It’s A Wrap: 2014 Race Season

And just like that it was done when I crossed the finish line in Castle Rock at the Colorado CX Championships!

I raced every single month of 2014.  That’s a lot of racing.  But over it all it was a good year!

States Raced In: Colorado, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Wyoming
# of Races: 15 mountain bike, 6 road (excludes local TT series), 20 cyclocross
# of Wins: 2 (MTB), 2 (CX)
# of Top 5: 11 (MTB), 1 (road),  4 (CX)
# of Beverage Drinking Devices Won: 4

Definitely a lot more than 2013 – 9 more cyclocross races in fact!  Even added a new state:  Iowa.  The FORC Side Thrill Ride race was an unexpected highlight of my season, with a great course and great people.  It’s honestly an event I’d do again if for some reason I had the extra cash to drive to Iowa!

Other random facts:

• 1 DNF thanks to North Fruita Desert mud.  That was a nice $200 added expense…
• 0 barriers tripped over during cyclocross this year
• 1 box of granola bars won that I can’t eat
• 6 cans of beer won (that are still in the fridge)
• Couple of cracked ribs, one probable stress fractured big toe, one laceration that should’ve been stitched, and countless bruises.

Though my cyclocross season was pretty crappy overall, I still feel a bit sad that it’s all over.  Cyclocross season is the only time I get to see a lot of awesome people, and sometimes it just sucks knowing it’ll be 9 months until the craziness starts all again!  But I do think cyclocross taught me this year that mountain biking really is my thing.  Unless they replicate the MUCCY course and conditions every single weekend, I just gotta accept what my strengths and weaknesses are.  I’m a tiny fish in a big sea of crazy fast talented females when it comes to cross… which is ok.  And I will try to have more fun next year!

But that’s 9 months away, and that’s many months of mountain bike racing in between!  Which I’m getting excited for.  The ability to fat bike, and the probability of being able to ride Gowdy here and there throughout the winter on a real mountain bike, is building my skills and keeping me in that sort of “shape” mountain biking requires.

As for my first decent “off season” since starting to race in March 2013 (can it really be an off season if I’m already training for 2015?)… I’ve moved a lot of bike stuff down into the basement bike room and out of the living room.  And unfortunately, I had my left foot X-rayed due to a crazy bit of inflammation that popped up in a bone by my pinky toe that coincided with me tumbling down my basement stairs last week.  Luckily no fractures, but I’m suppose to stick to a 800mg ibuprofen every 6 hours regimen along with wrapping my foot with ACE wrap.  For the past few days it’s been incredibly painful to wear shoes – everything from my wide Danksos to “fit like a sock” road cycling shoes, so now the thought of cramming my foot into any shoe with ACE wrap over it is frightening.  It’s resembling a “tailor’s bunion,” but even the doc I saw say bunions don’t just acutely appear.  So I’m not sure how this will play out because… well, I gotta wear those snug cycling shoes every day!

February 14, 2015 it all begins again…