Month: December 2015

Thanks to Toolbox for Strava, I have a unique insight into my final 2015 stats:

4969.4 miles
(or roughly from Washington to Moscow)
(or 19.96% of the Earth’s circumference)

16 days 13 hours 48 minutes 4 seconds
(or 6.83% of my life excluding an average of 8 hours for sleep)

227,717 feet climbed 
(or Mt McKinley 11 times)
(and I have reached the mesosphere layer of the atmosphere)

321 logged rides

3,381 feet
(longest sustained climbed, which was Columbine Mine during the Leadville 100)

79.1 miles
(longest single ride, which was Newcastle WY, to Custer, SD during Tour de Wyoming)
(8 out of 10 of my longest rides ever occurred in 2015)

Summary compared to other years:

Yes, it bothers my OCD that I didn’t finish above 5000 miles, and some more motivation would’ve solved that problem, but it’s easy to see that 2015 was a big year for me, at least I think so!

I’ve never been a New Year resolution type of person.  But I’ve decided to throw together a list a random bike and maybe not so bike related goals for the year.

1 – Save for Iceland!

I have become completely obsessed with the idea of going to Iceland and mountain biking.  I’ve always wanted to go to Iceland, but after completing some research on the biking options, I MUST GO!  The landscape is just out of this world!  My goal is for the summer of 2017, which gives me about 1.5 years to save up money for airfare and the two tours I want to go on.  I’ve had a passport for years but have never been out of the US (minus going to a Mexican border town pre-9/11 when you could just cross freely), so it’s about time I start making memories and using that darn thing!

2 – Shred the gnar gnar

At my team night I purchased a 2016 Specialized Rhyme Comp Carbon… yes, a 650b tire bike with squishy suspension and a dropper post.  Definitely NOT the highly-efficient stiff 29er XC bike I’m use to riding!  Though I am waiting until February for it to arrive, I already have big hopes and plans!  This bike will come to Iceland with me, and I look forward to strengthening my descending and technical skills.  I’m also playing around with the thought of racing enduro at the US MTB Championships in July since I’ll already be there and it comes after the XC races.

3 – Racing is racing, and you get what you put into it, but it’s also a lot of fun

I admit, I’m bit bit burnt out and overwhelmed about another race season coming up.  My big A race is XC nationals, and then getting the official pro license upgrade.  But I’m also excited to ride in new places and go fast and get out of breath.  I gotta remind myself that racing needs to be fun.  I did an okay job of acknowledging that during my 2015 cyclocross season, and scaled back the racing and pulled the plug early when mentally and physically I was not happy.  So I’m vowing to myself to not let the stress get to me and to remember the fun and thrill of racing, whether I’m in first or last or just lost in the trees.  I’ve told myself to give it a good go in 2016, and in 2017 I’ll try to step back and explore more and maybe try some new stuff.

4- Take care of myself
My health hasn’t exactly been great this fall and winter thus far.  I’ve had more X-rays than I’ve cared to have and have been in more doctor offices and urgent care/ER settings than I ever want to be.  I’m trying to figure some stuff out, and fighting off new things that are popping up.  Just today I was diagnosed with severe tendinitis in my right wrist, and was started on steroids and placed in a splint.  This is on top of my bunionettes flaring up (Merry Christmas to me!) and kidney infection in the last week and a half.  My body is tired and worn out.  I should’ve rode today but instead I napped and nursed the wrist, because frankly I don’t planning on resting it to the point of not riding, so I’m hoping it’ll be good for a few days of riding this week.  But my body is telling me it’s not happy, and I should listen to it more often!

5 – Have adventures
This year I want to go back to Moab and ride lots of stuff.  My team’s training camp is in Fruita and I look forward to exploring some new trails.  There’s Lake Pueblo for some winter time blues escapage.  Dammit, maybe finally go camping that I’ve been talking about the past few summers, maybe finally climb a 14er?  Ride my squishy bike at Glendo.  I just want to explore, which is also good training (at least I think so).  I have some big blocks of time off where I hope I can make this happen!

I think that’s all I can come up with for now… I’m not particularly great at these things!  But I already did start an Iceland savings account, and hopefully my new bike will arrive in February, and adventures can begin with some big time off blocks!

Whelp, it’s done!  Ended a bit rougher than usual, but I survived 11 months of racing for 2015.  The round up…

States Raced In: Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming
# of Races: 20 mountain bike, 7 road, 14 cyclocross
# of Wins: 4 (MTB), 2 (CX)
# of Top 5: 15 (MTB), 4 (road),  5 (CX)
# of Beverage Drinking Devices Won: Uhhh… I finally stopped counting this.  Water bottle overload!

Way more MTB than 2014, but 6 less cross races.  Interesting balance.  My first season as what I call a combo of “semi-pro” and “really slow wannabe pro” mountain bike racing, and while tough at times, it was fun and a good push for me to get faster and tighten up my skills.

• I won a tube of “eurostyle” Chamois Butt’r.  I’m scared to try it
• I finally accepted the fact that I cannot be highly competitive in a highly competitive category in cyclocross without training in a highly competitive manner.  So I raced single speed with the boys.  Problem solved.
• The Laramie MTB Series was still my 2015 season highlight.  There was nothing like going from DFL by 15-20 minutes in 2014 to top 3 in every race, including winning one by an 8 minute margin.  To succeed locally in the race series that made me start racing in the first place will always mean the most to me.
• Continuing with local success, I finish the Laramie Enduro, which caused me to cry happy tears to a stranger at the finish line.
• I actually did not win any beer this year.  However, I think I earn enough alcohol during TCCX…
• Racing is tough on bikes.  The $600 repair bill on my S-Works Fate is proof.
• Do not forget your timing chip at a Without Limits cyclocross race.  They really won’t care if you drove all the way from Wyoming, cried, pouted, and gave them puppy eyes.  Instead they’ll negate your 6th place result in the regional championship SS4/5 race, and place you last in your ironically last race of the year.
• Wow, road season… what a surprise!  5th place across the board at the 3 USAC road races I did, which was an utter surprise.  Apparently I’m really really really good at climbing on a road bike… even stranger since I’m not a small “climber type” by any means.
• I flew to my first race – 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo.  Definitely an adventure from the moment Katey and I landed in Tucson to the moment I arrived home days later.  From POS rental RV’s to crash courses in bike building and tire pressures and my first 24 hour racing experience, it’s something I was super excited to be a part of!
• I’m so happy I finally found a home on a great cycling team, Naked Women’s Racing!

Well, so what does 2016 have in store for me?  I did start out with a solo single speed entry to 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo, but upon sitting down and looking at the logistics, it just wasn’t going to be a stress-free time.  The money I would’ve had to spend on lighting and then travel would take away from other stuff, so I transferred my entry to a gal in California.  Sad I won’t be returning to the desert, but it relieved a lot of stress in my life.  I do plan on racing at the Fat Bike National Championships in February since it’s in Ogden.  My big goal for 2016 is the Cross Country National Championships at Mammoth Mountain in CA in July.  I’ve decided to give it one last go as a Cat 1 before officially upgrading my USAC license.  However, I will race strictly pro/open in all non-sanctioned racing.  I’m planning on short track and XC at Nationals, and debating throwing the enduro competition in there as well since I may have purchased a trail bike with lots of squishy travel and a dropper post (the enduro is after all the XC competitions, so it in no way would affect my main goal)!  I dialed back my race calendar significantly, though it’s hard to keep adding events.  Hopefully I can make Rumble at 18 Road purely for the USAC points for both short track and XC call ups at Nationals.  Then I will be racing the Half Growler again, along with the Gowdy Grinder.  Naturally the Laramie MTB Series is on the calendar, along with the Laramie Enduro as I want to see if I can better my time.  I may do an early spring RME race depending on weather and how I’m feeling (but no endurance distance, just XC).  Glendo Trails Fest of course is an option since I can’t turn down good WY grassroots racing.  But that’s about all!  Of course some road here and there, but with my work schedule I will not make it a priority.  And finally, I am a returning member of the Naked Women’s Racing mountain bike team, so I’ll be rocking the Naked Juice in 2016!