Green Mountain CX

Ah - Green Mountain. The one race on the calendar every year that I love to hate :). Ironically, prior to this weekend there is often a chorus of "I don't like that course", "It's too hard", "Hate those climbs". The choir is usually all singing from the same sheet of music, self included.

The flip side for me is that as much as I say I don't like the course, I typically have decent results here. I was hoping for more of the same this weekend - I have been training a bunch, had a few races already under my belt, and was really hoping things would go my way. We arrived at the venue on Friday evening to do a course inspection, and I asked Mike to ride a lap with me - pointing out the best approach to the corners and providing other helpful tips. I was amazed at the difference in my cornering after just one small new instruction!

After the pre-ride it was off to Waterbury, VT where we had a room booked at the Thatcher Brook Inn. We decided against staying in the Williston/Burlington area this year, and were very happy with our accommodations - lovely inn and the staff was SO FRIENDLY! We will definitely choose to stay there again. On a fluke, we headed out in the "wrong" direction in search of dinner, and ended up at a place called Tanglewoods. BEST. FIND. EVER. The large barn led us both to believe that we would be headed into a ski bar/bbq restaurant, but nothing could have been further from the truth. We feasted on a delicious meal - homemade chips with truffle oil and blue cheese, chipotle duck with beet greens and sweet potato fries for Mike and mac n' cheese with truffle oil, peas, prosciutto and chicken for me, and then a triple berry crumble to finish the meal. We were stuffed and happy when we left, but I was a little worried about how all that food would fare climbing the hills in the morning.

The morning of the race dawned with bright sun - at least in Waterbury. We had a delicious breakfast and hopped in the car only to see VERY dark clouds on the horizon, and then pass through a rainstorm. The butterflies started their floor routines... Mike reminded me that it was just a bike race - I would do my best and that was good enough. While that helped settle things down, my money was still on the butterflies :)

There was lots of socializing as this was the first big event of the season, and we were seeing good friends we hadn't had a chance to connect with since the end of the previous season. Lots of talk about off season training, new bikes, new teams and the like. This is one of the best parts of cross - the community (more on that later).

I lined up after some final words of wisdom from Mike - "Kill yourself on the start to stay with the leaders." He had said this before as well, and that was my plan. From the second row, I managed a decent start up the first hill, and was sort of surprised at how slow it seemed we were going. It wasn't long, though, and we were a select group of about 7 or 8 - and I was racing with the leaders! Through the barriers on the first lap and I heard Mike yell that I was 7th. I continued to maintain contact, and even pulled through to take the lead for a short while on the second lap. I was feeling good, and any time I did get gapped off just a bit, I was surprisingly making time back up and catching back ON THE CLIMBS! WHAT?!?!?!? Yeah - I don't get it either :). 

Photo: Vicki Thomas

First lap - 7th?!?!?!

In the end, I did end up getting gapped off the lead by a small margin, but held onto a 6th place finish. I was so excited and happy, that when I got to the pits to see Mike, I broke down in tears. I had a GREAT race - raced forward the whole time, stayed with the group instead of burning myself out too early by trying to attack, and riding clean and smooth. And apparently, people besides Mike and I took notice of my race - the rest of the day and into Sunday people were congratulating me on a great ride. That community is so supportive! The Elite women were cheering like crazy, as were the 35+ men who were waiting for their race to start, and others - amazing.


This year, Mike and I are racing back-to-back, making the logistics a bit more difficult. From the finish of my race, I headed straight to the pit to be sure to support him as he began his first foray in the Verge 45+ category. He started out really strong and looked great out on the course. When he passed the pits sitting in 3rd place, solidly attached to the leaders, I was so excited. The next time the leaders came through, however, my stomach dropped - no Mike. Where was he? He finally appeared and pitted - he had burped his new tubeless tires, and needed a quick bike change. He switched from the SRAM/disc Cannondale back to the Ridley with V-brakes/Shimano to finish the race, still solidly in 9th place. A great ride for him as well, though he was disappointed.

A cool down ride, a trip to the bike shop, some spectating of the men's Elite race and it was back to Waterbury to clean up and grab some food. Saturday we ended up at a place called The Reservoir where there were numerous local beers on tap (uh-oh) as well as burgers as big as one's head (uh-oh). Neither of these boded well for a good night's sleep ...

Photo: Vicki Thomas

Sunday dawned earlier, brighter and MUCH colder than the previous day, but we were prepared with wool and down :). We arrived early enough to get out and preview the new course for the day, and I decided that in at least one place, the phrase was "gratuitous silliness". If you want us to get off our bikes and run up a hill, put in a barrier or some steps - a three foot high dirt berm, that you then added to each additional lap of the race, was just plain dumb. Outside of that, the course seemed harder - more off-camber side hill and the BMX hills were certainly going to take their toll.

My result from Saturday netted me a front row start on Sunday, and I lined up next to the reigning world champ, Kathy Sarvary. I love Kathy - she has been an inspiration to me since I started racing cross back in 2006. She is always supportive, and seems to always have a smile on her face - well, almost always. We both admitted our nerves before the start, and that was the extent of our conversation.

Sunday's race wasn't as good for me. I had a terrific start, and went into the opening section still with the leaders. Unfortunately, I soon started to bleed places, and then the dreaded racing backward instead of forward began. Instead of looking ahead to see who I could catch, I was looking behind to see who was going to catch me. This is a losing strategy, and didn't play out well. My back was also pretty sore from the previous days' effort, making the hill climbing even more difficult. I did give it my all, and still had a respectable finish (despite missing a remount after the barriers on the final lap). I was tired, but knew that I had a successful start to the Verge series.

It was quickly back to the pits for me to support Mike in his race. The determination he showed was amazing - he continually moved up in the race, and launched some vicious attacks on the uphill climb. The grimace he wore for the duration was a testament to the effort he was putting in. He managed a 5th place finish on Sunday - in the money!

Today (Monday), I feel hungover. I'd pretty much forgotten what a weekend of travel and hard racing will do to you. After the success of this weekend, though, I am looking ahead to the next races with much more enthusiasm than in years past!

Thanks so much to all of you who cheered, yelled, and offered congrats this weekend. It really means so much to me! But a bigger, and more important thanks to MKR - I couldn't do ANY of this without you.

My hero!

SSCX

Since it's almost time to pack the car and head up to Vermont for the opening weekend of the Verge series, I figured that I'd better get off my butt and put up a post about LAST weekend's racing :).

Last year, Mike and I both participated in the Zanconato Single Speed Cyclocross Trophy Series. We had a BLAST, and I decided that after some pretty decent performances, I would focus on that series again this year. Bluntly, it's more fun :).

So why race SSCX? Some argue that the single speed is an equipment choice, and shouldn't be a category (perhaps true). This series of races, though, lets us compete with others who share a passion for racing with one gear. In fact, at least one person I know who raced with a zip-tie setup last year ended up with a brandy new custom SSCX bike for this season, and had so much fun racing that category on Saturday that she decided NOT to race the geared race Sunday and to ONLY race on the single speed. Why? It's more fun.

But wait, how can racing the same course, on one gear, be more fun? Some say it's because you don't have to think, which is partially true. While I am racing on the SS - I don't think about shifting (though I do occasionally think about wanting one more gear...), but I do have to think about my technique, my body English, and how I am riding. Racing the SSCX bike is about fitness for certain, but you can't do it without skills - carrying momentum where necessary, standing more to get up, over and around. Yes, it has a simplicity, but it is totally different from racing a geared bike. Unfortunately, I can't do justice to what it feels like on the blog - you simply have to go out and try it for yourself and then you'll see how much fun it really is.

So last weekend we attended the opening two races in the series - Roll in the Hay with B.O.B on Saturday, and QuadCross on Sunday. The B.O.B race was new this year and didn't disappoint. I thought it was a great course (reminiscent of Vermont, actually), though some said it was boring. Certainly on the SS, it was a challenge - starting with a tough uphill grind, steep off-camber uphill 180s, stairs, a death-spiral, some wicked fast downhills into loose corners... Speeds varied wildly for me - anywhere from about 6 mph in the uphill corners, to about 23 mph heading downhill. 

Photo: Andy Cooper

It was HOT on Saturday - really HOT. We were informed that we would be able to take feeds during the race given the temps and humidity, but Mike and I were racing at the same time, and wouldn't be able to do that. We lined up by order of reg, men and women mixed together (note to promoters - I LOVE this! Given the relatively small size of the women's SSCX races, it gives us someone to race WITH/AGAINST. Please consider this model for your race!), and had to get started UPHILL on really loose gravel. Fun stuff!

Photo: Andy Cooper

I had a better start than at Monson, but still couldn't get the legs to turn over the way I needed them to as we climbed up the steep switchbacks. It wasn't long before the rest of the women were ahead of me, but I have a determination to just keep going, no matter what. I soon saw Cait coming backwards, and then saw her at the cars - she had flatted her rear tire... Honestly, my race was pretty uneventful, but I did get to race the entire time - Kurt M. of Comprehensive Racing/Salem Cycles was with me, and we would trade places back and forth. That type of racing definitely makes it more fun.

I ended up third, and on the podium at the first race in the series. I think I was more excited about the trophy I got than the six pack of High and Mighty :).

For some reason, the SSCX races are stacked up at the end of the race day this year. That meant that our race on Sunday wasn't scheduled to start until almost 4 pm. At least the venue was close - Quad Cross moved to the Maynard Rod and Gun club last year, and it is a terrific place for a cross race (and it doesn't hurt that it is close enough that Mike could ride over from home!). The challenge, however, was figuring out what to do with the day when we were racing so late. In the end, we decided to head over early, and watch the earlier races, and hang with our friends.

I LOVE the Quad Cross course. It is very different from the course on Saturday - more technical with a sandpit, uphill/off camber twisty section and a couple of really short and steep uphills. The whole course keeps you on your toes, and is really fun. While the day started out cooler than Saturday, by the time we lined up to race the sun was blazing, and it was back to hot. Once again, I got a decent start, following Katina and Kerry through the initial section of the course. Kerry opted to run the sand section, and I managed to stay on the bike and ride through behind her. And then the gap opened...

Unfortunately, I didn't have anyone around me during this race, but I still went as hard as I could. I managed to remount after the barrier section to get into the technical uphill/off camber section on each lap, which was a win for me! 

Sometime in the second lap, my bike felt like something was loose. On the run-up, I quickly checked both tires and they were ok, but the bike was still making a pretty God awful noise. Finally, I determined that it was most likely the front wheel being loose. At first, the thought of the wheel possibly coming out of the drops terrified me - but clearly not enough to take the time required to stop and fix it :) By the time I finished the race, it was clearly VERY loose, and I am lucky that it didn't come out mid-race - that would have been catastrophic. When Mike asked why I didn't stop I simply replied, "I was racing - there's no time to stop!" 

After some initial confusion, I ended up on the podium again on Sunday. Mike had a great race on Sunday too, taking the win over a pretty solid field. It was vindication for Saturday when his mechanic failed him - he dropped his chain twice :). I'll let him fill you in on the sordid details.

After the race, we ended up at our favorite Maynard eatery - The Halfway Cafe for deep fried goodness, burgers and fries. But even that wasn't without some adventure - Jason followed us to the restaurant, and CLEARLY none of us were thinking straight. This was proven out when he managed to drive his custom Seven into the roof of the parking garage... Thankfully, Jason isn't extremely tall, and the only damage was to his fancy red saddle.

Looking forward now to Green Mountain. I have a love/hate relationship with that event - I love to hate it :).

And So It Begins...

The pit bikes

This weekend was the first cross race of the "season" for us - the Monson race put on by the Cyclonauts. We commented yesterday that we remember when we started this crazy sport, the first race was usually late September - now the "season" starts in August! Of course, that meant remembering what to pack, what the routines needed to be ... It was a good opener not only from a racing perspective, but also from an organizational one!

Monkey Vanderbacon
ripping the downhill

Of course, one of the prime benefits of the season starting is reconnecting with friends we haven't seen since the season ended in December. People say to me all the time that I must really like to ride/race my bike. The truth is that I like to hang out with cool people (and eat food and drink beer), and there are A LOT of cool people at a CX race! It was fun catching up, reconnecting, and making new friends. Fatmarc Vanderbacon and his wife even came all the way up from the mid-Atlantic for this one! 

Last year, I raced this course in the onset of Hurricane Irene. The conditions were muddy, wet and nasty, and I wasn't happy with how I raced or finished - I had a bad day on the bike mentally. I'm happy to report that this year, everything was the diabolic opposite from that (well, not sure how happy I was to be racing in almost 90 degree temps and eating a pound of dust...). This course has come a long way from its "jungle cross" beginnings, and I really liked all aspects. It was bone dry, and VERY dusty.

Mike looking strong

Mike's race went off early, and I ran around the course cheering and taking photos. He hasn't been doing too well in the heat (and did I mention yet that it was hot?), but managed to finish in 2nd place in his field - a strong finish for sure!

Later, I lined up on the start with about 15-20 other women - most of whom I know well from years of racing. There were some new faces though, including some trying out their first CX race ever! Unfortunately, I had a VERY bad start - as in 3rd last off the line bad. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but it wasn't good. I quickly moved up on the downhill pavement, but got caught behind a racer who unclipped going into the first off-camber uphill, and was forced to run. This put me behind, but I still didn't panic.

The only cool place
on the course!

I was solidly moving ahead when suddenly, despite pedaling, nothing was happening. The chain had come off the front chain ring and up onto the guides, forcing me to run up a [very] ride-able hill, and stop to get that chain back in the right place. I watched as at least 5 women passed me... 

The attack

Once I got rolling again I was determined to just race my race and do as well as I could. Slowly, I clawed back the women who had passed me with my mechanical. Then, I started to pass other racers who were ahead of me from the start. I never panicked - just kept my head down and focused on moving forward. On the final lap, I put in a hard attack to pass one more woman, and then knew I just needed to ride clean to the finish (though I did have sights set on one more who was only a bit ahead). Going into the final barrier, the chain once again got itself up onto the guides... DOH! Now, I did start to panic - mildly. Thanks to the encouragement from Mike and friend Eiric, however, I calmed down enough to put my foot on the chain, knocking it back onto the chain ring. From there, I buried it to the finish, maintaining my position.

Water feeds were required!

I ended up finishing 7th, and I am very happy with my result. Despite issues during the race, I stayed determined, calm and focused enough to pick my way back up through the field. It was a good start to the "season", and I am looking forward to the coming weeks and months!

Hard Lessons

I have been racing competitively now since the late 90s, but I am still learning lessons about racing all the time. Unfortunately, it's usually the hard way.

This past weekend was the annual Hodges Village Dam MTB race - part of the Root 66 race series that Mike and I have been participating in for several years. This was our fifth attempt at the race (well, Mike's fifth, and my fourth since I had to miss one year) which also doubles as the MA state championship. Mike is humble, but he has won this race (and the championship) four out of five attempts, including this year. I haven't had quite the same luck...

Every other year, the weather conditions seem to be different - dry and dusty, or a monsoon that causes butt deep puddles, or lakes. This year was the former - not only were the trails incredibly dry and dusty, but the temp was in the low 90s, and the humidity was as well. With an 11:30 (ish) start, we were racing in the heat of the day, and it would be tough to stay hydrated.

I like racing this series because I know all the women in my field, and we have become friendly competitors over the years. Sue L remains my nemesis (and is on her way to her second attempt at Leadville this week). It's all smiles and chatter on the start line, and then we get down to business (though we still do look out for each other - more on that later).

On the whistle, I went out as hard as I could, getting the hole shot and quickly creating a small gap. Smart, yes? Um - remember the weather? Probably not so smart in the long run. But I led for the first part of the lap, with two of the younger women coming around me early, and then Sue going by on an uphill (now THERE'S a surprise :)). I passed one of the younger racers, Tina, back, and it was game on. 

There's not a lot of room for recovery on this course - lots of roots and rocks, and even though there are long sections of flat dirt road or trail, I was going flat out to use those to my advantage. Heading into the final third of the course, I was still ahead of Tina, with Vickie M coming up behind as well. In my haste to stay ahead before the hardest climb, I did something I don't normally do in a race and went down. Hard. Both Tina and Vickie asked if I was OK, and my quick response as I tried to get my bike off of the singletrack was "Yes. Go. Go. Go!" What I realized then was that I had hurt myself, but not enough to stop racing. Back on the bike, and head down to begin the chase. Lesson 1: Bumbles don't bounce.

Not long after, I came across both Tina and Vickie on the side of the trail. I would later find out that Tina had crashed and taco'd her front wheel, bruising her hand/wrist in the process, and Vickie was suffering from a case of heat stroke. I asked if they were OK, got a negative response, and told them I would send someone back for them, which I did when I went through the start/finish to begin my second lap.

The second lap was relatively uneventful. I still felt reasonably good, and knew that only Sue was in front of me, with two more racers behind. Mike passed me near the end of my second lap, and gave me some much needed encouragement as he went on to race for his win.

Somewhere in the third lap, the wheels started to come off the bus. It was hot, I was sore, and I was getting tired. I got passed by Katina, who kindly asked me if I was doing OK before she rode off. Undeterred, I kept thinking as I went through each section that I only had to ride that hill, those roots, that darned bridge one more time. Nearing the end of lap 3, I was low on water. My hands hurt, my feet hurt, my back was screaming, and my right side (knee, hip and elbow) was throbbing and swollen. Did I also say it was hot?

Mike was near the start/finish having completed his race, and offered encouragement and water. I knew I could do one more lap. And then, as I crossed over the line, I was asked a question - "Do you want to go out again?" I stopped to question this - would I still be scored if I finished? Was the 4th place rider still out on the course? I reiterated that I COULD do another lap, was assured that I would be scored if I did not, and was told that the 4th place rider would be given the option to also be scored after 3 laps. Given how I was feeling, I made a [bad] decision - I packed it in.

When I looked at the results, I saw that I had been moved to 4th place - the rider behind me, who I assumed would be scored after 3 laps, opted to finish her race. The placing was fair, but I was disappointed. My disappointment is only in myself - of having taken the easy way out and thrown in the towel. Lesson 2: NEVER quit racing and NEVER take the easy way out.

At the end of the day, I finished 4th overall, and 2nd in the MA state championship. Not a bad result, but I had hoped for better. I have done the "Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda" multiple times already, but I'll chalk this up to learning my lessons the hard way.

Remembering Grandma

Over the past two weeks, I have had to say goodbye to my dear, sweet grandma. Yesterday, I shared the following at her funeral service.

When I agreed to say something today, I never believed it would be so difficult for me, a writer, to put into words what I wanted to say about grandma.

This week, I turn 44 – the same age grandma was when I was born. You would think that at my age, I would be past the point of believing that I would have my grandma forever. I wasn’t. I had somehow convinced myself that grandma would always be here – assuming I had all the time in the world to tell her that I loved her, to visit and give her a hug and a kiss. In thinking about that over the past few days, I came to realize that grandma will always be with me – maybe not in person, but in my memories, and in my heart. And I was very lucky to get the chance to give her that hug and kiss last week, and to tell her that I loved her.

In many ways, grandma helped to shape the person I am today – beginning with my first bike (at least the first one I remember). One Christmas, there were two matching blue tricycles under the tree – one for me, and one for Rob. Later, on a trip to visit us in Edmonton, Grandma and Grandpa laughed when the neighbor and I rode by on a tandem bike. When I really got into cycling and racing a number of years ago, grandma always shared in my adventures (though sometimes, I am sure, in horror!). Most recently, I put together a photo album for Grandma that included several pictures of me racing my bikes – and some where I was a bit muddy (I all doity, grandma!). I don’t think that when those trikes were under the tree she could have imagined where they would lead.

Growing up, grandma was always the caregiver. She took good care of my grandpa for many years, and took care of all of us kids as well. Skinned knees and elbows got the mercurochrome treatment, but she always blew on it to take the sting out. When requested, she always cooked our favorite foods – mine started out being French toast with no eggs, and became shoe string potatoes with homemade chili sauce. I think that might have been what she was making the day that Brad and I arrived for dinner in an OPP cruiser after I totaled mom’s car on the highway. Grandma took care then, too, feeding us, calming us down, making sure we were ok, and getting us back home.

The summer after I finished the 8^th grade, grandma had cataract surgery, and admitted to needing some help – she couldn’t do any heavy lifting, and so it was that I went to live with grandma and grandpa for the entire summer – splitting time between the house in Waterloo, and the cottage. It became my turn to take care of grandma (and grandpa). I have very fond memories of that summer – painting the shed at the cottage (with grandpa wearing my flowery, floppy sunhat), gardening, grocery shopping and wheedling a $10/week allowance for chores. We spent our days working in the yard and doing chores, but also playing cards, telling stories, visiting relatives and friends, going to the farmer’s market and other local attractions.

Grandma loved cards. I learned to play euchre at a young age – mostly from watching while the adults were playing. I never could pick up the fine art of cribbage though, no matter how many times gram patiently tried to teach me. Later, gram and I would visit and play gin rummy for hours and she was always gracious about me beating her pants off.

Grandma was also a strong, independent woman – traits that I like to think I have also inherited. I watched, growing up, the strength she showed in managing my grandfather’s disability and later illness. She never complained in the years she spent being the primary caregiver – at least not that I heard. After grandpa left us, grandma continued to show her strength and independence – managing two households, spending summers at the cottage, and heading up our family. There were lots of times when she was lonely, but again, she never complained.

In recent years, grandma and I spent a lot of time reminiscing. I joked with my mom that she may not have remembered what she had for dinner, but her memories of her earlier life were vivid. We’d tell cottage stories and grandpa stories, laughing until our sides hurt, or we started to cry, or both. Those shared memories stitched us together in a bond that will always remain.

Grandma and I also shared a love for flowers (as long as the ones that I sent her didn’t stink!) and our gardens. We’d talk about what flowers were blooming in my garden, what new things I had planted. When I couldn’t send her real flowers anymore, I began sending her pictures of the flowers from my garden instead – hoping to brighten her day, and to share a smile. I will continue that shared love, and will plant flowers in her memory – the non-stinky kind.

Three summers ago, I surprised grandma for her birthday with a visit – long overdue. Many of you have seen the picture of us together at the lake, and that is a memory I will hold in my heart forever, just like so many others. We spent hours talking – she listening patiently to the drama of my life, and both of us remembering many other summers spent in the same spot.

I also inherited the love of odd grandma sayings. A few years ago, in fact, a friend quipped to me that I should write a book – Things My Grandma Says. Even today, I will ask someone with squeaky shoes if they have paid for them, point out a blue spot in a cloudy sky and note that there is enough blue to make a pair of Dutchman’s pants. I never quite understood the “Hold her Luke, she’s headed for the rhubarb” saying, but I loved it anyway. And of course, our favorites – “Don’t eat that Elmer, that’s horse “poop””; “You'd better bereave it grandma!” and the one that made grandpa spit a mouthful of tea across the table – “Too late Ethel”.

So, now I am left with the memories. They are all sweet and delicious – just like grandma was. I will cherish them forever. I’m glad, grandma, that I wasn’t too late. Let me leave you with a poem that I think captures grandma’s legacy to us all.

Legacy of Love

A wife, a mother, a grandma too, 

This is the legacy we have from you. 

You taught us love and how to fight, 

You gave us strength, you gave us might. 

A stronger person would be hard to find, 

And in your heart, you were always kind. 

You fought for us all in one way or another, 

Not just as a wife not just as a mother. 

For all of us you gave your best, 

Now the time has come for you to rest. 

So go in peace, you've earned your sleep, 

Your love in our hearts, we'll eternally keep