San Fran Visit

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

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

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

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!

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

(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!

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

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

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

first race of the season!!!

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....

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.

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...

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!

24 hrs of MO-WIND-AB

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

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

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!!!

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!

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

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!