Nature Valley Grand Prix

So, the Nature Valley Stage Race ended yesterday in Minneapolis, and I was there but not racing. I had decided to do this stage race for 2 reasons: for the training mostly, and for experience. Coming straight back from the Norba in NC, I was pretty tired. I came home Sunday night at midnight, then worked 2 x 12 hour shifts Monday and Tuesday, and then drove up to MN on Wednesday morning for Nature Valley. I did pretty bad in the time trial, but I was ok with that since I could barely stay awake. The next day was the 58 mile road race. There were 30mph winds so I knew it was going to be hard. The racing began at the word go- there was a sprint on mile 2.7 and so we were going hard. The wind was making everyone nervous, and as a result there were 4 major crashes during the race. Unfortunately I got caught behind 2 of them, and I could not bridge back up to the pack in the wind. I was in between 2 groups, and I knew I didn't have the energy to get to the one up front so I sat up and waited for the next group- This was at mile 20, so I needed help to get this race done. I got into a group of about 12 girls that included kenda, dairyland, Look, Coltivita, Velo Bella, and a few others I didn't know. We rode hard and all rotated together well, but it wasn't enough. We got time cut, and afterward I discovered I was 1 minute off- if we had sprinted the last mile or so, I would have made the time cut. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. Hopefully I will be doing this race again next year- I can only do better! Now it's time to rest and regroup before July's Norbas. I am really looking forward to Park City and doing well at Sonoma. I might be doing some local racing over the next couple of weeks. Who knows.

Norba in NC

Alright, so its been a little while since I raced this, but I have been super busy with racing so I haven't had a chance to write. I was really looking forward to the Banner Elk race in NC since I had heard the riding there was awesome. After preriding the course, I was pretty excited about the race. There was a good hard climb to start, and then some singletrack, and then more climbing. The decent was a bit tricky since parts of it were slick from rain and there were lots of roots and rocks. Luckily the day of the race there were clear skies and some wind which dried things out a bit. I had an ok start, but not great. I held by position for the first part of the climb, but then started passing girls on the second part. I got into a great rhythm and felt really good the entire first lap. I had settled into ~27th, and began the 2nd lap great. I did have to run a few parts of the downhill since parts of it were quicker (and safer) to run. This came back to haunt me on the start of the 3rd lap. Starting the climb on the last lap, I began to cramp so bad that I couldn't pedal. I had to coast for a bit and softpedal to get my hamstrings and calves to release. I climbed the first part of the climb in a "half camp" and then it went away. On the last downhill, it came back. I had to stand on the side of the trail for a bit since there was nothing I could do. I made it down, loosing over 8 minutes. I dropped 10 places. Oh well. Its all part of racing. I had a great time up until the last lap. If I could cut that last one out, I would have had the best result ever. I will get them next time...

Quad Cities

This past weekend, I went up north to Burlington Iowa to do the Quad Cities criteriums on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The first, my favorite one- Snake Alley, which is a crit that contains a 5 switchback brick climb that kills everyone, and a super fast downhill was extra hot this year. The average highs were 20 degrees above normal, so that made for an interesting (and sweaty) weekend. I had a great start, and stayed top 10 the entire race. I got sprinted for the finish, and ended up 12th. Oh well. The next day, Melon City, was another crit with a good hill on it (which I like too) and got squeezed out for the sprint, and ended up 12th again. It seemed to be my lucky number or something. I should probably work on my sprints- something that most mountain bikers are not super good at. The last day, Rock Island, was a typical, flat crit. Not exactly my style. But, I figured it was good training. I got caught up in a crash about half way in, and after that I wasn't really that into it since my knee and shoulder really hurt. I still sprinted, and ended up top 20 which is what I was hoping for. At least I can say I made it to the end, kinda in one piece. Overall, it was a good weekend, and I got some good training in for the next Norba in North Carolina. I actually kind of liked the road scene- Hmmmm...

Missouri Mountain Biking

Last weekend I went to race my mountain bike in Missouri instead of going to Joe Martin in Arkansas. I just wasn't ready to drive 5 hours after work on Friday and get up Saturday and do a stage race. So, I drove down to St. Louis and met Bill Stolte and Steve Tilford (from Topeka) who were racing on Saturday too. They raced earlier on Saturday at 10:30am, and I was racing at 1pm. I got there with them, which was about 4 hours before I had to race, so I figured I had plenty of time to get ready. After the pro men started, Trudi (Steve's girlfriend) and I went to the feed zone to wait for them. To make a long story short, Bill crashed really hard on the first lap, and I ended up taking him to the local clinic to get 15 stitches in his knee. I got back with 5 minutes to spare before my race. I dressed super fast and got on the start line, and realized that I hadn't registered yet. I rode back to the car (this was my short 15 second warmup) and gave Trudi my checkbook and license and rode back to the start line. By this time, the women had already started the race. I peeled my vest off, and hammered until I made contact with the back of the group. I still didn't have a number, and I had no idea how many laps we were doing. I asked people as I passed them. It ended up being a really fun race, and I am glad I made it in time. I burned my lungs really bad by not warming up though. I ended up winning, so I am now the Missouri mountain bike state champion. Wooohooo!

Fon tucky

This past weekend I did the Norba National #1 in Fontana, CA. Luckily this one was dry, but very dusty and sandy. The exact opposite of Sea Otter in Monterey. Most of the team was there: Kim, Wendy, Shannon, Erin, and Sami. Kristin is in Europe and Noel was doing the Gila. We stayed at host housing in Redlands, CA- they were super nice and very hospitable considering how many of us there was. I arrived on Thursday, and got a preride in straight from the airport. I wasn't expecting the descents to be so loose, and on the first one I crashed- I landed on my elbow, and I couldn't bend it for the next 24 hours. I iced it, but its still sore today. Anyway, back to the race. We prerode again on Friday, and I felt more confident on the downhills since Wendy was helping me to position myself right. I haven't done those loose downhills before, so I got a crash course (literally) on it. Living in Kansas prevents me from doing fun things like that. On Saturday, we had great weather- but a little on the warm side, especially during some of the climbs where there was no wind. I got called up about 3rd row- not bad, considering my ranking. Unfortunately I picked a bad line to be behind, since the girls infront of me decided to crash about 10 feet off the start line. This means that I lost the pack, and the chance of getting them back was pretty slim. So, I raced my own race, and did the best I could. I actually had a great first lap, but got tired and crashed a couple times on the second which really put me back in time. My third was good, but by that point I had already lost the girls I was racing with due to my crashes. Overall, I raced the best I could, but the crashes really hurt my overall placing. The short track the next day (Sunday) was a similar story- the course was really fun- we rode up the downhill, so there was little burms and jumps that would be fast going down, but we were climbing up them. Again, a girl infront of me decided to slide out on the climb, which meant that I had to get off and run up the hill. This totally blew me, and again I was back of the pack. I did my best to pass a few girls in the next lap, but since I was so far back, I got pulled really early. The rest of the team did well- Wendy got 8th in CX and 11th on the short track, Shannon did the marathon and got 6th and Kim did awesome in the short track getting 32nd.
I can't wait for the next one- I am hoping to put all this behind me, and blow threw those girls that try to take me out. It will be nice to go back to NC- after living there for about 6 years growing up it will be fun to return. I am going to Joe Martin Stage race in Fayetteville AR this weekend. I will try my hand at some road racing for the next few weeks.

Sea Otter Mud Fest!

Originally uploaded by the earthling.

Here's one of me going sideways and doing a nice spray with my rear wheel during the short track on Saturday. Thanks to Simon and Kristin who came to document the crazy event.

IMG_2890

IMG_2890
Originally uploaded by notquitearockstar.

That's me during the muddiest short track I have ever done in Monterey, CA for Sea Otter. At least I've got the cool Velo Bella colors shining through!

california

california
Originally uploaded by the earthling.

Monterey is beautiful!

But, very very muddy...

Mountain Bike Racing Schedule
ok, as promised, i wanted to post my racing schedule. These are the mountain bike races that i will be doing this summer:

April 5-9 Sea Otter Classic Mountain Bike Race
May 5-7 Norba Mountain Bike Series (NMBS)#1 Fontana, CA
June 8-11 NMBS #2 Banner Elk, NC (Sugar Mountain)
July 6-9 NMBS #4 Deer Valley Resort, Park City,UT
July 13-16 NMBS #5 Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA
July 20-23 Mountain Bike National Championships (Mammoth Lakes, CA)
Aug 4-6 Norba Nationals #6 Brain Head Resort, Brain Head, UT
Aug 10-13 Norba Nationals #7 Snow Mass Resort, Aspen, CO

Ok, so these are the big ones. i will probably also do some local races too, oh and some road races. Yeah, I will be busy!

Well, I wanted to write down some things about the velo bella mountain bike training camp last week in Auburn, CA. I was so excited to meet and ride with all my new teammates who are from all over the country. We met on Thursday, March 1st at Kim's house where we stayed for the entire camp which ended on March 6th. Everyone except for Ali made it, so it was great to get to know everyone before race day. I think it will make it easier and less stressful for races knowing everyone already. Even though the weather didn't cooperate (it snowed the first ride we did) and continued to rain and be cold, we got some great riding in thanks to kim showing us her trails. We also ate really well, since Alex's mom came up from AZ to cook for us. Alex (our team manager) and his brother also helped out with cleaning bikes, so we were really spoiled with clean bikes and home cooked food. I am so excited for this year- all my teammates are really nice and very strong- I am sure we will have a good showing at all the norba races this year. Everyone seems to have their own personal strengths, and I think together we make a good team. This should be a fun year- a new awesome fun team, and support at the races- what more could a mountain bike racer want?

Velo Bella Camp

So, soon I will be off to CA to meet all of my new teammates for the Velo Bella Camp. The camp will be from March 1st through March 6th. I am planning also to pick up my new Kona Frame which is painted in the Velo Bella team colors- I am sure it's going to be hot!

I will let you know how it goes...

Hanging in San Fran

Originally uploaded by the earthling.

Me with my sis, Kristin

Jen and Kris - More Cheese!
Originally uploaded by notquitearockstar.

That's Me!

Originally uploaded by the earthling.

This photo was from my brother's wedding reception in Virginia Beach on Dec. 17th, 2005

Day 1

Today is the first day of real training after a nice 2 week vacation over christmas. I am exctied to get started, and I am looking forward to getting into rock'en shape for my new teams this year- velo bella (mtb) and kenda (road).