- apparently they were a little off as far as my placing- i thought i got 7th. My final time was 7 hours and 24 minutes. whew.

slightly delirious, very hungry, and sun baked i rode back to downtown gunnison (it was a requirement to ride back to officially finish the race) and they had free beer, food and a band playing- awesome! for $55, all this was included! i have to say, this was one of the best run races i have done- with all the amazing trails, volunteers, and great food at the end, i can see why so many people want to do this race! Hands down, one of my favorite races in Colorado.

Chris and I hung out for a while and enjoyed the food and caught up with everyone afterward- we shoveled in the tasty food and beer and hit the road back home. Time to rest and clean up for the next race in Angelfire! yeah!

Thanks again to Dave and all the volunteers who handed out cokes, bacon, nutella, and pb and j wraps- delicious! I will definitely be back next year!

Triple Crown Series, Nathrop CO

2010-05-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

A little bit of suffering during my first race of the season- as you can see, I need to put a little muscle on the 'ole pipes since I can't seem to keep my arm warmers up...

2010-05-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

My teammate Shannon Gibson and i before the Cross Country race for the US Cup. Thanks Dave McElwaine for the photos!!

Chalk Creek Stampede, Nathrop CO

2010-05-18T07:40:00.000-07:00

Ahh, the first race of the season- very painful, unknowing of how things will go, and finding out how fit everyone else is. I headed down to Nathrop CO on Friday after work, driving down Hwy 24 through several inches of snow that later that evening changed to heavy cold windy rain as i reached Salida. Spring time in the mountains- gotta love it!

I met up with Jen Gersbach and her man Miles who drove up from Durango at the hotel in Salida, CO Friday eve. I was excited to be at a race for the first time this season i think mainly to see everyone again! We grabbed some dinner at a little pub next to the river- we saw Georgia and Dusty there too, fueling up before Saturday's racing. Ok ok so Jen and I did take note of what she was eating- and yes, we ordered the same :) ha! kinda funny.

The next morning we headed over to the bakery beside Absolut Bikes to grab some breakfast, and figure out what we wanted to do- Super D (which later would be called Super T) was at 10:30am, it was 8:30am and the rain was coming down in cold sheets. Mmmm.... Sit in coffee shop and be warm and dry, or ride bikes in cold rain...

so we ran back to the car and drove into Nathrop to ride bikes. yeah, we picked plan B. Jen is an overachiever- ha! thats probably why she's so fast!! Luckily the rain held off, but the wind started up- oh well. So the course for the super D was NOT what i expected- i was hoping they would do the last few miles of the xc course, which is fun, fast and runs by the creek, with a nice punchy gravel wide finish. perfect! nope, they did it TT style, where we pedaled either uphill or false flat the whole time-with maybe 15 seconds of downhill. SUCKKKKK! I was really sad about the course choice- it wasn't at all what i was expecting for a super D. Everyone rode Hardtails, i have my 5 inch travel bike. woohoo. Needless to say, I did horribly, and after Gersbach passed me i sort of gave up. I just wasn't into it anymore. Tomorrow was another day.

Sunday was the XC, and a lot more girls showed for it- every fast woman from Saturday (Georgia, Kelly, Heather, Krista, Katie Compton) as well as more fast girls who are locals here in CO. Good Times. We actually had a really good turnout, primarily since it was a Triple Crown US Cup. It was great to see everyone again- I think thats half the reason why i race bikes...

Up until the word "go" i was catching up with people on the start line, asking about how their winters went and what they have been up to- then i realized what i was standing there for when things got serious and we were hammering down the first stretch. ouch!!
needless to say, i had a horrible start- no surprise. I was off the back- uuuhhhhh! time to play catchup quick- but it being my first race, i needed to pace myself since i had no idea if my body would last at this pace- the first 2 laps were pathetic- but once i found my pace, i could hold it and just keep motoring. i didn't get first, i didn't get last. i am ok with how i did- i think i could have pushed harder, but this race is always super rough for me with all the flat power riding- not exactly my cup of tea.

I am looking towards the next race this weekend- The Growler. Oh yes, I got in! Thanks to Gersbach- i am one of the lucky ones who get to suffer on the 64 mile course this sunday in Gunnison. Ezther did it last year in under 7 hours- i am planning on 7.5 hours. Even though its only 64 miles, apparently its really technical- so not super fast. My plan is to get into my groove and just motor along. I am really excited for it, but a tad nervous too- we'll see how it goes!

12 Hours of Mesa Verde!

2010-05-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Chris and I (and the doggies) headed down to Cortez, CO for the awesome race, 12 hours of Mesa Verde. Originally I was going to do it solo, but looking back i am soooo glad Chris convinced me to do it on a team-Our team consisted of me, Chris, and our friend Kris Lathrop- Hi Ho Silver was our name! yeah!

The trail that we race on is Phil's World- one of the most fun, fast, swoopy trails ever- with the highlight of the course being Ribcage- yeah, you can get some serious air on those swoops if you're not careful- I rode several times on my front wheel praying that i could hold on with out crashing...

Lathrop did the first lap, which includes some running, and sprinting to get a good position. He ended up top 10 at the start! unfortunately, Kris flatted twice, and we ended up being a bit behind compared to the teams we wanted to be competitive with. Chris also had a rough first lap with his pedal breaking and derailleur hanger messing up- luckily though that was the last of our issues for the day, and the remaining laps were problem free! In between the laps, we had made a sweet campsite with a few of our friends from Durango and Glenwood- Dave n Kathy, Nick and Kara, Tim and Megan, Shannon Gibson and Kenny, Jen Gersbach and Miles, and others who came and went- I think we also had a 1 to 1 ratio of dogs to people too- I was excited to race, but it was awesome to just hang out and relax with everyone all day too!

We ended up 4th overall for the co-ed 3-4 people team- Which I thought was great! Jay Henry's team won, Gersbach and Gibson's team got 2nd, and another team I don't know got 3rd-
After racing we relaxed and killed a few beers around the camp fire. Doesn't get better than that!

The next day Chris, Kris and I rolled into Durango and met up with Jen G. and Miles and took the dogs to the river to romp and play- there was talk of doing a ride, but that quickly dissolved and relaxing was a way better idea. After dominating a couple bakeries (Absolut Bakery in Monaco, and Bread in Durango) we munched on our cookies and baked goods while driving back to Glenwood. It was a solid weekend of sweet riding/racing (whichever you would like to call it) and catching up with great friends. Next stop- Nathrop! Woohoo!

Moab, UT White Rim Weekend!

2010-05-04T10:23:00.001-07:00

This is the Delicate Arch in Moab, UT. Kris Lathrop, Chris and I went on a hike on Sunday to see some of the arches in Moab. I hardly ever get the chance to go on a hike, so it was really fun to do the 'tourist' thing and see the sights instead of riding. The plan for the day was to go sky diving, but the weather was not the best.. and riding was out of the picture since there was no way I could sit on a saddle after riding White Rim the day before.

Kris, Chris and I had joined another group of people from Aspen who were planning to ride White Rim in a day, May 1st. We camped on Friday night at the top of Shafer trail (which is a long climb, especially at the end of the day) and began riding Saturday morning at 6:30am. The plan was to be riding by 6am, but hey, I am NOT a morning person. I thought 6:30am was pretty good... so we watched the sun rise on our bikes as we made our way towards the white rim trail, prepared with camelbaks, lots of granola bars and some sour patch kids. yep, i have decided that gummie candy is way better to eat for this type of riding than anything resembling a healthy bar or Gu. We started 20 miles further away from everyone else and our support vehicle (which contained our food, extra clothes and water) who stayed at hotels and began riding from the visitors center. I suppose we just like the challenge- so for the first 4 hours of our ride, we had to make up 20 miles on our group to catch up before we ran out of water- this meant going harder than I would have liked at that time of the morning but we did catch them- and it was glorious!

Now that the stressful part was over (not knowing if we would ever catch them and get more food and water) we could ride and enjoy ourselves. The views were amazing! I think thats what I like best about mountain biking- it brings you to far away places and you get to see things many people might never see-
We stopped for lunch around mile 65-70 which was cold pizza- sooo delicious! again, health bars just don't cut it when it comes to riding for that many hours- real food is essential! I was craving something real, and Nick Armano had turned us on to the idea of cold pizza last year while riding the colorado trail- pulling out a pizza from the back pocket on the top of a mountain pass in the middle of no where is the best!

After lunch we had a few set backs (Nick flatted 3 times! poor guy! sucky!) but the 3rd one held and we were off to finish our last stretch of our 100 mile ride. I have to admit, at mile 85, i was pretty much ready to be off my bike. I was riding my trusty Spot, which was great for the climbs, but when it came to the rocky sections my butt was killing me! A full suspension would be a much better bike for that length of ride- I am hoping to have my ASR-5 built up for this weekend at Mesa Verde. Chris was having an awesome day and he ended up pulling us on the long stretches of flatness on the trail- which was sweet since the wind was picking up and we were all getting tired. Finally the last climb was upon us, and we all knew once we got to the top the ride was done! our new Outside Van Sprinter was waiting at the top filled with chips and beer! oh yeah!

The group made it back safe and we all celebrated and rejoiced after getting out of our chamois and into some dry clothes while sipping some nicely chilled Tecate and BLL. White Rim in a day successfully accomplished :) This weekend is 12 hours of Mesa Verde- Cortez here we come!

2010-05-04T10:18:00.001-07:00

Me n Chris stopping for an awesome view on White Rim. It was early, we probably had only been riding for about 3.5 hours. Still smiling! We couldn't have asked for better weather!

Ridin White Rim...

2010-05-04T10:13:00.001-07:00

Kris Lathrop taking some action shots on the trail! He's got some serious talent! Nick, Chris and Me. Ridin Ridin Ridin

2010-05-04T09:51:00.001-07:00

Our White Rim Posse!! From the Left: Me, Nick Armano, Steve, and Chris-Kris Lathrop is taking the picture. This was at 8am, we had been riding for about 1.5 hours- we just descended Shafer Trail and the weather was amazing! not too hot, probably around 55F. Let the day begin!

2010-05-04T09:43:00.001-07:00

Still Riding...And Smiling! Taking a little food break/Fixing bikes/excuse to take in some of the scenery... It took us 11.5 hours to finish (total ride time was about 9.5 hours- yep, we took some serious breaks. We finished on Horse Thief trail, which was about 1500 ft of climbing at mile 99. oh yeah. We camped at the top of that climb, so we were done after that! woohoo!

San Fran Visit

2010-04-27T21:27:00.001-07:00

Simon, Kristin, and Tilda Lux! She is 8 days old here, and doing awesome! And yes, we are out at a bar in San Fran, CA. Ha! she is getting used the the hip scene :)

After the photo shoot in Solvang, Chris and I drove up the coast to visit my sister Kristin and her husband Simon in San Fran- They just had their first baby 8 days before we got there! little Tilda Lux, so cute! We spent a couple days getting to know the little chickadee. I was honored when Kristin said she looks like me! Kristin and Lil Til are doing great! And with Simon as her daddy she will probably be the most photographed baby ever :) We went out for some tasty sushi to celebrate Chris's 30th birthday! Mmmmmm!

Sunny and Warm West Coast Ridin

2010-04-27T21:24:00.001-07:00

Chris and I stopped for a little photo action on a ride in Solvang a couple weeks ago. So warm and sunny! and I couldn't believe how green everything was! we timed the trip to CA perfectly with temps in the 60-70's and flowers blooming everywhere.

Solvang, CA

2010-04-27T21:19:00.001-07:00

Riding in Solvang! and look, no arm warmers, knees, or lobster gloves! woohoo! I was invited to CA to do a photo shoot with Trek Bikes, and in between photo sessions we had a chance to ride around the beautiful area- It was such great riding! I can see why some road teams travel to Solvang for training.

Riding in Solvang, CA

2010-04-27T21:12:00.000-07:00

Chris enjoying the awesome weather in Solvang! It was beautiful there- flowing grassy hills, amazing flowers- there is tons of road riding there too- Chris did Figueroa Mountain, which is the climb that Lance rides on when he comes to Solvang to train- its steep!!

Its a new year!

2010-04-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe that the last time I wrote on this blog it was the fruita race LAST year! jeez. I need to get my act together! Ok, well I will get ya up to date on what is going on. Part of the problem is that I can't write on this at work since its blocked on my computer there so my writing time has been almost extinct- my new job (In Glenwood Springs, CO) is awesome, but the down side is that I can't do anything fun like surf the web or write on my blog :)

so right now i am sitting outside in the warm sun as i type this- it has been a rough winter though, with lots of cold weather and snow. This being my first winter/spring up in Glenwood Springs, I had to change my activities a bit to accommodate all the snow- which was great- I started doing other activities instead of just riding- more skate skiing, skinning (yes, I got converted back to skiing again..) and running. I ran my first marathon in FL in January! So although I haven't gotten a lot of riding in this season yet, I have had a chance to experience lots of different things that I might have never done.

But now its time to start riding again- I have a saweet Yeti ASR-5 Carbon frame in the basement waiting to get built up! i am missing all the parts still, but hopefully they are in the mail...
I am really excited for the season- I am trying a different approach. I am going to do more endurance racing (which i think i am better at anyway) and doing less races overall. I have about 6 races planned right now- thats about a quarter of what i would normally do!

So here is the schedule:
5/1: White Rim Moab, UT in one day
5/8: 12 hours of Mesa Verde, Cortez CO
6/5: MSC #3 Angel Fire, NM (possibly)
6/26: MSC #4 Fat Tire 40 Crested Butte, CO
7/4: Marathon National Champs Breckenridge, CO
7/17: Silver Rush 50 Leadville, CO
7/31: Laramie Enduro
*** 8/22-8/28: Breck Epic!! the big race!***

Depending on how Breck Epic goes (which is gonna be RAD) i might do 12 hours of Snowmass and 24 hrs of Moab. I am excited about racing this year- starting a little later than most years (Fruita was last weekend) but hoping to not get burnt out like last year by the end of the season.

I will attempt to keep this thing updated with pics and stuff as much as i can- Promise!

Jen

2009-05-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

(L to R): Jen G. (2nd Place) Jen S. (1st place) and Jen T. (3rd place) ALL Jens!!! supa cool! this was after the TT on saturday. First race sporting the new Dales Pale Ale Jersey on the podium! Woohooo!

2009-05-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

Jen G. looking like she is gonna attack the camera guy... and killin it! She got 2nd on the day...

2009-05-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

Me attempting to rip... but very very tired.... with a guy breathing down my neck....

2009-05-04T20:11:00.000-07:00

Chad rippin it at fruita on the SS....

first race of the season!!!

2009-04-20T16:40:00.000-07:00

wow so it started- the chaos of the season. again. its crazy how fast the seasons go by- i feel like i just finished racing cross a month or so ago- i suppose i am starting later than a lot of other racers- some have been racing since February. but, i am planning for a long season so i would rather wait for the weather to be a little better before digging too deep on the training aspect:)
the mountain states cup #1 was this past weekend in Fruita, CO. i have set my goals on local races this year since i am flat broke from years past of paying for airfare, hotel, car rental, entry fees, etc etc. la la la. and, since the local races are becoming just as expensive, i figured i would just save some cash and drive to all of them- after winning some decent prize money this past weekend, i am gonna try to have a goal of at least making part of my entry fees back at each race weekend- not saying that $70 is a lot, but it is something, and way more than expected for 3rd place in a 19 minute TT. i will take it!!!
so yeah- i got 3rd place on saturday- on a wicked hard TT course that included a steep climb that i thought i might puke at the top of, then some good techy type riding that weeded out the roadies from going too fast. i was way off of jenny smith's time, but still managed to pull off 3rd place behind her and jen gersbach, my new teammate. it made for a pretty funny podium of 3 jens... we got a few pics so hopefully i can post one if i can get a hold if any...
so i suppose i should insert a little blurb about my change of teams for the mountain bike season-i have decided to ride with the dale's pale ale/spot team this year( http://oskarbluesbrewsbikes.blogspot.com/2009/03/dales-pale-ale-spot-brand-bikes-team.html )
its gonna be a fun year if nothing else- i traveled with jen g, chad, megan and the rest of the crew for a few races last year and had a blast. this year i am taking a different approach- its called having fun and not taking anything too seriously- just racing my butt off and having a good time in between. thats the plan, and im sticking to it....
as far as sunday's race went, well it was quite a different story. i had my usual not so great start- but i didn't get too frustrated since i knew the race was 30 miles and it was long. i didn't preride it, but there were a few parts i had ridden during the co-motion training camp that i tagged along at. as the girls i should have been racing with disappeared in the distance, i started realizing that they were getting too far away. i needed to turn it on. but for some reason there was no gas in the tank. nope, i pressed on the gas, even drank and ate something, waited for my legs to power up, and nothing. i was totally flat. i have no idea what was going on. was it that i wasted myself in the week before riding too much? the TT the day before? who knows. i know! maybe my tire is flat! ha! actually it was pretty low, so i stopped and put a co2 in it. now i was way OTB. sweetness. riding alone, in no mans land, no motivation and flat legs. you can guess where this is going... yep, had a terrible finish, but i did finish. limping in, i went straight past everyone and spun around alone. dang. first xc race with the new team and didn't do so hot. perhaps its because i have forgotten how painful xc racing is- i have gotten spoiled by all these short cross races. i can't tell you the last time i did a 3 hour hard effort. prolly last xc race in the fall. ouch. i got done and wanted to puke so bad. i had to just sit there and not move too much- had to get out of the sun since my skin felt like it was burning in the 70F heat. ha! so sad- i better get used to this racing and sweating thing- perhaps my body went into shock from not being bundled up and inhaling 30F air during my training rideS. i suppose going from snow to heat is a shocker for the system...it was great seeing everyone again, although the turnout was kinda lame- i think a lot of peeps are boycotting these expensive msc races...
now its time to rest and recover a bit before enjoying the nice weather in boulder- FINALLY! its gonna be in the 70's this week- goodbye stupid snow! goodbye heavy tights and lobster gloves! until next year!!! nathrop is in 2 weeks- another flat power course- im planning on getting through it and looking forward to the climbing races :) hopefully my legs start coming around... perhaps i need to drink more of that beer... it obviously works for jen and chad who rocked the races all weekend...

what the heck have i been doing lately? well....

2009-01-28T20:07:00.001-08:00

a few weekends ago, chris and i and a bunch of friends headed up towards aspen to stay at the lindley hut. our group consisted of nick and cara, kris lathrop, ed and linda, jess, and chris and i. an awesome group! everyone we went with had been on hut trips before- i was the newbie! and i made plenty of mistakes- and i have learned the hard way that less is more- especially when you're carrying it on your back for 4 hours uphill...i also got a 20 minute cram session on avalanche knowledge- first time wearing a beacon and we were in some crazy back country skiing- safety first! luckily no avalanches on our side of the mountain, and everyone in the group didn't mess around with the safety factor. i think i will take a class next time before going out again- its good to know that kinda stuff.

2009-01-28T19:59:00.001-08:00

on saturday, the group skinned up to star peak (about a 2.5 hr hike up from the hut) for a crazy decent down. i had a few difficulties on the snowboard, getting stuck when the terrain flattened out- but Chris was awesome and was always there to help me out-and very patient with me!

the weather was awesome- sunny and warm! no new snow, but there was plenty of it, and i had a great first hut trip- i am sure there will be many more- but i will probably ski next time... the split board was awesome, but skiing in back country with lots of crazy terrain is better when you have poles...

2008-12-15T10:56:00.001-08:00

Colorado State Championships, Dec. 7th 2008.
The weather was sunny and warm, being a balmy 68 degrees for the last cross race of the season. All season this year the weather has been amazing, definitely not typical cross conditions...
it turned out to be a great race with a good turnout for the women. I ended up 4th with a sprint to the line. with it being one of my better races of the season, it was a great way to end the year. now its time to relax, spend some time on the snowboard and eat some good food!

2008-12-15T10:44:00.001-08:00

24 hrs of MO-WIND-AB

2008-10-20T16:19:00.000-07:00

jeez. where do i start. i decided to do the 24 hrs of Moab for the first time with a team of pro women, which the lineup switched around at least 3 times. finally by a week before (and even some doubts of doing it the week of) our team was set: Becca Blay, Nina Baum, Kristin Johnson, and me. Team SoBeBella. wicked. we were gonna be smok'en. i had heard horror stories about this race, about the weather being so awful that its not worth the physical and metal anguish.. but we pushed on, and got'er done.

i drove down friday and the weather was amazing- sunny, no wind, perfect temps. this was gonna be a great year. but then we overheard rumors of rain through the night, with temps dropping into the 30's. wow. suck-o-rama. i had brought all of my worst weather/cross racing stuff i could find and shoved it into my car along with 2 bikes (my hei hei supreme and my kula lisa HT-didn't end up using the HT but it was good to have just in case...)better to have extras than to fix broken stuff, especially when its that freak'en cold in the middle of the night...

i stayed in chris's camper with the other girls in tents scattered around near the cannondale tents. they had a sweet setup so we used to escape the torturous winds. and i have never been in a real sand storm before- this was nuts! my dog casey had tears running down his eyes from the sand and most people were walking around with surgical masks (i got one thanks to troy from cannondale) or hankies around their faces. EVERYTHING was covered in a fine, red sand that was so hard to escape from- it took 3 showers to get it out of my hair, no kidding. every crevice of everything was clogged, including the bikes. talk about crunchy drivetrains!

the race started with kristin on the line for the run. she got voted first, then nina, becca, and me bringing up the 4th racer. kristin unfortunately had a rough go, and double flatted and walked for a LONG time. which put us back almost a lap on the other team, Utah girls. dang. nina did an awesome lap, and so did becca to try to make up some time. my lap was going super well until i took a wrong turn (i have NO idea how..) and went off course 2 miles. so, that put me back about 15 minutes. we had some major time to make up over the night. we all rode as hard as we could but couldnt make up the hour we lost. but i did have a blast using my new light and motion lights- i got a Stella (lithium) for my helmet and a Seca Race for my handlebars. wow, they pretty much lit up the entire trail like a christmas tree! i needed that though, since i had never ridden such a technical course at night before. by my last lap, and the final lap for the team at 11:45am sunday morning, i could ride parts of the trail with my eyes closed. ok maybe not but i knew it better than before thats fursur. but we made up all but 20 minutes by the end. we got so close!! the whole team did awesome, had good consistant laps and was upbeat and cheery (as upbeat as you can be in crazy winds and freezing temps- oh it was snowing i guess early sunday am, i was taking a nap though..) but looking back now it was a good time. i would rather do a 24 hr race in warmer weather i think, all the clothes changing/drying/putting back on wet is not so fun. now that i have the lights, i better use them. perhaps some indurance racing might be in the cards.... :)

goLDen, CO cross'in it

2008-09-27T13:51:00.000-07:00

CROSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS RACING IS HERE!!!!! first one of the season in Golden, CO

2008-09-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

i did a cross race in golden, co a couple weekends ago- just as a warmup for vegas to see how i would do/get the cobwebs out of the lungs. it was put on by green mountain sports and they did a great job with the course- it was not cross weather though! 87F and sunny, i took a few handups from chris- that water was a lifesaver! i think he was getting a kick out of feeding all the girls in the field... :) i felt good, and ended up 4th overall. not bad for the first time going hard in a while...

ahhhh! cross time!!!

2008-09-27T12:42:00.000-07:00

yep, its that time of year again. i took some time off the bike, and that is why my blog has been seemingly left of dead. things are kicking up, time to get back in shape and begin the new season- the one full of racing your guts out, freezing your ass off, and drinking beer to celebrate! thats what you call.... cyclocross! woohooo!

i recently got back from interbike in vegas(last night) and i tried to refrain myself while i was there from becoming so overly exhausted, hung over and broke as i have in past years. i think the main reason this worked is because i was already sick (some sort of wicked cold that makes me cough like a goose) when i got there- which also meant that the cross racing wednesday night was going to be something i shouldn't be participating in, but i was there, and what the hell else was i gonna do? so i rested the best i could leading up to the wednesday night race and got called up 12th as, 'the always dangerous jen tilley!' ha! by richard freis. which i thought rather amusing. nevertheless, the race started, and i had a great first lap! top 12-15, hanging with teammate barb howe and then it happened- i couldn't breathe. i had no choice but to slow down, ride around by myself and try to salvage the race. i would rather not race sick anymore. now i am continuing to cough and hack today, still not recovered from doing an effort like that with no lung capacity. dang. live and learn....
thursday chris and i walked around the convention center, looking for all the new toys coming out for 2009- it was nice to enjoy the show and not work for a sponsor this year- of a few things to note, cliff is coming out with some very tasty 'protein malt balls' that were excellent! cliff rocks, i think they called them. i tested them at least 8-10 times, just to be sure i liked them... :)
vanderkitten has a few sweet new looks- a retro jersey, an 'REI' jersey, and the race kit which now comes in pink! sweetness. went by oakley to check out the new stuff, saw my most favorite rep, Andy who has graciously given me awesome glasses to race and hang in. Finally met Max from FSA who has been so patient with all the crazy ordering for the team and thanked him while checking out the hot new carbon wheels they have... sooo sweet.
lots and lots of new stuff, too much to list.. but there were definitely a few things that caught my eye- should be a good year for bikes in 2009!
now i just need to get healthy again, and build back up for the cross season and the upcoming 24 hours of Moab!!! 2 weeks away... its gonna be a hell of an adventure- our team of 4 pro women- we have been racing against each other all season, now racing together on a team! woohoo!

2008-08-05T20:29:00.000-07:00

rocks in winham... perfectly laid out for us!!

2008-08-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

this is one of the many bridges across the course that made the riding super fun- there was some major trail building done to make this race happen this year!

east coast chaos

2008-07-24T17:50:00.000-07:00

over the past couple weeks, i attended the two norbas over on the east coast: windam, NY (which was a new venue) and mt. snow, VT. two races i was looking forward to and dreading at the same time...

i met up with my teammate allie who moved to NY (about 30 min. from the laguardia airport where she picked me up-where the chaos began) and we drove up to Windam on friday morning- i expected it to be muddy as all get out, but the course was dry, manicured and perfect- almost too good. the trails were newly built by local racers- there were plenty of rock sections, wooden bridges and fast fun descents (which is what i was doing in the pic- courtesy of dave m./cyclingnews.com). i knew i would have a good time racing it, even if i felt like total crap. which, after firecracker, i was wasted. i thought i could recover but as seen in the results over the last couple weekends, its evident i am wasted tired...

back to the story. so i got a preride in friday and then met up with my dad and sally at the local B&B- i have to admit, it was really nice. lacy window treatments and all... made to order breakfast, tea and cookies in the afternoon, and snacks at night. the rooms had VS on tv, and internet. doesnt get much better than that. what else could a bike racer want? ha!

saturday i woke up to a dry sunny day! even though it was hot and humid, i didnt mind- as long as the rain held off i was happy-i felt good in my warmup, and headed to the start line. i was really nervous, probably since my dad was there- it was sooo good to see him and sally again- and i knew they would be cheering like crazy for me no matter what place i was in. the race bottlenecked at the trailhead, which was expected. unfortunately i got a horrible placement once things panned out, and the race was short (i finished in 1hr 40 min) so there was little time to make up spots- i was not happy with my 25th, but i knew i was tired. perhaps too tired to be racing in the first place- im starting to learn this, and its taken me many years to figure it out...

after a horrible short track, i hopped in the car with the cannondale girls and drove over to the next venue, mt. snow VT. the plan was to rest up over the week in between, which was harder to do than i thought. i ended up riding the course everyday and then some, which looking back probably wasnt the best idea. the climbs were very steep, and going easy wasnt an option. so when race day came, i already felt like i had raced. i had no jump, no attack, no intensity in me. if i were at a home race, i probably would have sat it out. but it was the nationals and the course was fun- and that kept me motivated. the first lap was terrible. i flatted, rolled into the tech zone and morgan (our mechanic for the weekend) mistakenly ripped the valve out of the rim which made putting air in impossible. at this point, i knew my race was pretty much over. he threw on a heavy spare wheel and sent me off. i was way off the back, and had little motivation to push hard. but i figured i would put one last ditch effort in- go as hard as i could- just to see. well, this turned out for the worse as i puked at the top of the climb. i have never done that. i descended back down and had decided to stop after that point. i met up with my old teammate tasha (it was so good to see her again!) and we both struggled together on our last lap, laughing, chatting and catching up. it was as if we were back in boulder training together again. so maybe doing this at the national champs wasnt the best idea, but it made me finish the race, and we crossed the line together. at least it wasnt quite as embarrassing with her beside me. frosty was worried i guess, since we had been so far back. its good to know that people knew something probably had happened- a lot had happened- during those 2 hrs of racing. i am now back home and trying to catch up on sleep and get back to life in boulder. time for a break from the bike for a while, or at least until the next race... in 2 weeks. :)

FIRECRACKER!!!!!

2008-07-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

Whats the best way to spend a holiday that most people relax, enjoy the weather, bbq, drink beer, and watch explosions? i know! climb 11,000ft at high altitude as fast as you can on a bike...

woohoo!

so thats what i did- along with lots of other crazy mountain bikers- it was the Marathon National Championships held in Breckenridge, CO. i was actually really excited about it, since the longer races seem to suit me better anyway- the pic was taken riding down main street while we all high fived the kids standing along the side cheering for us- definitely one of my favorite parts of the race! of course, this was before the pain started on the first climb...

i drove up thursday evening and met up with everyone at bretts house in dillon which was huge- 3 bedrooms with a loft- we all packed in and turned out to be an awesome weekend of racing and riding- oh and some wicked ping pong, Foosball, and a lot of relaxing-

we drove up to breck friday morning to start the race around 11am. i "warmed up" with becca- well we rode around a little to ease the pain of the first climb, which didnt help.. it was a classic tilley start- got blown off the back of the strung out group of pro women as we climbed up Boreas pass. i felt real bad. perfect- ha! just like the rest of my races have been this season. there were 2 laps of 25 miles each, and last year when i raced it i went too hard on the first lap. so this time, i sat back, paced myself and had fun on the first 25 miles. once i passed through the start finish after 2.5 hrs, i was ready to get things goin- i started on the climb for the second time and i felt awesome, being motivated both by lack of water in my water bottle (there were 4 feed stations on the course, one at the top of the first climb) and the fact that i could finally see some of the girls i was racing against- reeling them in. one by one. i went from being almost last up to 7th, making up about 8-10 minutes on the second lap. by the time i was finished though, i could barely stand. my brother jay had come up to spend the weekend in breck too, and met me at the finish line. it was great to see him- after some bbq and beer, i was returning to my normal state- well almost. nothing like getting close to drunk off of 2 pbrs! yeah!

it was back to the house for some relaxing... the next day brett took all of us out (keri b., jeff, megan m., brian fuentes, becca, brett, chris butler and me) for another epic ride in keystone- which was amazing, but i did struggle a little on the climbs... the thunderstorms rolled in and it was time for a nap! we ended the day with an amazing dinner- another perfect day. it was a great weekend filled with tons of riding, good food and good people- cant wait until next year!

Dusty and Hot- Deer Valley 08

2008-07-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

Another year at deer valley over- one of my favorite courses, since after 4 years i have memorized the course- which helps me quite a bit- as you can tell, not preriding at all is not good for me. knowing the course so well lets me adjust my efforts- which equals better races for me- usually...

i got in thursday evening to park city where my DH teammate Kimber (who wasnt racing due to her crash on barnie rubble i think it was called, which would later be taken out of the DH course since it was too dangerous.. she's so hard core) and her boyfriend live in a great house about 20 minutes outside of the venue- so nice to have a place that i can bring Casey to- he and i had some catching up to do- i feel bad sometimes that i leave him with friends every time i go race- this time he's with me! yeah!

i got up friday, wasted some time at the venue chatting it up with everyone, and about 2 hours later becca and i were preriding the course- yep, the same as last year. i can turn my brain off and just ride. afterward i drove by the whole foods (yeah i was hungry- bad idea) and spent $50 on a salad, slice of pizza, yogurt and cereal. how does that happen?
later that day my new wheel came in the mail at kimbers place replacing the one i had bent the week before- those Stans wheels are wicked light! i had alex rush me a new set just in time- thanks Alex! so i spent the afternoon sealing up tires, replacing bent rotors and doing other random prerace bike fixes- sort of a mental escape from thinking about the actual race itself...
i have no idea why, but i was really nervous for the xc- i think since i wanted to do really well- i got my bike checked over and started warming up- felt good, did 3/4 of a lap on the course and i was ready- the start wasn't good, again. i slipped out on some gravel and couldn't get going again on the first climb- i was laughing. not good. once i got going, i started passing girls ok- but got caught behind some traffic on the descents on the first lap, but once i got going on the 2nd i was good to go- i felt good- kept picking girls off- i got them in sight, and reeled them in. one by one. by the middle of the 2nd lap i was top 20, and then it happened- mechanical! my chain got stuck between my cassette and my spokes- i yanked it hard and couldnt get it out- i ran down the climb i had just mostly completed and shep was there in the tech zone- i got it out but by that time i had gotten passed by 6 girls. dang. so, started picking them off again. back up to 21st or so, then it happened again. i was really frustrated- i should have had the limits fixed but i was so anxious to get going again i wasnt thinking clear- i ended up 23rd. sigh. there's always next year...
i was determined to have a good short track on sunday- i have done a few of the boulder ST races and i felt better about it than i have in the past- i warmed up for about 1.5 hours, harder than i ever have for a ST, and i think thats what i needed. i felt great! i got stuck behind some traffic on the start, but then kept moving up through the race- i ended up 15th or so which i am happy about- i think i might be getting better at this ST thing...
i stayed to watch the guys battle it out and suffer on the hot dusty course- then it was off to clean up, pack and grab Casey to head back to boulderville. back home. i love racing my bike, but i have to admit, i do love coming home. to my house. my bed. a few days to rest (i mean, work) and think about the next race-the circus continues...

killin it in crested butte...

2008-06-24T13:59:00.001-07:00

absolutely amazing views... oh and the race was good too.... ha!
thanks to megan monroe for the pic (who unfortunately missed registration, but was on the sidelines cheering and snapping photos of everyone- thanks megan!)

i had another rough start, don't know why i can't seem to get the motor running as quick as i need to- but once i did, i ended up catching some of the girls- a solid 7th place. i did take a bit of a crash at the end of the 2nd lap- i blame it on trying to hard to get down to the bottom faster... nothing like crossing up the bars on a loose steep corner- fun stuff. but i was ok other than my embarrassment of coming through the start/finish covered in dirt...

i think the mountain states cups are more enjoyable than norbas for several reasons: 1. the venues are in the best places-the moutains! 2. the courses are more technical 3. everyone racing is out to do it for fun- no team pressure 4. the girls racing are crazy fast anyway, so its always a good race 5. the afterparties are better... 6. all the people i like to hang with are always there, and no matter how the race goes, i always know its going to be a good time- and isn't that what its all about? yep. it is.

i headed back to boulder right after the race to hang with my sister, kristin who flew in from SF for the weekend. it was a perfect few days of relaxing, racing, and bbqing...

yeah check it

2008-06-18T08:50:00.001-07:00

check it out- as you can see, i know what wheel to suck- i was hanging out with Ina Yoko-Teutenburg from High Road- she was the favorite to win, and super smart about her moves-
so yeah thats me, back behind her with the pink helmet. :)

2008-06-13T19:55:00.001-07:00

8am- Liberty Classic, Philly. warming up, and i have NOT had coffee yet...

Mix'en it with the roadies in Philly...

2008-06-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

Oh man. what was i thinking? Vanderkitten dave calls me out of the blue 2 weeks before and asks if i want to ride at philly. umm, no way. i haven't been in a road race in years, and to go to the biggest one day race in the US and race? yeah funny joke. but after thinking about it, i figured it would be great training (haha) and it is a pretty big deal- i might not ever get the chance to do it again and just to race in it is awesome. so i said yes.
the team consisted of 5 other girls of whom i didn't really know (other than liz): melissa sandborn, flavia oliveira, liz hatch, leigh valletti and jen wilson. i think they were wondering why dave had picked me to be the 6th.. but they were all super nice and welcoming onto the team which was great- i know accepting a new teammate can be hard, especially since i had no experience racing with them- Mike hernadez was also there to keep things rolling with the team/media stuff- he was great and really supportive since i seemed a little out of my element all weekend- Vanderkitten dave and mark were also always there to make sure i was ok- it made the racing go a lot smoother-

ok on to the riding/racing- friday we prerode the course and i loved it- i thought the 'wall' was great, and excited to race it- but it turned out to be more of a sprint each time up it and not so much a 'climb' really... on saturday melissa, jen and i went for a spin around the host house and i felt good- rusty but good. so i was thinking everything would be ready for sunday. the race started at 9am so we were up at 5:30am eating. not hungry at 5:30am. eat anyway. uhh. thats the only part of racing that i don't like- stuffing food in because i have to- but i had bought a delicious crepe filled with egg and cheese the day before and it was mighty tasty...
we rode down to the course around 8am and i haven't had coffee yet- hopped on the trainer and started warming up- do you warm up for a road race? i dunno. so then i got off. hung out, drank coffee and put on my radio- which i had never wore before- don't laugh im a mtber- and it was soo cool! i wanted to talk in it the whole time but i figured the other girls would be pissed. just a few times :)
we rolled up to the start line behind the guys. wow what a crazy scene. sooo different from a mtb race. there were helicopters, news people, huge TV's with us on it, people everywhere! we basically shut down the middle of Philadelphia. this was way bigger than i expected- all i could think was, what the hell am i doing here? and then i laughed since there was no turning back- gotta do it. surprisingly the start wasn't as bad as i thought- even though we were supposed to protect melissa, my main goal was to keep moving up and tag my teammates- go where they go. and that was good. the thing that was hard was that i didn't know most of the girls, so who was protecting who, who were the girls that waste themselves for the team, who was trying to get off the front.. obviously i knew highroad had some major work to do, and aarons wanted to get off the front, and the only place to lay it down and split things up was on the hill. so that was wicked hard. but the thing that surprised me was how bad some of the girls descended- no cornering skillz at all! what the hell lines where they taking? not impressed. i almost got taken out once and skidded across the pavement, somehow i held it up- no idea how. my mad skillz i guess...
third lap, getting very very tired. came around for the hill, 3rd time, 1 more to go after this... umm, not shifting into the small ring- umm, going up in my big ring- not good-not good- going backwards- loosing the field- not good- chase, chase chase. nope. got dropped. i blew my legs out so bad going up that in the big ring- stupid shifter got stuck and couldn't do anything about it- i was really upset- i knew mike wanted us all to finish- and i did too. but the bike was an extra BH that they wanted me to race on and it wasn't adjusted properly- dang. but i am happy i stayed in and got to race with all those girls- yes i was very uncomfortable most of the time, but its a totally different race than what i do- its like in road you race other people's pace and the mtb you do a time trial basically- so that was the hardest part. going full blast, then cruising. full blast hard! then nothing. on off on off on on on off on-
sunday night was time to relax and have some drinks- we met up with a few of the other teams and it was really fun- the road scene isn't that bad i guess... in a roadie kind of way- ha! not sure if i will be doing any more road racing this season, but it is good to mix it up with some of my cross competitors on their turf-

get on the bus! woohoo!

2008-06-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

ahh. the dale's pale ale bus. driving driving driving. we were on our way home from angel fire after the mountain states cup. chad was driving, mike, the 15 year old who acts like he's 25 and races like a manic on a singlespeed on the left, and the rest of us piled on the couches behind. such a fun trip...

2008-06-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

Jen G. looking whipped on the drive home to boulder after the weekend of riding/racing. we were all a bit tired...

2008-06-10T16:03:00.000-07:00

post race, post fun ride on sunday. heading back home on the bus to boulder. we stopped in Taos NM to ride the south boundary trail- we ended up climbing the downhill for 2 hours then flipping it and coming back down- fun but next time i would rather do the whole thing... we had heard from a small bird (ok andrew shepard) that there was snow on the top so it wasn't rideable. it was. oh well, next year!

2008-06-10T15:59:00.000-07:00

The whole gang before a preride the day before the xc race- we all traveled down together in the dales pale ale bus behind us and one follow car- the spot team, eddie (taking the pic) and brian.

2008-06-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

Jen Gersbach about to drop into the downhill on the course- as you can see, she has a big smile on her face- awesome. let the fun part begin! woohooo!

2008-06-10T15:33:00.000-07:00

Brian Fuentes rock'en it out on the course- tall trees. tall brian. it was fun since the pro guys were on the course at the same time and i got to cheer them on as they passed me. ha- maybe i shouldn't admit that...

Angel Fire MSC

2008-06-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

I was really excited about the downhill coming up-
it was pretty much my favorite one yet this season.

eddie did a great job taking pics! thanks eddie!

2008-05-31T18:27:00.000-07:00

Lamo for not updating el blogo

2008-05-31T14:12:00.000-07:00

ok so i know i need to keep up on this better- since the races keep happening and i am getting further and further behind on my posts...

i have lost my camera (well i left it in san fran and haven't seen it since) so no good pics either. i will just steal some from the intranets...

this is the start of the santa ynez NMBS race. notice how there's only like 30 women. huh. and here is a pic from the start (thanks to Dave McElwaine who takes the best pics http://www.trailwatch.net/) and how cool and calm Georgia looks... awesome. i am already suffering in the back with my head to one side- little did she realize what was gonna happen later in the race. i saw her on the trail laying down, and i stopped to ask if she was ok, she said yes- by that time there were medics there helping her in the shade. it was deathly hot that day- someone said it was 103F while we were racing. there were many casualties (girls cramping, swerving on the trail) that i saw during the race. it was like a war zone. when i saw Georgia on the ground i realized how hot it really was- it kinda scared me a little. but by that time i was close to the end, and after seeing my HR higher than i ever have, i was ready to finish that race.

i have to admit i was a little disappointed in the showing for the pro women- i have been doing the mountain states cups this year for the first time, and there are nearly the same amount of girls at these local races as there was at a national. perhaps we are lucky to have a local series that the top girls go to- kelli, katie, Georgia (when she's not racing the men :) jenny smith, etc who we get to race with close to home. but it is a shame that the numbers are dwindling at the bigger mtb races it seems...

i would say more about the race itself, but there is not much to tell- other than i had 2 great starts where i was in top 12-15 or so but melted and drifted back as the race went on. it was good to hang out with my teammate shannon gibson before she left for Hawaii for 6 weeks- we stayed in solvang and embraced the strange touristy town- i will say that they do have excellent pastries at the bakery, which fueled me every morning.. Mmm tasty. i did get to see the ocean too down in LA before we flew home- i wish i lived closer to the ocean sometimes. but the traffic and people in CA are too impossible to deal with. excluding all my friends and family that live there :)

Mountain states cup, Nathrop, CO

2008-05-10T09:26:00.000-07:00

I had heard bad things about this race- super sandy, not a fun course, not worth the drive, etc. but hey, i figured it would be more fun than crashing in the Gila, so i chose the mtb race. i drove down with the spot girlz again- megan m. and jen g. which made the trip worth it, even if the race did end up sucking. i got up saturday morning, picked up the girlz and we headed down to nathrop. i didn't even know where it was- if you don't know either, its right by buena vista and about 20 min north of salida, where i would be staying-
so the xc for us started around 2pm, with the guys going off about 15 minutes before us- well, then it got delayed an hour- so we went off at 3pm instead, which allowed for an hour of socializing which was fine by me. until the race actually started, and then i was in the hurt box- i should have warmed up better- we went from zero to supersonic off the gun, and i was pretty much at the back. the race was almost like a road race- long, flat open sections that had mini-t0rnados (no joke). it was sooooo windy. so having a wheel to suck was important- good thing i didn't for 2 of the 4 laps. so on lap one, i was in the back. sweet. and didn't preride and crashed hard on the loose descent. supa sweet. but jen g. had a bad start too, and thankfully she pulled me up to the next group (i know, weird hearing that about a mtb race, but i am telling you, it was a road race) and got in with megan m. and lisa. the 3 of us duked it out for the next 2 laps, and finally on the 4th lap my legs came around and i surged passed lisa and was able to ride the technical section alone, which was nice since i was faster that way. i ended up 6th, coming in behind jen g. i was pretty happy about, since i had had such a rough start. so hopefully the fitness is coming around- i just need to warm up better i guess.
sunday was the short track, and i woke up in Salida to a beautiful sunny morning. i went down to the local coffee shop (beside absolut bikes) and enjoyed a very tasty breakfast burrito with chicken, eggs, potatoes, cheese, avocado and red peppers. i sat with a coffee and listened to the river behind the shop for a good hour, reading the sunday paper. i love salida. i could definitely live there-
back to the race. so my legs were really tired from the xc, but figured once i spin i would be fine. the course was pretty fun, it had part of the dual slalom in it so a few tall rollers that broke it up. overall though most of the course had one good line while the sides were thick sand which stopped the bike quick- i had a bad start again, and got stuck behind a line of girls that weren't going very fast- i gave up halfway through the race for a few laps waiting for it to be over. but then i figured i paid $40 for it, and i needed a workout, so i should start going. so i did, and passed a few girls in the last few laps. i ended up 9th. oh well.
overall the weekend was fun, with a reasonable finish for the xc, and as always great company- the next race is the Norba in CA- another fast rolling course. i had an ok race there last year, racing with teammate Barb but she won't be there this year unfortunately- sigh. but it should still be a good one, so i will let you know how that goes-

2008-04-28T21:07:00.000-07:00

KU is the best school ever.... especially since our bball team is the best- yes it is. i stole this pic from adam mills too- thanks-

2008-04-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

how amazing is this- Lawrence, KS after we won the Championships- KU ROCKS!!!!
thanks to adam mills who provided the great picture... i miss this place sometimes-

2008-04-28T09:35:00.001-07:00

Me and Tash at camp in AZ- i know this pic was from last month, but just wanted to post it since i really miss having her around- cheers tash!

i figured i would post some pics from the last month or so to show what i have been up to with the traveling circus of 2008...

2008-04-28T09:34:00.001-07:00

ahh the airport. waiting for a lost bike. i always enjoy this part of traveling the most-

2008-04-28T09:32:00.001-07:00

Noth'in like a little wine to finish out the day...

2008-04-28T09:30:00.001-07:00

A little halfwheeling is good, right? Rebecca and I riding up Mt. Lemmon in Tuscan

2008-04-28T09:27:00.001-07:00

Dell, fixing the spare tire on the truck- she totally rocks. i means seriously, she just raced short track, got 3rd, and will also kick ass the next day in the xc. and fixes trucks too. she is my hero.

2008-04-28T09:26:00.001-07:00

Megan M. and I after the short track-
so, which way is it to the GUN show? ha!

2008-04-28T09:23:00.001-07:00

yeah, i was helping load the bikes after the race... ok just took a sec to document how cool the truck was that it could fit so many bikes... and to prove i was there- ha!

2008-04-28T09:21:00.001-07:00

The spot girls in AZ- Megan Monroe, Dellys Starr, and Jen Gersbach. Nice truck! We were waiting around to start the xc- saving our legs, yeah thats it...

its been a while...

2008-04-25T19:57:00.000-07:00

ok, so have been horrible at updating this thing- the race season has started, although i think my body still thinks its winter for 2 reasons: i didn't start riding again until march, and its still only in the 40's and almost May. what the hell. i went riding today and put on all the standard winter weather stuff- leg warmers, long sleeve base layer, wind jacket, ear cover, extra gloves for the downhill. uhh. no wonder the races have not been going so well-
so, the first one was in Phoenix, AZ (2nd norba national) and drove down with the spot girls (jen g. and megan m.) and erin huck. we met up with dell starr and i haven't had that much fun over a race weekend in a long time- i mean, the racing was ok, but that group was a blast to hang with. ok so maybe i should mention the race- i did the super d, and yes i suck. its ok. i have done only one before, so no expectations. then short track- which actually was ok, midpack somewhere, (a whole 18 minutes- hellz yeah) but wanted to save some for the xc. so i started the xc on sunday last into the singletrack. yep, probably the worse course to do that on- i was behind melonie myers and i watched her endo so hard trying to pass some girls- i never saw her again. the first lap was a joke, trying to weave around everyone- finally second lap i got free, but it was only 45 min. long so i ended up 20 something. not too bad i guess considering... then we drove home, and went from 90F heat to snow in boulder. yay.
the next race was fruita, CO. i wasn't sure if i was gonna make this one, but i had never raced there so i ran out of work on saturday, hopped in the car and got in at 11pm that night- stayed at my teammate Noel's place and teammate kristin was also there- getting the old school band back together! we were the originals of the velo bella/kona pro team. ahh memories...
anyway, so no preride on the course, but everyone said it was fine and super fast- so i took off hammering past katie compton and 10 minutes later cracked hard. uhh. i recovered and started downhill- i launched myself over some rock dropoffs that looking back i am not sure i would have, but i was wedged in between the semi-pro guys and couldn't see in front of me- it was some of the coolest single track i have ridden i a while- i wish i could have enjoyed it more- instead of trying not to kill myself and pushing as hard as i could. i will have to go back there someday and really ride it. overall it was a good race day, but preriding for me seems to be mandatory... but i am happy i didn't loose it on some of that stuff- as i was flying through the air-
next and last, sea otter. well, what can i say, i always have a bad race there. this marks three years in a row. but again, the company was great, and to me that seems to be more important these days. i flew into SFO and met up with teammate barb howe where we made some excellent dinner (with lots of strawberries thanks to her new special friend who rides for them) in berkley. the next day we drove down to Salinas and stayed with Laura Sanchez (one of the origional starters of velo bella, no kidding) in her zen room- it has a vortex, and i think thats a good thing... and each day went to the venue in Monterey to preride and hang at the VB booth. i didn't do the short track since it was $90 and thats just ridiculous. so i prerode for free and met up with a lot of people at the venue i hadn't seen since last year. good times. oh yeah and then i 'raced' sunday. if you could call it that- i started well, and then it went downhill from there. i got stuck behind people that descend worse than me- unbelievable. lost a lot of time, then i cramped in my left leg (the one i fractured) and then i almost quit, and then i finished. woohoo. but afterward i met up with my sister kristin and we drove back to san fran and went shopping and to the MOMA and then had awesome sushi with her husband simon and got really drunk and took stupid crazy pics with damian who decided to shave his beard except for his mustache which made him look like the guy from reno 911. pretty funny. there seems to be a pattern so far this year- i am having way more fun traveling and doing the social thing than racing- but this could be too that i am sucking right now since i haven't really gotten in any good training due to the crappy weather in boulder. if only it would be warm, things would be much better. more motivating. more enjoyable. nicer. well you get my point...
oh and i really miss tasha. its not the same around here without her...

2008-03-24T11:50:00.001-07:00

a view from mt. lemmon- the 27 mile climb had amazing views

2008-03-24T11:47:00.001-07:00

me and tash after riding elephant head trail outside of Tucson- brutally hot. and rocky and dry. but awesome. very very tired.

2008-03-24T11:45:00.001-07:00

tasha's version of packing- well sort of. amazingly it took her all night to pack. it could have something to do with the two beers in her hand...

2008-03-24T11:44:00.001-07:00

this is what we left last week in boulder- the snow, and the dog. i missed Casey, but glad to be leaving the snow!!!

2008-03-24T11:42:00.001-07:00

packing for our trip to Tucson, AZ. tasha wanted to document the fact that i looked a little lost packing my bike- yeah its been a few months- out of practice i guess...

2008-03-06T09:19:00.000-08:00

so this shirt i thought was pretty funny- ironic i think- and, casey seems to like it...

2008-03-05T18:48:00.000-08:00

i found a bike in sante fe, NM which was part of an art gallery. tasha, casey and i stopped half way down to el paso to hang out and check out the downtown area. pretty cool place-

2008-03-05T18:44:00.000-08:00

does this picture really need a caption? no. it doesn't.

2008-03-05T18:36:00.002-08:00

el paso, texas. repelling down some non-ridable stuff. the single track was either super easy or crazy hard-made riding interesting. but it was warm and sunny. and thats something.

2008-03-05T18:36:00.001-08:00

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" -Mary Oliver

2008-03-02T18:10:00.000-08:00

umm, yeah. so i have some tan lines. sweet. wait, i think thats a burn. we were too busy enjoying the sun in el paso to think about sun screen.... but hey, our new patagonia clothes look PIMP...

2008-03-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

tasha showing off her tan lines after our el paso trip- oh and our sweet new patagonia clothes we just got in the mail- its pretty much the best sponsor- ever.

2008-02-23T17:54:00.001-08:00

damian and i skate skiing in park city, UT. we decided to get away for a few days and ski a bit. it was hard- of course, we decided to do all the hardest loops, including the Olympic course and another called rollercoaster, each ranked a double black. sweet.

2008-02-23T17:52:00.001-08:00

here is one of the trails damian and i skate skied on- it was called rollercoaster, and for a very good reason... crazy hard~

2008-02-23T17:50:00.001-08:00

skate skiing on valentines day! be my valentine....

2008-02-23T17:45:00.000-08:00

snowy day! park city, UT on valentine's day. Damian was being nice and wiping off my car with his jacket. as you can see, it snowed. and was cold. good times.

2008-02-07T20:31:00.001-08:00

and here you see, i have the cure for the common sinus infection/bronchitis:

1. ice cream! thats right, every night! any flavor will do, but my favorites are mixing mint chip with cookie dough...

2. the drugs- wonderful mucinex and antibiotics!!! where would the human race be without them! good thing, since without them i would be out of a job....

2008-02-07T20:28:00.001-08:00

here i am standing in front of all the drugs i give out to people...

some people ride bikes, some people sell stuff, i mix up drugs. oh yeah.

2008-02-07T20:25:00.001-08:00

bright and early at work. woohoo, yay. this is where is where i spend half my life. good times.

2008-02-07T14:41:00.000-08:00

Here is a pic of me attempting to ride on ice with a tad bit of snow covering it- it looks safe...

SIKE!

tasha and i slid out too many times to count. good thing i have a crack in my femor- hopefully the doc isn't reading this. ha! ice is NOT my friend. how ironic though, considering i grew up on it as a figure skater... Mmm.

2008-01-27T17:07:00.000-08:00

ahh, left hand. been up it many many times- but this time i actually looked around for once, and noticed how cool the climb up is...
i mean, i was going slow enough- what else was i gonna do? it was great to be out in 60F weather, even if i was going about 8 mph.

2008-01-27T17:04:00.001-08:00

yep, you are reading that right- 121 watts- woohoo! i was going so slow i almost fell over. the doc said to take it easy, and this one's for the coach. see, i can ride easy. promise.

2008-01-27T17:01:00.000-08:00

and here is the documentation that yes indeed, i was actually on my bike today... riding. for real. and it was fabulous.

2008-01-27T16:58:00.001-08:00

ok so everyone and their dog knows where this is- good 'ole left hand. but has anyone ever really stopped to look at the scenery? i mean really....

Renewed love...

2008-01-26T15:56:00.000-08:00

thats it- i have rediscovered my love- my body not knowing exactly what to do at first, my legs unsure of where to be, my arms quivering as i rolled out- and then, it happened. i began to ride. not smooth at all; my feet making almost perfect squares, but it didn't matter. i am back on the bike...
my first pedal strokes felt so foreign to me, as if i had never done it before. i took the last 5 weeks off- longer than i ever have. my legs have only known the flutter kick during that time since i have been swimming. but alas, i have now remembered why i love to ride my bike! its glorious! the wind, the fresh air, the rhythm, the mechanics, the power output to propel this machine underneath me- so natural and good.
ok so maybe my average power was only about 120 watts (yeah, i know) but it doesn't matter- because i am back on my bike- and to me its the most exciting thing that has happened to me since i heard the bad news of the fracture. the doc gave me the "ok" to ride yesterday. the swimming has been fine, but definitely not fun- back and forth in a pool for 3.4k everyday with no music just the gurgling of water in and out of my ears- now finally some music! its wonderful. really. i was only allowed 30 minutes, and it took me that long to get dressed for the ride! but it was well worth it- to have the feeling of the bike, rolling over the pavement, smooth. now i know why i ride. because i love it.

yeah, we're plumbers.. professional.

2008-01-13T20:55:00.001-08:00

me and tash decided we were gonna fix the sink- because we are professionals. i figure if you are a professional bike racer, that should span across to other professions like plumbing, right?

home improvement....

2008-01-13T20:52:00.001-08:00

ahh, nothing like a little home improvement- as you can see, even bike racers can have plumber's crack- and fix sinks too! this is natasha by the way....

broken, again

2008-01-06T17:56:00.000-08:00

i am not sure what is wrong with me, but i am the most accident prone person alive i think. so in some previous posts i wrote about my knee bothering me, not really paying much attention to it since i figured i just whacked the hell out of it and needed some time to heal. but in no way would that include time off the bike or not racing...
after cx nationals on sunday when i couldn't move it or i would get shooting pains through my leg i thought it was just swollen and i was being wimpy. after 2 weeks of pain, i decided that i should get it checked out. I got an MRI which showed a fracture in my fibula and a really bruised bone. huh. maybe i'm not such a wimp after all- the bad part about it is that now i have to be off the bike for 6 weeks- no riding, running, hiking, snowboarding, skate skiing- absolutely nothing fun- the doc didn't exactly say that but he might as well have. i am supposed to be using crutches too. they hurt my arm pits. i started swimming again- i used to race back in high school, but i wasn't any good. its really boring. i hope i can make it through the next 5 weeks and 1 day. yes, i am counting. every... single... day...

2007-12-29T20:06:00.000-08:00

my dog Casey, trying to pick his way down the logs- he had already ran up and was coming back down to get us- apparently we were too slow for him...

2007-12-29T19:58:00.000-08:00

So the other day tasha and i decided to go for a little hike with the dog to get some fresh air- as we started up the "gentle hike" it was apparent that we were in for more than just an easy stroll. the sun was setting, and the rocks and logs were covered with ice and snow- probably not the smartest thing to do with my messed up knee. i am finding that in colorado, its all or nothing- if you go on a hike or ride or anything, its gonna be epic and/or very dangerous. coming back down we squealed like little girls afraid of slipping. yeah, i swear we're pro mountain bike racers....

2007-12-22T12:24:00.000-08:00

the afterparty- nothing like a little gin n tonic and video games- whats better than that? maybe a mechanical bull....

2007-12-22T12:19:00.000-08:00

while driving into kc on wednesday night through the icy abyss, amy insisted on licking a rock that she thought was sugar coated. wierdo- i told my dog casey to bite her ass, but he wouldn't. that would have been pretty funny.

2007-12-22T12:15:00.000-08:00

ok, so i had to put this picture up- its the essence of what the whole weekend was about- crashing all twisted and contorted, bruises all over as if we had been beaten- badly. nice work, amy. thanks for the wicked grimace on your face as your about to create your 3rd knee. awesome.

2007-12-21T13:36:00.001-08:00

2007-12-20T23:15:00.001-08:00

2007-12-20T23:12:00.001-08:00

mmm, the stairs. it looks like i am
on a sunday stroll-

la de da, just walking up some stairs, in the
mud, la la la....

2007-12-20T23:07:00.001-08:00

a little hotel trainer time....
by the way, those are all natasha's clothes.
everywhere.... hehehe
and, i am not sure why amy is hiding behind the curtain... she's a little crazy, that one.

2007-12-20T23:03:00.001-08:00

friday's race
riding by the "no tilly zone"
i told them they spelled my name wrong...

hello again, kans-ass.

2007-12-20T22:19:00.000-08:00

so this past weekend the boulderites of velo bella drove to kc- back to my roots, and where i started this crazy cult-like following calling cyclocross. amy dombroski, natasha cowie, casey klein (my dog) and i packed into my jetta wagon and headed towards the icy abyss.

we got a late start wednesday, and got into lawrence where we stayed with my coach and good friend adam mills. after sleeping in until about 1pm thursday we headed to the course which was a mud pit. not exactly what i was expecting, since the last time i rode this course it was fast and dry. after one lap i was pretty much done- wet cold and covered with mud. after a few sprints and feeling like total crap, we headed back to rest up and clean clothes- we were getting good at the mud cleaning thing- with plenty of experience from portland.
the next day i was racing the masters race- yeah i know- i am now a master! ha! it was nice to have such a big tent area set up for us, and with only anna milkowski, shannon gibson and i racing, we had plenty of space and support. it was fabulous. shannon raced before us, and won her race. awesome. as soon as i went to the start line, the sun went away and the temperature dropped about 10 degrees. the mud and turned to peanut butter from previous races so it was a struggle to keep the pedals turning. after the start, i warmed up fast and felt really good- my legs felt strong but i had lost the front group. i hovered around top 10 for the whole race. at the end, i was with 2 other girls which made for a great last lap and hard sprint. my legs were tired, but i felt good about my 7th place finish. unfortunately anna had some mechanicals which set her back- i will later in the weekend be able to relate to her issues....
saturday morning i woke up early (well, not as early as natasha and amy who got to the venue before the sun came up- crazy u-23's) to watch our youngsters of the team tear it up in the snow and ice. there weren't many people out watching which was a shame, since amy dominated the race. natasha was not far behind, gritting her teeth to push through the rutted up icy course. i was so proud of them- i ran around the course cheering like crazy and taking pics. probably not the best thing to do before the elite race the next day...
we did a little trainer time in the hotel room saturday, which is always fun- nothing like sweating like crazy while inhaling burning rubber and watching bad tv. good times.
sunday came around fast- and before we knew it we were all on the trainers under the tent (all 12 of us) preparing for the biggest race of the season. all the traveling to chase points, all the intervals and training, all the time and money spent to get to this point in the season came down to this one race. no pressure- ha!
amy and i sneaked onto the course to get a quick preride in to see how it had changed since the day before- every day of the weekend the course was different. today, the sun was out which meant that the top surface had melted, but the icy ruts were still underneath. this made for some really technical riding, which i was fine with- time to pull out the mtb skillz.
i was lined up 3rd row, not too bad considering there were almost 100 girls. i had a great start, being in the top 15 or so. i crashed early on the dirt, trying to take a line that was a little risky. getting back going, i knew i could make up some time. i felt good, and i knew i had the potential to do well on this course. on the second lap, i flatted. but i knew that riding it to the pit and switching bikes wouldn't set me back too much. wrong. the pit crew wasn't ready for me, and although i appreciated the volunteers helping our team out, it would have been good to have them know who i was. so i spent some time in the pits. a lot of time. after rolling my tubular i went to switch bikes again, and the same story. i stood in the pit waiting for a bike. i crashed and bent my handle bar so i wanted to switch bikes. i came into the pit one last time, and again there was no bike- "give her a bike!' someone yelled as i stood there, watching girls pass by. they grabbed a bike off the rack- it was amy dombroski's bike. yeah, its size 45 or something. i jumped on it and i felt like i was in the circus- my knees were hitting the handle bars when i sat and pedaled, so i had to stand the last lap. thats not easy to do on ice. so, needless to say i placed horribly, and i was pretty upset about the whole thing. mechanicals happen, and bad bike changes happen, but not 4 times in one race. uhhh. next year i will do things different- i will take this as a learning experience, and know that things can go wrong- its part of racing. some things are preventable-and for next year i will make sure this doesn't happen again.
the season is over, and now its time to hang out without the bike, at least for a few weeks. it was a good first attempt at doing the bigger cross races, and my first time chasing points. i am hoping to get a little better for next year, and possibly accompany barb and wendy across the pond...
but for now its time to get the snowboard out, dust off the skate skis and enjoy all the snow and the mountains here in boulder...

2007-12-20T22:16:00.001-08:00

ok, so this pic was from nationals this past weekend in kc, but i was just as muddy after friday's race as i was after portland. all the races are starting to blend together... cold, rain, mud...

2007-12-20T22:14:00.001-08:00

saturday's race in portland-
coming up to the barriers. its early in the
race, as you can see i am pretty clean stil...

2007-12-19T19:08:00.001-08:00