Just the tales of a girl and her bikes and the adventures that follow!
Author: The Adventuring Heidi
Hi world, I’m Heidi! Adventurer, road trip fanatic, photography geek, waterfall chaser, geyser gazer, Iceland obsessed, Wyoming native, outdoor lover. I travel a lot personally and for work, and love capturing the awesome and awkward moments along the way.
I’m smiling. Need I say more? (Photo by Bo Bickerstaff)
I think I just may like cyclocross again. Mildly.
Xilinx is one of my favorite courses except for all the pavement, but it’s definitely not a course that plays well to my strengths, because even on the parts that do work for me, I’m behind other riders that are brake happy. But I think it’s a pretty course, and it winds through some trees, and this year it had a good 50 foot or longer stretch of mucky muddy water… woohoo, mud pit!!
It was another hot race (disadvantage to a September start for cross). Pretty sure I had the last call up or so. My start was good, was in the front-ish of the long pavement stretch, then people started acting like crazy roadies. I almost got taken out by a junior racer who was in our category, which luckily I had quick enough reflexes to grab the brakes as she swerved into my front wheel. I kinda backed off at this point. I’m scared of death of wrecking on pavement, and besides, I’d be finishing near the back anyway. Once on top we drop down into the trees and there’s “drop.” I use the term “drop” VERY loosely, as it’s not by any means a drop in the mountain biking world. This is always a frustrating part for me because everyone goes so sssslllllloooooooowwwwwwww off of it. Then it’s some single track-ish stuff through the trees and over a bridge with some roots, and then up to some barriers, drops down some more bumpy roots, and then back out on the pavement. This stretch is about the only part I am super good at, but like I said, it’s impossible with other riders around to really haul butt through it. I’m pretty sure I was already last by all of this. Whatever, I wanted to have fun!
First lap through the trees! (Photo by shotwilliam)
After some more hellish pavement you’re back on the grass/dirt for some quick corners and a very fast descent (if you keep off the brakes). Then it was a bit of peanut butter and then the glorious mud pit! Super long, and also very deep, I’d give it a good foot in parts, with some holes in it that sunk you further in. Oh man did I have the smile on my face! If only the whole course was the mud pit… then I might’ve done well!
Those socks were soon to be no longer white… (Photo by Shawn Curry)
Then it’s a lot of curvy corner stuff out in the grass. Fun, but it’s a pure power section which isn’t my strength off the mountain bike (so weird how I’m a power rider on the mountain bike, but not during cyclocross). The last bit turns back to some peanut butter for some of the most awkward barriers in the world (can’t come into them with any sort of speed) and back up through the start/finish. I did pass another gal in my category, and realized Maureen was behind us so I wasn’t last. Huh. Weird.
Curvy stuff (photo by Bo Bickerstaff)
Third lap I took a hot dog hand up from Malcolm at the top of the first barriers. Quite fun trying to figure out how to shove the hot dog in my mouth while Malcolm pushed me along. I always wanted a hot dog hand up, so one ‘cross dream come true! Unfortunately, it wasn’t the best of ideas… I rode nearly half a lap with a half chewed soggy hot dog in my mouth, and then when I did get it swallowed my stomach cramped up. Booo.
Splashing through the mud some more! (Photo by Bo Bickerstaff)
So unlike in 2013, I did all 4 laps, and wasn’t pulled so I’m 4/4 for full races this year, which is nice. Maureen caught me about halfway through the last lap, and unfortunately on the fast downhill I got stuck behind two Cat 4 girls who were taking things a whee bit too slow (there’s a rock slab that sticks up like 2 inches, and I think everyone was taking it slow. Me, well I tried to catch as much air off of it as I could!). I tried to be patient, and got around one in the peanut butter mud again, and another in the sloshy mud pit when she fell over. By then Maureen had way too big of a gap so I just survived until the finish. On the finishing pavement stretch I actually stood up and sprinted.
Woohoo, 18th place! And I was all muddy! And I had a hot dog!
Someone told me “Ugh, the 4’s are so much funner, I feel bad for you.” I agree. Too uber serious in 3’s. Oh wellllllll. My lap times this year were slower than last year’s, surprisingly – granted there was no mud pit last year. But I think I just didn’t care for this race. Honey badger just didn’t care.
I was super thirsty so I raided the Clif tent for lemon-lime hydration mix, which was awesome by the way. Then I had a photographer who is doing a before/after project take my after photo. Suzie was also racing so I sat down to catch her SW Open race – her first race as a Cat 1, woo woo! After she was done we attempted to scrub down the bikes and ourselves and sat in the shade and watched the open men. It was a pretty good day! I think I can still like this cyclocross stuff…
Last year I swore I would not do the Colorado Cross Classic, or what it’s called this year – the US Open of Cyclocross – again. Last year I was pulled pretty early (prematurely I’d say by the officials) and I was getting sick and the course kinda (well, actually DOES) suck. Funny enough, the alarm went off at 4:30am and on the road to Boulder Reservoir I went. I don’t seem to learn sometimes.
It was a chilly morning, but I resisted the urge to pile on the clothes. People were flatting just walking their bikes to the pits, and yep, there were a few goat heads stuck in my pit bike’s tires, though they were green and soft. By this time I wasn’t quite amused and debated pre-riding or not. Ended up doing a lap. Yeah, this is my least favorite venue and course. The grassy/goathead stuff is ok, except super rough, and then half the course was sand. Literally sand everywhere! Last year had some sand, but holy crap they decided to go overboard this year. No barriers, just tons and tons and tons and tons of sand. Ugh. I realized I should’ve brought the Fate as a pit bike, or hell, even my main bike. Tubeless and the front suspension would help on the rough stuff. Hindsight is 20/20, right?
Some of the awesome ladies in my “cross family!” Terri is very excited about Noosa Yogurt, as you can see! (Photo by Shawn Curry / greencurry.smugmug.com)
I had the second to last call up, no surprise. Cat 3 has been a rough overall learning curve for me. But I actually had an awesome start! Woohoo, Heidi’s Holeshot to Dead Last streak has returned! I was 3rd coming off the pavement onto the grass, and slowly/rapidly worked my way back from there. Felt good to have a nice start, but I just don’t get how all those girls continue to go faster?! Oh wait, my 2013 self would’ve been saying that about my 2014 self so…
I knew this wouldn’t be the race for me so I just concentrated on smooth cornering and trying to keep my tires inflated. The sand was hopeless. Maureen had to change bikes a few times so there were brief moments of me not being in last, but otherwise it was me off the back. No prancing or singing though this week. Also due to the muddy wet sand, my cleats and pedals weren’t agreeing and I spent a lot of time trying to get clipped in (I’m a noob who can’t pedal unless I’m clipped in it seems). I was actually hoping I’d get pulled and not have to do the full 5 laps. Funny, last year I was pissed about them pulling people and now I was wishing for it! Wouldn’t you know, I was the last one through before they started pulling people, so I was in for the long haul!
I ended up in 14th out of 16 (2 DNF’s in my class) in a time of 48:12.90. No flats, and the goat heads I discovered at home pulled out and the tires are still inflated so we’ll see what the morning will bring. As for my “method” of making me feel like it’s okay to be finishing last in cat 3, I would’ve been 6th in cat 4. Ugh, I know I did the right thing by upgrading instead of being “one of those girls” that seem to have the upgrade points but still hang out in their current category or hold a high license in another discipline, but not sure how comforting it is to know I could’ve been rocking cat 4 this year.
So yeah, Boulder Reservoir… I am not a fan and never will be. A sand pit is one thing, an entire beach is another. My poor bike is so crunchy! But let’s be positive – I did 5 laps and didn’t get pulled!
Got wet sand that is in every nook and cranny possible?
Boulder Cup I was super excited going into Sunday’s Boulder Cup because it’s at Valmont Bike Park, and I love Valmont! My pre-ride went well once I actually got both bikes down to the course – it involved some hiking down hills and carrying two bikes through a field of cactus. I get that Boulder hates cars, but having a parking lot for Valmont would be a good idea… just sayin’. The course had a lot of steep climbs and descents, which tickled my mountain biker heart like Valmont always does. Sadly the Belgian Steps were omitted, which is the only run up of stairs I can ever run up.
22 gals in the SW3 field, and I didn’t have the last call up surprisingly. That was about the high point of the day… at the start I couldn’t clip in (Gowdy Grinder all over again), and was last place from the get go. I got gapped considerably on the first climb, which is something I haven’t historically struggled on at Valmont. On the first big steep descent I passed two girls with my rad “mountain biker who’s out of control on canti brakes” skills, but they caught me again. And that was kind of the end of it… I’d get kind of close to Katie and Elizabeth, and then the gap would get huge. I got really dejected. I wasn’t smiling, and I almost cried at one point. I knew I looked miserable, I felt miserable. This is not how cyclocross was suppose to go this year.
It was the moment I started hating bike racing. Not the fleeting feeling we all feel during a race – this had some lasting permanence for the rest of the day.
Needless to say, I finished 22nd. I NEED to stop seeing where I would’ve been in SW 4 (cough8thmaybecough). It’s not helping. I guess I’m struggling with the fact that I never had a “good” season of cyclocross before I upgraded. Aside from good results in December & January, I went from a bottom half cat 4 to dead effing last in cat 3. So I’m getting discouraged knowing that I could be having some good races if I was in a lower category, but wait, isn’t that a given?! I’m being whiny, I know. I’m just feeling so discouraged. My fitness feels so off from what I remember my “cross fitness” being last year, I can’t help to blame the fact I built my fitness around cross country mountain biking, which requires a 1.5-2 hour pace, not 40 minutes of sprinting. But I can’t be mad about that, mountain biking is my main discipline and I made huge strides this year (and I don’t feel dejected finishing last in open/pro/expert MTB races).
I tried to find a perk, and I decided on the fact that Katie Clouse never lapped me is good enough. Damn spry teenagers, LOL. I’m 3 for 3 on completing full races, too. No pulling. I also enjoyed chatting with Maureen on the long walk back to the car with our combined 4 bikes. She’s a recent SW3 upgrade (and current 60-64 cyclocross national champion!), and has been feeling some of the similar pains as me. She reinforced that we would get better throughout the season, and that I did EARN my upgrade, as much as I want to justify that I didn’t earn it (and that it was just a “moral decision”). It helped to talk to her, but I still felt a bit gloomy the rest of the day.
Put your big girl panties on, Heidi…
But alas… the skinsuit comes out to play next Saturday at Cyclo X Xilinx, which is another course I liked last year, even if I fell on my face because I tripped on a barrier 😀 (Speaking of barriers, there were NO barriers this entire weekend, wtf is up with that, UCI?) Here’s getting back in the saddle, and pedaling to DFL!
Hammering on the first lap… (Photo by Bo Bickerstaff)
2014 cyclocross season is here!!!
I love cyclocross because it’s like a crazy family reunion of your closest, kooky, fun, crazy relatives that figuratively live far away that you don’t get to see any other time of year. I really haven’t seen Nick or Malcolm in nearly a year, and there they were heckling me every lap! And since cyclocross is super chill, you add new members to your family every race, and the family grows and grows… then you go 9 months without seeing each other until September and the family reunion starts all over again! Then you’re racing having them yelling at you that you don’t look like you’re racing, and you’re getting big hugs afterward, and drinking beer, and heckling Jeremy Powers. Life is good when it’s cyclocross season!
So I was really nervous about the start of the season. Initially I was super excited to be upgraded to cat 3 because of my cat 1 MTB upgrade, then I really realized I’d be finishing dead last in every race. This year was a turning point in where I built more endurance in the 1.5-2 hour range which helped for road and mountain biking, but I did stray far from all out, 40 minute long efforts – which is exactly what cyclocross would be. I arrived early, which was good because I picked up some goat heads during the COTN Kick Off Party group ride the day before, and my front tire was flat. I changed out the tube, and checked my rear and it was down to 20psi from 50, but I couldn’t find anything stuck in the tire. I’m super bad at changing a rear tube (aka I can’t figure out how to get my rear wheel off… I’m a noob), so I pumped it up and I didn’t hear any hissing. I rode up, got my number, rode back and struggled to figure out how to pin my number onto my skinsuit. My normal “landmarks” were missing since there’s no rear pockets. I winged it, put the suit on, took it off, and repinned it. First world issues…
Now that I was dressed I took the pit bike up, and discovered that riding and pushing another bike at the same time is sketchy and is not easy. I ended up walking it through the parking out. Ran into Deb and Terri, woohoo! Jumped in for a pre-ride, and though the course was slightly different (and not snowy and icy) than December, it was familiar. I really like the course at Rhyolite Park, I find it to be very “mountain bikey” with fast descents and corners. There’s also minimal grass, which I love because I HATE GRASS. There was even the mud bog, which was decently deep and did a good job mudding up my bike before the race even started. After the pre ride I went back to the car and checked my rear tire, and it had dropped 10 psi so this time I aired it up to about 55psi, thinking if I just had a bunch of air in it, I could maybe survive the race without a bike swap.
Photo by Bo Bickerstaff
Soon it was time to line up. The SW3 group didn’t have a big field size – just 10 – compared to the 25 or so SW4 women. I had the last call up, go me (my USAC ranking tanked when I upgraded, go figure… otherwise I would’ve had first or second call up in SW4). The start was crazy fast, which again is something I haven’t had to deal with all year because I’ve been learning to start slow so I stop doing my “win the holeshot, finish 25th” thing. The girl to my left threw an elbow and I was like “wahhhh big girl racing sucks.” I was actually pretty disheartened when I watched the other 9 girls pedal away from me. But I tried, and didn’t allow more than a few seconds build between me and the next place. The first time through the mud bog Katie crashed so I got around her, and another girl was having mechanic issues or something so briefly I wasn’t last. That didn’t last too long, as Elizabeth came around me on the finishing stretch and overtook me.
Second lap through before the big run up (which I walked… I should’ve tried riding it! I didn’t realize this until I watched the pro men ride it and realized that I probably could’ve done it) Malcolm yelled to me that it didn’t look like I was racing. I yelled back that grass sucks. (Grass section leads up to run up). I still was keeping 9th place in my sights, so I realized that I was actually racing, and it wasn’t a complete blow out ass kicking quite yet. The first two laps felt like hell and my body didn’t know what to do, but the third lap I seemed to be falling into a rhythm. I rode the sand just so I could yell at Shawn to take my photo (I do it all for the race photos…), and I took a different line through the mud bog which caused a huge splash – yay another good photo! I was laughing and having fun. Last December I took a photo of Georgia Gould on her way to her state pro title and it was used by the Fort Collins newspaper and I printed it out and framed it for my bike room… every time I rode that corner today I broke out into a huge smile because I remembered that photo. So really I was smiling a lot! Cross is fun!
My expression is priceless… I think it was half surprise, half horror, and half joy at getting sprayed with mud! (Photo by Bo Bickerstaff)
Last lap pretty soon after the line I put myself on Elizabeth’s wheel going into the grass. A spectator yelled “Yeah, go get her, attack!” and I did. She gapped me slightly on the grass but we came into the run up together and dammit, I RAN that damn hill! I didn’t look back, and just kept going! I had been caught by the two leaders of SW4 on this lap, but I was also lapping the back of SW4, and wasn’t anywhere close to being lapped by SW3, so I was happy. I knew what had happened in December when I wrecked which allowed me to lose 11th place on this course, so I focused on being smooth and keeping the tires on the ground. I pranced through the sand pit, singing “I’m running in the sand, I’m running in the sand” and flailing my arms around. Yeah, I never said I was normal. Terri laughed so it was all good! Got to the mud pit, took my normal line which sent a glob of mud up and onto my cheek. Bo and some other spectators complimented me on the mud face and I laughed some more. I was truly having fun! Soon it was all over! I rounded the last corner and these guys were staring so I asked if I had something on my face, LOL! Shawn was at the finish line snapping photos, and I had to resist posting up just to be a nerd.
9th place (aka second from last) in 39 minutes 17 seconds! First cat 3 race done and done!
OK, now I know it wasn’t snowy and icy, but I did 4 laps today 2:20 faster than I did 3 laps in December. Course conditions of course came into play, but some also has to be increased fitness and especially endurance! I really felt like I was kinda getting a groove later in the race, which wasn’t the case last year. Oh, and if you take my time, I would’ve been 3rd in SW4… whoa. I know you can’t exactly compare like that, but in a way you can and it at least tells me that I might’ve been in the right category in SW3 after all, and I just have to gain more cross-specific fitness and sharpen my skills (you don’t even wanna see me “hop” barriers right now… it’s pathetic) over this season. I guess I’m just fighting “well, this is how I was last year” thoughts, and really I shouldn’t do that because I actually trained for this year and a lot of my mountain bike skills like cornering have improved which has carried over. Gosh, Heidi, just deal with it, you’re a cat 3, and you belong there!
I hung around for the pro races and had a beer with my ‘cross family and then headed home. Whew, it’s finally here! Next up are the big big UCI Boulder races next weekend, which I unfortunately race at 7:30am and 8am for so those will be early mornings. Boulder Reservoir didn’t treat me so well last year, and I am finding the 40t chain ring to be too big, so we’ll see how it all goes. Sunday’s race will be at Valmont, which is my favorite course!
(Post will be updated with photos as I get them, as for now, it’s a lot of pretty text!)
There’s a crispness to the air, leaves are starting to change at the higher elevations, and days are shorter. Summer’s gone!
I’m actually pretty excited for this fall, mostly because I’ve been waiting all year for cyclocross season. Plus I just like fall… the cooler temperatures, frosty mornings… NOT that I’m a fan of snow and super cold, but I do like not having to suffer through 90 degree days. This fall is also bringing about a rather big life change – after two years of being on the hospital floor as an RN I have accepted a Monday-Friday “9 to 5” (it’s actually 8 to 4:30!) job at the hospital on the more administrative side of things. I’ve grown really use to working 3 days a week, and for the past year, working night shift. So needless to say a job with “normal people” hours is quite exciting and daunting all at the same time! The biggest thing I can’t get over is the fact I can do any and every bike race my heart desires now with no requesting/fighting/bargaining for time off… eek! I think it’ll also help make my training a bit more routine as now a Tuesday on my training plan can literally be a Tuesday!
Skinny tires and singletrack… perfect way to spend an afternoon!
In other news… I took the ‘cross bike up to Happy Jack the other day to see what mountain biking is like on skinny tires and with no suspension and canti brakes…. holy crap, so much fun! Definitely made my trails seem totally new, and it was a bit more challenging on the cross bike with picking lines. Even rode a few rock gardens, albeit super slow and carefully. Did just shy of 11 miles, and had a blast! I do have concerns that the 40t chainring I chose for my 1×10 set up is a bit too big, though I think it will be fine for most cross races. Might have to order a 38t depending on how the first few cross races go.
Speaking of cross… the season starts this Sunday!! Saturday will be a Cross of the North Kick Off Party in Fort Collins, so I’ll be doing a big group cross ride, and then teaching a clinic later that afternoon, and then Sunday is Kick It Cross down in Castle Rock on one of my favorite courses at Rhyolite Park. I am a bit nervous about being a Cat 3 now, but hopefully I still have a lot of fun, even if I’m bringing up the rear!
The mud, knobby tires, and stupendous fun is coming! (Photo by Heidi Gurov / hmgphotos.com)
CROSS IS COMING!!!
Yes, that required bolded caps! So excited to get the most fun you can have on two wheels under way… just a short 3 week until the first cyclocross race on the calendar and I’m antsy as all get out!
This season will see me riding a whole new set up on my 2013 Specialized S-Works Crux. Initially (last year) I had cannibilized my 2012 Specialized Crux for its group set to build the S-Works frame and that’s what I raced on last year. This year I decided to upgrade, and did SRAM Force derailleurs and cranks… and then SRAM released it’s CX1 group set literally a week later. I knew I wanted a 1×10 set up since it would mean losing one more mechanical part that could get messed up by mud, grass, ice, whatever. So I saved my pennies up and a few weeks ago finally got the S-Works frame how I want – except for wheels, which are so expensive right now the budget cannot afford upgraded wheels. Whatever, I’m not that fast.
Obviously I’ll lose the bottle cage and tools/tube for race season
To finish the build I added a SRAM Force CX1 rear derailleur. This is a 10 or 11 speed clutch derailleur, and it’s very similar to a mountain bike one. The clutch will help reduce the chain bouncing around and potentially bouncing off the front single chainring. To (hopefully) get me the right gears, I used my old SRAM 11-32 10 speed cassette from my road bike’s old group set. Up front in a now very sleek set up is a Wolf Tooth Components 40t cyclocross wide-narrow chainring paired to my SRAM Force 130bcd carbon crankset. I am still using SRAM Apex shifters, though obviously the left one doesn’t do anything. To top it off, I switched out to a DT Swiss Axis 4.0 wheel set to save a tiny bit of weight. The bike is now down to 18.8 pounds with the bottle cage, from 19.1 pounds with the original SRAM Force set up and Axis 2.0 wheels.
Freeing up all of the original Crux’s parts only meant one thing… the ’12 Crux could come back to life as a pit bike! I figure trying to change a tube in a cross race is futile, and I didn’t want to buy another cassette to have a spare wheel set, so having a whole complete bike for the pits just makes the most sense in my mind, especially since I had all the parts minus handlebars and pedals! “Hank Senior” is currently at my mechanic’s house getting built up, and I’m excited to have two bikes with obnoxious bar tape to rock at races. And hopefully it’ll mean less chances of issues in some of those races with goat head thorns.
Turns out my backyard is a really good place to practice cross skills… and it has high fences so the neighbors can’t look at me like I’m a lunatic.
I’ve gotten out to North Park a bit to practice on the bike, getting use to skinny knobbies on the dirt and maybe “chicking” a few guys on mountain bikes down the slalom drop lines. The hardest thing for me remains remounting, which hopefully I maybe get straightened out by December. You know, the end of the season! I do need to get more practice in on my skills, as the wonderful Suzie and I are hosting a Fort Follies ladies’ cyclocross skills clinic in September and I kinda need to look like I know what I’m doing, right?
And finally… the best news of all is I have a skinsuit to race in for this year! What is more pro than a skinsuit, right?! No more jersey half way up my chest for the win! Skinsuits are definitely weird and make me feel lumpy, but I have a feeling I’m going to love it, though pinning a number on will be harder if I get dressed before I go to the race… I foresee even racing mountain bikes in a skinsuit for comfort. My adult sized onesie and I will have grand adventures!
Whew, it’s over. 15 races and 4 months of racing in the books for my 2014 mountain bike season.
I couldn’t be happier.
Though I didn’t burn out as early and as bad as I did in 2013, after Nationals I had that sort of “let down” of completing my A race for the year, and I did realize I was tired. Last Tuesday’s final Laramie Mountain Bike Series race was a struggle, mentally and physically. I was just over it mentally, yearning for cyclocross and just wanting to get the race done as fast as I could. Physically, I was coming off my highest mileage week of cycling in my life, and I had little in the tank between that and not taking much recovery after Nationals. Probably 0.1 mile into the race I was cooked. I had no power in my legs and it showed as I moved back through the advanced men, intermediate men, and even some of the advanced women caught me. All I had to do was finish and I’d get 3rd overall for open women in the overall series points, so I put one pedal (or one foot) in front of the other. I didn’t even have oomph for the finish line! But the wave of relief I felt when finishing was a huge weight lifting off my shoulders. It was over.
Overall, I am super happy with how my season went. I only had one DNF, which was really no fault of my own since it was a mechanical issue (thanks Fruita mud). I’m mentally a lot more strong and pushed myself through some ridiculous situations, like the horrid hellish heat of the US Cup and the final LMBS race. I made gains with my endurance on the bike and I almost feel like my technical skills are a night and day difference from last year. And woohooo, I’m racing open and cat 1!!
Overall podium for the 2014 Laramie Mountain Bike Series in Open Women
I think I worked out a good schedule of racing for this year, picking more carefully than in 2013 when I just raced at everything I could get my hands on. 2015 will probably follow a similar pattern of both the local racing (LMBS, Gowdy Grinder) with USAC mixed in (I actually have to qualify for Nationals now, so Rumble @ 18 Road and US Cup) along with Battle the Bear if it works out. I’m also tossing around the idea of giving the Laramie Enduro another go… because I am crazy! It’s funny, because cyclocross is my favorite discipline, but mountain biking is the focus for racing.
I’ve talked about my love affair with Specialized Motodiva mountain bike shoes before so I was super happy when for this year they released a version in black and pink that had BOA dials. Pretty much I thought the world would be perfect and I’d have to buy up several pairs.
Ugh.
Specialized, you ruined my favorite shoes 😦
More on that later, first some quickie details from Specialized on the 2014 Motodiva shoes:
Combining trail durability and traction with phenomenal Body Geometry and Boa® comfort, the redesigned Motodiva is an ideal choice for a do-it-all women’s shoe.
Contoured women’s fit
Body Geometry outsole and Footbed optimize alignment, improving rider comfort and performance
Injection-molded nylon composite outsole with rubber tread for moderate pedaling stiffness and phenomenal trail traction: 6.0 Stiffness Index
Single Boa® S2-Snap dial micro adjusts on-the-fly
Dial/lace assembly is fully replaceable in seconds with Snap cartridge system
Hard molded toe kick for protection and durability
Stitched synthetic and mesh upper with asymmetric strap closure for comfortable fit
2-bolt SPD-style cleat pattern, compatible with all major MTB pedals
Approximate weight: 335g (1/2 pair #39)
Retail Price: $160
My Thoughts:
Tread Durability: I got my 2014 version in April, and by the end of May it was apparent that the tread lugs and soles were wearing away too fast, especially for shoes that aren’t really walked on like normal shoes are. The tread by the toes were almost worn flat, leaving little to grip on steep or slippery inclines. A rep from Specialized even photographed my shoes at a demo day when I brought it up. I still carried on with them, but while racing in Iowa in July where there were several very muddy and slippery hills I had to run up it became very apparent that I couldn’t make due with these shoes come ‘cross season. Very very very disappointing as my 2013 versions still show little wear aside from a broken ratchet and have way more miles and use on them.
Ease of Use: Well, you’re not going to slip into these shoes quickly… the tongue is sewn in, which usually leaves me doing a two handed dance to yank them on my feet. Definitely no slip on and go… this is barely redeemed by the ease of using BOA dials.
BOA Dials: I LOVE BOA dials on my road shoes. I won’t own road shoes without BOA dials. But my excitement faded when it came to mountain biking. I realized that with mountain biking and cyclocross I don’t want my foot tightly held down in my shoe, as it feels uncomfortable when walking, running, and also just during general movements on the bike that you don’t necessarily do when road biking. So if you need some wiggle room in my mountain biking shoes, BOA’s aren’t exactly a selling point because ratchet strap systems accomplish the same thing. I think if the shoe had BOA lacing for everything it would be better instead of just concentrated across the top. However, I will never complain about BOA technology trickling down to the more affordable options!
Fit: I ordered them in a 41, which is what my old Motodivas were, and the fit was still true. Even with Specialized BG green +++ high arch foot beds I felt like the fit was comfortable and I really didn’t have to break in the shoes.
Construction: These are some sturdy shoes, which is awesome for me because I’m always pedal striking on stuff. They are a built bulkier, and therefore heavier, than their earlier counterparts. They’re not touted as lightweight XC race shoes, though, so I wouldn’t expect anything different. I like the protection they can provide my feet. They also wash up nicely when sprayed off with a hose 🙂
Toe Spikes: Earlier Motodivas have screw covers over the holes where toe spikes (most commonly for cyclocross) can be installed. You do not find this on the new models, so I *think* you can cut out circle and the threads will still be there. *think*
Comparison to the 2008-2013 style of Motodivas
The older versions have greater recesses in the tread, which I think improves traction, especially in conditions like mud, snow, etc. Also note the differences in ease of installing toe spikes.
Final Thoughts: I just can’t bond with these shoes apparently! I ended up wearing my old 2013 versions when I raced at Nationals in July, broken ratchet strap and all and have continued wearing the old shoes for rides and my remaining races.
So on Ebay I went… and I picked up a good deal on a 2008-2012 version that had barely been used! Woohoo! I also went up a size to 42 since I plan on using these for ‘cross and want to be able to wear thick socks (my road shoes are 42 so I knew they’d work). Ahhh, it was heaven slipping my feet into these! And surprisingly, the ratchet straps tighten down wayyyyyy tighter than my 2013 versions! I quickly installed my toe spikes into their designated holes and now they eagerly await ‘cross season (which really can’t come soon enough). Now I’m kinda in a frenzy to buy up earlier Motodiva shoes before I can’t find them anymore…
Specialized had me so excited for the 2014 versions, and I’ve just been super disappointed. Of course I still wear the shoes and raced in them plenty, but I’m thinking they might fall into a more “general riding” shoe choice and I’ll just repair the ratchet on my 2013’s and continue using them for racing since they still have plenty of life in them!
The biggest flaw is the tread wear. Two months of mountain biking should not wear out the soles of shoes! And this also hampers me using them in cyclocross as well, and versatility is important to me since I do both disciplines.
Disclaimer: I purchased this product as a member of Specialized’s Brand Ambassador program at a discounted price. However, all comments and opinions are my own and I was in no way compensated for the review.
I’m a sucker for those things that go around Facebook like “30 Things that Prove You’re Getting Old” and lists telling me how far away the 1990s are (huh, that was like 5 years ago, right?!). I remember reading one listing out things that everyone should do once in their life. “Going on a vacation by yourself” was on that list, and I know it sounds crazy to a lot of people. But now after my 10 day excursion across the US for the mountain bike nationals by myself, I realize it is something everyone should do!
Roughly 1,700 miles each way from Cheyenne, WY to Allentown, PA (with pit stops along the way that I’m sure added in more miles), and then another 100 miles from PA to Lakewood, NJ, and then alllllll way back to WY made for an interesting adventure. My parents and friends and others around me did express concern over me taking this trip by myself, but I didn’t have anyone to go with me and life (aka mountain bike racing) doesn’t stop because I don’t have a travel companion! I did wonder how stir crazy I’d go in a car with myself for hours on end, and what would happen if something was to go wrong in a far-away state. Luckily, my 10 days were mostly hiccup free, and I have come to love solitary travel. Your own schedule, your own plans, your own crazy music choices!
I mostly wanted to document my trip for myself… so here it goes!
Day 1: Cheyenne, WY to Adel, IA – July 11th The day is here! Unfortunately I didn’t get the best of sleep and when my alarm went off at 6:15am I almost considered pushing snooze. Then I remembered I had a 9-odd hour drive ahead of me to get to that night’s destination, and my car wasn’t going to drive itself to nationals! I had loaded up most of my stuff in the car the night before and only had my coolers and bathroom bag to load up, along with the bikes. The bikes took longer than I though as I had never used “bike bras” before and it took me a few attempts to get them on (key thing: put them on BEFORE putting the bike on top of a Subaru Forester, unless you’re a giant). Then I had to figure out how to wrap my lock cable through the 3 bikes and still have the two ends meet so I could lock it. I skipped breakfast, and hit the road just shy of 7am.
The drive was pretty uneventful. Somewhere in the midden of forsaken Nebraska I downloaded an app that gives current elevation so I could marvel at the elevation drop that occurs once you head east from Cheyenne. Traffic wasn’t bad, but I took to pounding my head on the dashboard over the miserable fuel mileage I was getting. I found an XM station that had a top concussion expert on talking about concussion injuries, and then some other sports medicine topics that were fairly engaging. I hate Nebraska… Crossing over into Iowa was a relief, and I have always kind of liked driving through Iowa and find it pretty, though the rolling hills didn’t play nice with my already sucky gas mileage. I ended up getting a meatball sub from Subway a few miles from my campsite, and I rolled into the KOA campground in Adel, IA at 5pm on the mark (I “lost” an hour in Nebraska when I crossed into Central Time).
Here it goes… first night ever camping by myself, even if it was in a modern campground with bathrooms and showers. I picked out a nice site with a big tree, as it was cloudy and I had passed through rain in NE so I knew it was headed my way. Jim had walked me through how to set up my tent efficiently before I had left (whoa, who knew it could be so easy?!), so I was semi-confident I could get it up quickly. Which I did, and I did a little happy dance. I got my bedding situated (1000 thread count sheets while camping, don’t judge!), and set up my chair which promptly broke. I needed to use the restroom so I got the Fate off the roof and rode it around for a few miles in the horribly thick air. Then I hung out, reading stuff on my phone since I couldn’t pick up the wifi from my site. I was quite exhausted so I ended up passing out in the tent about 8:30pm
At 3:30am a pretty decent storm rolled through with wind which woke me up. It rained but the tree I was under helped shield me from most of it. I woke up by 7am or so and marveled that I survived my first night alone in a tent alive, dry, and well rested!
Mr Fozzy loaded up and ready to head on out!A car I saw in Nebraska… they had me beat on number of bikes, clearlyWindmills in IowaMy campsite at the KOA in Adel, IAHanging out and relaxing in the thick airFirst meal of the day, which was also dinnerS-Works Child of the Corn
Camp set up: REI Camp Dome 2 tent (amazinnggggg), and then two Walmart sleep pads (suckyyyyyyy), a simple sleeping bag, two fleece sleeping bag liners – one on the bottom and one as a blanket, and a 1000 thread count sheet, and a pillow from home! Nice and snuggly!
Day 2: Adel, IA to North Liberty, IA to Riverside, IA to Rock Island, IL – July 12th
I was a bit stupid in the fact I figured my Iowa mountain biking trails would be like they were last year – above water, dry, and open to ride. Eeek, I was wrong. Lots of rain leading up to my trip and also during this leg of my trip meant my Day 2 plans for Iowa mountain biking adventures were pretty much out the window. Since I was planning on racing in Davenport the next day, I had to stick around the area. So I continued onto Sugar Bottom Recreation Area outside of North Liberty, hoping maybe I could ride the fun trails there like I did last year, even if it was from a high water entrance.
Um, no. Not happening Heidi. The bike wash station was actually under a lake. Literally, Coralville Lake. The sign going in said the trails were open but when I called the ICORR hotline they said the trails were closed and you could get ticketed for riding. I looked around, the sole dummy in the parking lot with two mountain bikes on the roof of their car. It was still early in the day, and I had to do something… so I suited up, and got my road bike off the roof. Gotta make lemonade out of these lemons!
Iowa, you impress with the steep grades and elevation gain! The road in and out of Sugar Bottom is punishing, I think I saw a 35% climb on my GPS file. I rode out of the recreation area and got on the road towards Solon. I didn’t want to stray too far as I was a bit anxious about leaving the mountain bikes on the roof unattended (even though they were locked), and plus I didn’t want to get lost. I rode out 5 miles, enjoying the abundant oxygen. I unfortunately inhaled a bug into my lungs which caused a 5 minute reflex coughing fit I couldn’t control. I also saw a farm that had an enormous (aka “world’s largest” type sized) dining table and chairs on the lawn… no photo 😦 I conquered the steep climbs back to the car, impressed with Iowa road biking as much as I was impressed with the mountain biking last year.
I cleaned up in the park’s restroom and made myself presentable. Damn, still early in the day. I checked the site for the race, and the trails were closed for pre riding due to the rain so another kink was thrown into my plans. So the next logical thing to do was go visit the Future Birthplace of Captain Kirk!!!! (Yes, I’m a Trekkie). Google maps veered me to the wrong town originally, but soon I found Riverside, IA which had a small sized Enterprise parked in a parking lot. I could never find the plaque commemorating the future birthplace and for some reason I was really self conscious in the town (3 bikes and Wyoming plates does that to a vehicle). I did find a cool church which I snapped a photo of, and fueled up on Enterprise Drive. Not all was lost! Here’s to Captain Kirk’s birth in 200+ years!
Sunderbruch was still closed, so off to my night’s campground I went, which was the KOA in Rock Island, IL. This folks was the night that almost broke me. I was miserable. HUMID HUMID HUMID. My campsite had no shade. It had giant blood sucking flies that were immune to my Off Deep Woods. My camp chair continued to break in 3 other areas. I called my mom with my woes. I looked up when sunset was and started counting down the hours to cooler temperatures and no sun. I sat in my broken chair in the shade of Mr. Fozzy, refreshing Facebook to see if my race would be canceled, and ate a pizza Lunchable as my dinner (my appetite literally disappeared on this trip). I soon began to search for hotel rooms. Literally EVERYTHING in Davenport and Rock Island was booked except the crappy La Quinta Inn I stayed at last year which was $150 for a room. I knew that place wasn’t worth $150, and that I needed to pull on my big girl panties and stop being a girly wimp and make due with what was happening. I mean, it was my idea solely to camp in humid ass Illinois!
When the sun relented I set up my tent (which had no shelter) and went and showered – this KOA actually had nice private shower rooms, which was about its only redeeming quality. I once again zonked out asleep by 8:30pm.
At 9:30pm I woke up and realized my hair was soaking wet. I swore it had dried before I went to sleep, and that’s when I realized there was a big storm going on. Captain, we’re taking on water!!!! My rainfly was resting up against the tent (Lession learned: buy more tent stakes and stake out the rainfly away from the sides of the tent) and the seam of the tent was soaking in water in the big storm. I first posted my woes on Facebook like any rational person would do, and instantly people were urging me to go to a hotel, sleep in the car, or even offered up their mom’s houses as shelter. Then I took one of the fleeces I was using as a blanket and padded it along the seam to soak up water and went back to sleep among the storm. I think some people call this “character building.” LOL
Uhhhh, I don’t think I was going to be using the bike wash station or looking at the trail map at Sugar Bottle…Live long and prosper in Riverside, IA3rd state in 2 days!Campsite in Rock Island with the giant bloodsucking flies and unrelenting sun. Which is funny, because it’s not sunny in this photo. Just trust me on this one.But hey, I did have my own private dock. Great thing for a girl with a massive fear of water to have!I had to kill time so I reacquainted myself with my D300 DSLR!This lil’ guy hung out with me for awhile as wellThe doomed chair. It only stayed up because I “staked” the legs into the groundThe blue dot was me. Yay!
Day 3: Rock Island, IL to Davenport, IA to Middlebury, IN – July 13th
I awoke to a gorgeous morning that was almost “chilly.” The rain had stopped, it wasn’t humid, and I was happy. First thing I did was check my phone, and indeed my race was still happening, just with a two hour delay! Woohoo! Of course I was up too early, so I took my time eating some cereal out of my $1 “camp” bowls I bought at Walmart and putzing around my campsite. My rainfly dried super quick so I left my tent set up while I went to shower so it could dry out as well. I had survived the night, and I was happy (and $150 richer for not breaking down and getting a hotel).
I stopped for some baked potatoes at Wendy’s and then headed to Sunderbruch park for my race. My race adventure can be read here: FORC Side Thrill Ride Race Report. It was a good race with good people, and luckily the temperature was mild and the humidity wasn’t sky high. People marveled that I was from Wyoming, though sometimes in a rude-ish manner – I had two different people say “Not to sound rude, but why are you here?” I mean, I get that I do live next to the best mountain biking in the world or at least within a 7 hour radius (not to discredit Moab and Fruita), but why not explore the world?!
After the race I had a frantic 4 hour drive across all of Illinois and nearly all of Indiana to get to my campsite in Middlebury. I wanted to arrive before dark, and knew crossing into Eastern Time would cause me to lose an hour on the clock. Luckily traffic on I-80 through Chicagoland and Gary wasn’t not bad, and I learned from last year’s mistake and didn’t miss the tiny exit for I-80/90 in Indiana. EZ Pass also sped things up! I also was awesome and timed “All You Can Ever Learn You Already Know” by The Ataris to come on exactly when I got to Indiana. Don’t ask, it’s just one of my Ataris-isms that I must do! I think it has something to do with Indiana having “Crossroads of America” on their welcome signs, and that song having the line “Dashboard of America.” I also saw the final fellow Wyoming plated vehicle of my eastbound journey on this part of the drive!
I arrived in Middlebury exactly 4 hours after leaving Davenport at 9pm, woohoo! The KOA’s office was closed but they left my reservation at the after hours check in with a nice map telling me where my campsite is. And wow, I was amazed. I was happy, content! It was tucked into the trees and private, and I could hear the sound of horse hooves pulling Amish buggies on the highway next to my site! The weather was downright gorgeous, the leftovers of the Super Moon was rising, and the fireflies were coming out to play! And I could even pick up the wifi!
I think this was the point that I realized how awesome my trip was and how fortunate I am to have the ability and means to travel like I do around the country. I ate the second cold baked potato from earlier in the day under the waning sun and excitedly checked in with my parents with the news of an awesome campsite in Indiana Amish country. I made sure I had my camp set up before dark – since I was at the western edge of eastern time it was light to nearly 10pm, and then showered and headed to my tent. I was only 2 miles away from Michigan, which was a state I had not visited (I’m a bit of a “state-bagger” and MI was one of the few I’m missing) so I stayed up late planning out about an hour long road ride for the morning to visit Michigan. Only hiccup was a little rainstorm that came through at midnight so I had to scramble to put my biking clothes and towels back in the car that I had hung out to dry. I took that chance to snap a photo of the moon before it was covered by clouds.
Life is good.
I saw these flowers in the drive thru at Wendy’s in Davenport… I think they’re so pretty!The campsite that saved me!Not too shabby for hand held and being out of practice with photography!
Day 4: Middlebury, IN to Bellefonte, PA – July 14th
I woke up at about 7:30am and set to planning out my road ride in Indiana/Michigan. I created a course on Strava, and wrote out a cue sheet to tape to my top tube, and ate some cereal and set out. Road riding at nearly sea level is so strange. I breath a lot easier and it’s almost like my body doesn’t know what to do. There was also a distinct lack of wind to either aid or hinder the pace. I had to remind myself to occasionally slow down and just enjoy the scenery (though I must brag that I took two QOMs on Strava!).
And gorgeous it was. I rode through the corn fields and farms of southern Michigan, and among Amish farms in Indiana. I laughed at the amount of horse poop I rode through – people always think Wyoming has nothing but horses everywhere, but I never ride through horse poop on my Wyoming road rides! Drivers of cars were extraordinarily polite when passing, and I could only guess that this was due to having to pass the Amish buggies frequently. People waved and called out good morning as I rode along the quiet county roads. I was at such a personal peace I could not even begin to describe it. It was almost overwhelming, and I remembered thinking that for all the crap I’ve gone through in various dramatic episodes of my life, here I was riding through gorgeous farmland in the midwest and it was all worth it. It was seriously one of the best, if not best, road rides I have ever done. If I didn’t have a nearly 6 hour drive ahead of me, I probably could’ve stayed out riding all day, or least until the humidity got to me! But I called 18 miles and an hour good enough and rode back to my campsite to pack up and prepare for another day of driving.
I left Middlebury about 11am and continued the drive east. I stopped at a Red Burrito at a service plaza for what would be my first real “meal” in days – two tacos, chips and salsa, and for the first time in my life, refried beans! I was soon in Ohio, which I made good time across, and then into Pennsylvania – woohoo, the final state in my trip (not counting New Jersey)!! Pennsylvania is another state I find very pretty, though all the trees get to me in a claustrophobic kind of way. I’m use to seeing stuff miles away and having mountains as a reference. In PA you have trees and hills all over the place. It’s very discerning and disorienting to me. We (aka Mr. Fozzy, Ruby the road bike, Fa-tay the Fate, Georgia the Epic, and I) climbed and descended the mountains, and even crossed the highest point on I-80 east of the Mississippi River! I grew up 10 miles away from the highest point on I-80 in general, so I had to chuckle at the 2200 feet in elevation.
The trip into Bellefonte was pretty uneventful and I think got to the KOA about 6pm or so. I once again had a nice secluded campsite, though a bit muddy from all the rain that PA had been receiving. I once again had fireflies, so I was a happy girl!! I set up my tent for the final time for a few days, and one handed to boot since I was talking to my mom on the phone. That’s how I knew I was becoming a pro at this tent thing! I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and sat down to enjoy it on my pathetic chair… then I felt something crawling on my chest… I looked down my shirt and I kid you not there was a tiny worm on me! I screamed, tossed my phone into my sandwich (yay for Life Proof cases that are jelly proof) and did that whole frantic jump up and down and brush yourself off dance. SCREW THAT. I quickly dived into my tent for the night to keep myself safe from the scary nature outside. Oh man…
Selfie in Michigan!!Michigan farmlandBob Evans is the best stuff ever!! And this truck is filled with it!
Heavenly at that point in time!Can’t see the forest through the trees in PennsylvaniaAlways weird to see the first sign with New York City on itNext million miles!!!Awww, still sea level to me!Final eastbound campsite!!!
Day 5: Bellefonte, PA to Macungie, PA to Allentown, PA – July 15th
The final day of driving! The fun is over, time to get down to business! I had about 3 hours to go to get to Bear Creek Resort in Macungie for a few hours of practice. It was raining the whole drive, so I detoured to Wawa for lunch before heading to the resort. I haven’t had a Wawa hoagie since August 2011 which is FAR TOO LONG!!! I just might’ve been more excited to put Wawa in my belly than to practice on the nationals course!
Practice went well, though it was raining the whole time. All the rocks were deadly slippery, and I did have a minor wreck where I was coming down an off camber rock face and my tires slid out and when I went to put my foot down it slid so I belly flopped down the rock. Didn’t think much of it until I was showering and discovered my “minor” wound could “talk” and I could almost see bone. Yuck. Nothing some ointment and a bandaid couldn’t fix, haha! I don’t want to write too much about the Nationals stuff, as I don’t think it pertains to the overall trip adventure. But it was good practice in the rain, and I got in two laps and even got to talk about how marvelous Curt Gowdy State Park is to a guy from Missouri who seemed annoyed that his friends keep saying to ride there!
I got to the Red Roof Inn in Allentown in late afternoon, which is where I stayed last year. Cheap rates but pretty nice rooms! I unloaded the car and after cleaning myself up hung my tent up to dry in the bathroom. It started raining again so I drove to the Red Robin that is next door to the hotel. It’s next door, but requires like 2 miles of driving to get into the parking lot… ridiculous! Oh east coast… how funny you are! I have a huge dislike of eating alone in public, and this is the first time I’ve actually eaten at a sit down restaurant alone. Got some stares, but I enjoyed my big chicken salad and spinach artichoke dip! I then went to Target for supplies for my shin. Tucked myself into the king size bed with a real mattress with no fears of worms (hopefully…) or rain ruining my sleep!
3 long years in the making!I did clean up before going to the hotel, I swear!Civilized living quarters!
Day 6: Nationals Practice – July 16th
This was the day of packet pick up and official practice at Bear Creek Resort. Full details involving that here. There was also the much anticipated pasta dinner! Funny enough, I didn’t get full enough from this pasta so I ended up going to Panera Bread back in Allentown for a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup and a big salad. At the pasta dinner I chatted with a pro from Vermont that surprised me with “Wyoming… the Equality State!” when I said where I was from, and then 81 year old national champion Fred Schmid and his wife joined us at the table which was great! My friend that I met last year at nationals, Kim (not to be confused with BFF Kim) found me so I spent the rest of my time with her and her husband talking shop and talking shit. 😀 It was a good evening to end the day with, and I was back to the hotel to collect myself for the big day coming up in the morning.
Free pasta! Well, I paid $65 to race so I’m sure this pasta wasn’t free. Whatever!
Day 7: Nationals!!! And then onward to Jerseyyyy- July 17th
Everything related to my race at Nationals is here!
After awards I said my goodbyes and hightailed it back to my hotel in Allentown to pack up and head out to New Jersey to spend the night with my best friend! Unfortunately I came about the brilliant idea to stay with her after I made nonrefundable hotel reservations so I just had to eat the bullet and check out at 6:30pm on my final night at the hotel, but it was oh so worth it for a quick trip back to my old Jersey stomping grounds and to see Kim!
Traffic on the Garden State Parkway aside, I made it to Lakewood, NJ in about two hours, and was able to unpack and throw some clothes into wash (thank goodness for Kim offering up her washer and dryer! My bike clothes were growing stuff I swear) before my old favorite, Chinese food from Sultan Wok, arrived. We chatted and I was able to submit my cat 1 upgrade request and get caught up on the internet world. Then we decided to cruise up to Sonic in Howell to get drinks and then just drive around. We enjoyed singing along to Garth Brooks at Sonic, and decided to go drive to the Point Pleasant Beach Boardwalk. Yes, I would make it all the way to the edge of the country on this trip! Kim and I walked along the boardwalk in the moonlight, how romantic 😛 It was great to hear the ocean and see the cutesy beach houses again! I really don’t know when I’ll be back near NJ again, so I always kinda treasure the time I get to spend there, no matter how much the other drivers drive me nuts and how much I find jug handles to be impractical, along with the whole “you can’t pump your own gas” nonsense. Whew. We topped off our late night by serenading some young guys at a stoplight with Garth Brooks’ “Shameless.” I’m sure that was quite the sight, if not pretty scary… two girls in a yellow Beetle screaming along to Garth Brooks at 2am…
Atlantic Ocean! No idea why there’s two moon like objects in this photo!!
Day 8: Lakewood, NJ to Macedonia, OH – July 18th
Long ass day. I headed out from Kim’s around 11:30am, detouring in Howell to get my final Wawa for the road (and for breakfast). I’ll miss you sooooo much Wawa! Realized that even though it’s been 8 years, the Wawa in Howell still makes my hoagies weird and soaks the bread in vinegar and oil instead of putting in on the toppings. Some things never change… unfortunately I didn’t have my handy bottle of red wine vinegar with me to remedy the situation like I had all those years of living in NJ. Shucks. Whatever, the Wawa filled my belly! I also loved the bottle of Mango Green Tea I got. Damn, should’ve loaded up since I can’t get that in Wyoming!
I turned Mr. Fozzy west and away we went! Traffic wasn’t too bad, but it was one long trip to my stopping point in Macedonia, OH. Pennsylvania is a long, and expensive state (toll wise and gas wise), to drive through. Even the 3 tunnels couldn’t make me smile. The “I wanna get home, and I wanna get there now” mood had set in. I was originally planning on staying in Willow Springs, IL on Saturday night and racing there on Sunday, but I had no desire to race anymore. I was sore in places that hadn’t been sore all season and the mental fatigue had set in from my race season. Though I was better off mentally than where I was last year, I had the waves of burnout start coming over me. I just wanted my couch and my kitty and to be back among my dry rocks and thin air.
I also pretty much stopped taking photos. It was just go go go. Luckily I got to La Quinta Inn in Macedonia about 7 or 8pm, and quickly got the bikes tucked into the room so I could head over to Bob Evans! Woohooo! I had a cool waitress, she saw my RoadID and asked if I was a cyclist because she was a cyclist! I had a big bowl of vegetable beef soup and a massive salad. Felt good to fill my belly (my appetite that was lacking on the eastbound leg had returned with force for the westbound leg). I spent the rest of the night uploading photos and planning what to do the next day. I wanted to check out the trails at Royalview in Strongsville, OH so I planned to do that in the morning before trying to get as far west as I could push.
Day 9: Macedonia, OH to Adel, IA – July 19th
Damn you rain! Oh so rainy when I woke up… it was actually pouring buckets. No mountain biking, and no road riding either. Sad… I think that rain zapped any remaining motivation to try and ride anymore on my trip from me. So I grabbed breakfast at the hotel, packed up in the rain (people had a really weird tendency to tell me it wasn’t biking weather every time I rolled each of the 3 bikes individually out to the car… no, really? Doesn’t mean I just leave my bikes at the hotel! Hahaha… I was bitter. I wanted to ride!), and headed out for what would be my longest day driving of the whole trip.
I had a disgusting service plaza experience in Howe, IN, shoved McDonald’s in my face somewhere else in Indiana, flew across Illinois, and got lost along the Mississippi trying to find a rest area that I swore was there back in 2001. I almost considered stopping at Illiniwek Forest Preserve for some mountain biking, but I just wanted to keep pushing west AND I didn’t want anything to do with the Rock Island area again and their big bloodsucking flies. So I pushed on past Des Moines and decided to stop to stay again at the KOA in Adel, Iowa since I had a good experience there on my way east.
I found a different tree for my tent and found myself to be a curiosity in the campground. My neighbors came over and asked if I was in Iowa for RAGBRAI. They weren’t the first to ask that (which means I should really do RAGBRAI sometime!). They kept talking to me like there were more than just me in my party, which I realized was caused by 3 bikes. No single girl has 3 bikes with her on a trip, haha! They were nice and went on their way, and then another lady from across the tent sites came over and asked if I just drove from Laramie. She said she was just coming back from camping at Vedauwoo for a week! She asked what I was doing since I was holding my Epic in my hands with my number plate still on and I explained I was at MTB Nationals and she asked if I was a competitive mountain biker and how I did, and was super excited about my bronze medal. Yay for single serving friends! Kinda crazy all the experiences you can have with people, even if it’s just for minutes or days at a time! Wyoming license plates are always a curiosity, which I don’t quite know why. People on this trip always liked to tell me I was far from home. it’s weird, because growing up in a college town, and now living in a military town I don’t think twice about license plates I see. But go somewhere with WY plates, and you’re the hot topic! Apparently we’re a rarity, us Wyoming folk 🙂
All the junk I ate made me feel like a bloated pig so I had a bottle of chocolate milk for dinner. Seriously.
Back among the corn in Iowa! I grew to like my tent so much I wanted to set it up in my backyard and sleep out there once I was home…
Day 10: Adel, IA to Cheyenne, WY – July 20th
There’s no place like home!
Probably worse part of this trip is knowing that to get home I had to endure 7 hours of Nebraska. Nebraska sucks. I’m not going to sugar coat it. It’s hot, humid, and boring. Combine that with construction and busy traffic, and it was just a headache. My music choice reflected this as I listened to solely Nine Inch Nails the entire state. Mr. Fozzy was NOT happy in Nebraska, either. It was 100-105 degrees for the entire state with a bad headwind. Outside of Sydney my temperature warning light started flashing and I panicked. No trees for shade, 105 degrees, and a very grouchy hot turbo’d vehicle that was getting 10 miles per gallon (there went staying on the gas budget). I slowed to 65mph, took it off cruise control, and just hoped for the best. I was 100 miles from Cheyenne and it figures the trip would all start to go wrong. Luckily Mr. Fozzy pulled through and got happier the closer we got to the Wyoming border and the higher we went in elevation. We hit that Wyoming state line, saw the 80mph speed limit signs, and made a run for it! So close, time to fly!
3:30pm I pulled up to a welcomed sight for travel fatigued eyes. The only thing missing was Sammie, who was away on her cat-cation with my parents. It just felt so good to go inside my house and sit on my couch. Surprisingly enough I unpacked my entire car – yes, even the bike stuff that always seems to stay in my car! Jim arrived in time to help with the bug and spider web covered bikes. I showered, placed my new medals on my medal hanger and my FORC oak chunk on the trophy shelf, scrounged up food in my kitchen, and planted my butt on the couch. HOME SWEET HOME!
Well…
This girl who likes fancy sheets and pillow top mattresses and who absolutely hates bugs survived 5 nights of camping throughout the US. I survived nearly 4000 miles of adventures, just me, 3 bikes, and one gas-hungry Subaru Forester. Just about the worse thing to happen to me was a tiny worm in my shirt in Pennsylvania! And now I’m firm believer that everyone should take an adventure by themselves. I don’t think it has to be a massive cross-country road trip like I did, but even just a small weekend. There’s a lot of world to see, and really it’s not as scary as the 6 o’clock news makes it out to be. I’m happy I made the trip, despite peoples’ concerns and worries, and even my own worries about safety, cost, and if it would be worth it. YOLO. Haha.
When I initially started riding and racing in the summer of 2012 and finally figured out the foreign language of USAC’s categories and what they meant, I remember making the comment “Wow, that’d be so cool to be a Cat 1 mountain biker some day! Maybe I’ll aim for that by age 35!” I was 28 at the time, placing mid pack in the local mountain biking series in the beginner level, and really had no idea about racing, training, and really riding in general.
I took 2013 seriously, traveling all over to race, placing 2nd at US Nationals in cat 3 in PA, having some wins, and burning myself out before cyclocross saved the day. Hell, I even threw a triathlon in there for grins. I didn’t really train, but I still started stepping up to intermediate/advanced races and went to cat 2 immediately after nationals. I was pretty lost, but the ideas started to creep into my head that cat 1 could happen a lot sooner than 35! In the fall I hooked up CritFit and my coach Tony Diede, and aside for some set backs due to changing jobs/buying a house/life, got into the training groove.
2014 became about racing smart, choosing races wisely, and getting that damn cat 1 upgrade! And piece by piece the plan fell into place, with solid winter and spring training leading into a planned mountain bike season built upon some fun times road racing. The mental game began to change for me, which helped the physical aspect. Unfortunately riding faster means wrecking harder, and it seems like I was walking a fine line all summer between injury and wellness. Luckily nationals came and went without a hitch, and I had a solid performance that exceeded my expectations, and had a dominating race in Iowa to seal the deal. I hesitantly sent off the request while sitting on my best friend’s couch in New Jersey.
And waited… and waited. Then the email came. First for mountain bike. Approved! Oh sh!t, I’m cat 1! What the hell did I get myself into?! Within a half hour later, the cyclocross cat 3 upgrade came in – approved! Woohoo, but what the hell did I get myself into?! I’m not even 31, I have 4 more years, dammit! EEEKKK! Then excitement and elation at knowing I achieved something I kinda really wanted. Sure, I’ll be working my way up from the bottom, and it means more training, more time on a bike, and more conquering my hang ups. But it’s nice to be at the bottom of the top!
Some people ask if the new goal is a pro upgrade, and I think I can give a big solid NO to that one. Right now I just want to focus on moving up through cat 1 and eventually find a comfortable place at the top of that category. Pro is a lot of time and money and talent that I am not sure is worth pursuing. However, I would like to move up through cyclocross and become a cat 2 sooner vs later!
Here’s to the kicking of my ass known as cat 1 racing! Cheers!
I kind of wanted to race on the way to and from Nationals just to race in different areas and keep the legs going, so I found the FORC Side Thrill Ride happening at Sunderbruch Park in Davenport, IA on July 13th. The weather was touch and go, with the area receiving a lot of rain, but luckily the race happened with a 2 hour delay. After a miserable night with bugs and tons of rain at my campsite, I was more than ready to get up and get the race going and get on my way across the country.
Due the the weather I didn’t get any sort of pre-riding in, so I decided to just race blind and see what happens. Sometimes I think this is an advantage as I don’t have time to create hang ups in certain parts (like that damn rock at nationals…) and I can’t stress about something on course. It’s also a disadvantage because I don’t know what’s coming up. I had already decided that I wouldn’t ride at full race pace, as I needed to keep my body and “back up” bike in one piece for the big show in Pennsylvania. So I showed up, ate a baked potato from Wendy’s – my appetite had been crap so far on the trip and I pretty much had to force myself to eat. I drank a TON of water beforehand, trying to hydrate for the humidity. It was a decent day, not too hot, and not too sweltering, but course it still affects me. I noticed in warm up I had a hard time elevating my heart rate even during sprint efforts. Definitely weird racing at almost seal level, and I’m not sure my body knew what to do.
There were 4 ladies in the cat 2 race. I didn’t know anything about them and they didn’t know anything about me. Kinda nice, as I had no pre-expectations built in. I told them all I was aiming for 4th place. Hell, I didn’t know how it would go! The start was on some grass that reminded me a lot of cyclocross. I hung on the wheel of Marta and let her take the lead. It was an ok pace, through the curves in the grass but once we hit the pavement climb to Kickapoo Up, I was struggling to remain patient. She went into granny gear for Kickapoo Up and I was still in my big ring and in a way harder gear rearing to go. So when Kickapoo Up kicked us out to cross the path and disappear into the single track I took the passing opportunity and never looked back!
The course was mostly tight and curvy single track through the trees, with occasional log ramps and a few drops. There was a tricky stepped switchback that was still greasy from the rain that I handled ‘cross style, and the course marshall told me I was the fastest through that all day! Woohoo, go me! There were a lot of steep, punchy climbs and some were still very slippery so it became a scramble up them, sometimes sliding down (I needed my toe spikes in my shoes apparently). I was going fast, but felt comfortable and at just a casually fast pace. I noticed my heart rate was in the 180s, but I didn’t feel out of breath at all! That’s when I realized this is what doping must feel like… I mean, that sounds terrible. But I was just GO GO GO and my body was happy. I knew I still very much had my high altitude blood cell levels going on, and I was just in total beast mode. Apparently I need to train/live at 7000 feet, and only race at sea level. Haha.
Nope, skipped riding the wall! (Photo by Hanson Photography)
About half way through where the course doubles back on itself a course marshall let me know I had well over a minute. So I settled in and just enjoyed the course. I loved how many course marshals and spectators there were in the trees, playing music, cheering, etc! I’m not use to that at races so it made it a lot of fun! I’m glad I chose to ride my Specialized Fate, as the course wasn’t too bumpy (just rooty), and the punchy climbs called for a hard tail.
I used only a bottle, and had good success with hydrating while racing with my Osmo. I came through for my second lap, and finally could play in the grass corners and also take long drinks. I still felt amazing, though I did allow myself to slow considerably since I knew I had a very large cushion. The rear derailleur on the Fate was clicking and misbehaving so I wanted to keep the bike in one piece as well. I rode more of the log ramps and drops since I knew how slippery they would be. Towards the end I nailed a group of punchy climbs into a rock drop that I ran the first lap. I hauled butt down Kickapoo Down, going off the small drop (there’s a flat go around for it, but what fun is that!), and had to gather myself and remain upright when I came into a corner a little too hot. Crossed the finish line with a big smile!
1:38:15 was my official time. I had a 6.5 minute cushion over 2nd place… whoa! It felt amazing to have a dominating performance for once in cat 2!
My unique awards!
I won both Cat 2 Women Overall and my 30-39 age group! What was even better is the awards were super unique and handmade out of chunks of wood! Always better than a generic medal in my opinion! I had to take off early before awards so I could make it to my campsite in Indiana before dark unfortunately 😦
Fun race, very fun course, great spectators! It was all well run! I’d definitely attend another FORC race if I was in the area! I ended up skipping racing in Chicago on the way home from Nationals (just tired and eager to get home), so I’m glad I got at least one midwest race in during my trip.
Heidi Rides Bikes 
