The Cannondale Kid

Another duathlon

2011-11-25T20:59:00.000-08:00

As noted in the previous post, I completed another duathlon, The Desert Grande. Located in Coolidge, Arizona at the Central Arizona College campus, this was a really fun course.

This duathlon had a 1.5 mile run for the first leg, unlike a 5k on the previous one I did.

Also, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. The night before it was windy and raining. When I left Tucson at 4 am it was 40 degrees and raining. Yuck. I don’t perform well in cold, so this was going to be a tough event.

One thing that was going to be different, and hopefully better, was a change of shoes. I used the Vibram Five Fingers in the previous duathlon and that ate up a ton of time in the transition. With that in mind, I bought a pair of New Balance MT 101 minimalist shoes that have a rock plate under the ball of the foot. After stepping on a few thorns this last summer, I knew that trail running would not be possible in the VFF’s. I’ve run off road with them but not on a trail yet. They let me wear socks, and make transition easier in a duathlon.

Although it had stopped raining, it was stil cold and wet that morning, so I never did feel like I had it together. The first short run felt like random body parts flopping all over. The bike section was better, but then I had to run again, and it still felt awkward and clumsy. The New Balance shoes were great, though, and my transitions were much faster.

Even with the cold weather I had a great event, finishing first in age division again. I hope that I can improve as I get more experience running. I still hold back on the bike since I don’t know how I will feel. I need to ride a hard time trial then run on tired legs, a workout known as “bricks.” No matter how it goes, though, I’m having fun with duathlons.

Tour of Safford

2011-11-25T20:55:00.000-08:00

Working for a bicycling event production company, I don’t get many opportunities to ride events. At least not ours. So when an event is on an open weekend, I jump on the chance. Tour of Safford is a fund raiser for the Gila Valley medical center. It was October 29 which was Halloween weekend. I wanted to do the metric century, but didn’t have time to go down for the early morning start. So, I switched my distance to the 35 mile ride and planned to race it.

In Safford I met up with my friend Debbie. She followed me around with a camera all morning. I felt like a pro with the media guys shooting my every move.

I didn’t train going into this event, so my desire to be first woman was definitely a misguided dream. With the wind and hills of this ride, it would be tough on the course.

The rides all started at the Safford airport. We went out of town at 30 mph so I knew we had a tail wind. By the half way point I was getting tired and when we turned around, that headwind was asking for full payment on the easy ride we’d had on the way out. I got spit out of the group I was with and could never catch back up. By the time it was all over, I finished third female and 13th overall. I was happy with that, especially since I didn’t train. I used it as a serious training ride for the event the following weekend, the Desert Grande Triathlon and Duathlon.

My truck is on the disabled list

2011-11-25T20:52:00.000-08:00

The end of August signals two things: the end of summer and time to renew my truck’s registration. The end of summer doesn’t really show much until end of October here in southern Arizona, but expired plates will show on the end of my truck, so off to emissions for the annual exhaust sniff test.

I was confident that it would pass, since I had spent the previous Saturday doing a complete tune up. So, I was surprised and disheartened when the “check engine” light came on while I was sitting in the queue at the emissions test location. I knew it wouldn’t pass with the light on, but I was stuck in line.

Soon it was my turn and to my chagrin, although expected, it failed the test.

OK. I have 60 days to get it repaired without needing to pay for the second emission test. Well, that didn’t happen. Life got in the way. Next thing I knew, it was the end of October. And, to add to the emission problem, Big Red had started making a new noise. Could be water pump, alternator, AC compressor, power steering pump-anything. Honestly, all of those need to be replaced.

Anyhow, the clock ran out on Big Red. I need to have it towed to a repair shop, but I haven’t had time. Part of me thinks it might be time to trade it in, but another part of me really loves that truck. I see trucks older than mine on the road. No, I can’t part with Big Red. Not yet. He’s got a lot of good miles left and I want to be the one to enjoy them.

Intro to multi-sport: Welcome to Duathlon

2011-11-25T20:46:00.000-08:00

One day last spring I did a helmet fitting for a The Shyanne Kindness Project, a non-profit that goes into schools to teach inner city kids about being kind. Crazy that people would have to be taught about being kind. That should be innate and it should be reinforced at home. But, that is the problem; many of these kids don’t have solid family life and their role models are fighters in video games and movies. The presenters in this charity do a great job of teaching kids and help them see a different way of interacting with others.

The Shyanne Kindness Project puts on a triathlon/duathlon as a fund raiser, so I decided to participate.

The triathlon/duathlon was in September so it wasn’t too hot. I was actually a bit chilly in the pre-dawn, standing around waiting for the run to start. This was my first multi-sport event, so I attended a first timer class at TriSports. I’m glad I went because it showed me how to set up the transition area where you switch from run to bike to run.

This duathlon was a 5k run, 20k bike and 5k run. Those who did the triathlon had to swim 300 yards instead of the first 5k run. I was really excited for my first duathlon. It’s funny how I didn’t feel any pressure to win or even place. My goal was to finish, and anything else would be gravy. Since I’m really new to running, and I had to sandwich a time trial in between two 5 k runs, I had no idea what to expect of myself. I had run the 5k distance a time or two before the duathlon, but hadn’t practiced running after riding. So, I was out to have fun. Of course I wanted to do the best I could.

So I stood there shivering in the pre-dawn light. Shivering with excitement, nerves and a little bit chilly. Countdown to start and the gun went off. Twenty runners set out on the first leg of the event. I had to really concentrate and not let myself get sucked into running faster than I wanted to. Let the others pass me – all I have to do is finish.

In the transition area I was disorganize. Even with the first- timer class, I still had no idea what I was doing and messed around getting my shoes changed, helmet on, and bike off the rack. Note to self: Vibram Five Finger shoes are not conducive to fast transitions.

The time trial went well, but I held back since I still had to run 5k again. I was hoping to finish in about 2 hours.

During the final run my knees were starting to hurt a bit, so I slowed to a walk a few times. I kept reminding myself that this event was a stepping stone toward the half marathon in January. No time to get injured.

As I approached the finish I started to get excited. A quick glance at my watch confirmed that I was going to finish right at 2 hours, so that was good. People were cheering and ringing cowbells. What a rush! I gave it the best I had for a sprint across the line. Wait!-did I hear the announcer say my name? A volunteer handed me a bottle of water which I gratefully began to drink. The announcer did call out my name. Amazingly, I came in first in age division, 55 – 59. Wow! How cool is that?

Even if I hadn’t placed, I still would have been totally hooked on multi-sport events. When is my next duathlon?

Vibram Five Fingers- Running without injury

2011-11-25T20:38:00.000-08:00

Several months ago I posted about running in Vibram Five Finger shoes. When I brought them home my room mate thought I was nuts with no style sense. I won’t argue with her on either one of those charges, but after a few months of running in “froggy feet,” I am completely convinced that minimalist or barefoot running is the answer to my running woes.

Minimalist or barefoot running requires developing a new technique with attention to form. Most runners use a heel strike which is encouraged by heavily padded running shoes. Heel strike does not work with minimalist shoes. Forefoot or mid – foot landing is required, much like running barefoot. Patience. Concentrate on form. Reduce running distance. Start out slowly. Those are the keys to success. Ignore those keys and injury will follow.

I followed that plan and have increased my distance to where I can run 4 miles with no pain. I’m not fast; I run a 10 – minute mile. But, I am injury free. If I feel pain in either knee I immediately stop and walk. My goal is a half marathon in January, so I have no time for recovery.

When I start getting impatient with myself not running faster, I have to remember that I have only been running since May. Then I took June off for RAAM, so I sort of started over in July. And, I run 3 days a week, sometimes 4. So, with that in mind, I have been running less than 6 months. I don’t have years of miles in my legs like I do on the bike. Patience. Yeah, that’s the key. So far, so good.

To be continued….

Haunted Car???

2011-07-11T21:37:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying that I'm OK with being alone on the road, living in a car for three weeks as a solo official for the Race Across America. I'm an independent woman and can handle just about anything. But, I should have suspected trouble when I picked up my rental car for this year's RAAM.

As you can see from the photo above, my car was a white Dodge Caliber. First problem right out of the box when I went to the rental agency was that they didn't have a hatchback. A hatchback is essential since I need to be able to lay the seats down flat, put my icechest, food box and duffel bag on the passenger side and my sleeping bag on the driver side with enough room for me to stretch out and sleep. A sedan will not do. The rental agency had some small, lame Chevy Aveo and that will not work. I insisted on either a Dodge Caliber or KIA Soul (since I know that they have both in their fleet), and said that I would sit in their lobby and wait for one to return. The clerk called the other lot and brought a Dodge Caliber. An orange Dodge Caliber. I took it and was driving home when I realized that the left turn signal was out. I thought about changing the bulb myself, but considering what I had just paid to rent this car, I figured that they could change their own bulb. So, I turned around and went back.

Now, I know that I'm not an expert, but this next item is amazing. Not one person at the rental agency could change the bulb since that was the mechanic's job and all of them were gone for the day. It requires a mechanic to change a light bulb? Whatever. So, now I'm back where I started and still need a hatchback. The clerk called the lot and soon the white Dodge you see above arrived.

After checking to confirm that all of the lights worked I set off for home about 2 hours later.

As soon as I was driving down the road I could tell that this car didn't like me. At first I thought it was merely a matter of getting used to a different car. As time would go on, I would suspect that this car was haunted!

By the time I got back home I was too tired to hook up the orange roof light and inverter. I have to remove the cover from the battery to hook up the leads, then tape the cables down. If you look closely at the photo you will see white duct tape on the roof support and near the hood. This year I also hooked up a ham radio antenna to the roof so that I could have better reception for storm warnings. So that meant lots of tape to control cables. And I needed to finish packing and load the car. So, I decided to get a good night's sleep and pack and load in the morning.

Next morning I whacked my head at least four times setting up my sleeping bag and organizing the cables. This car does not like me! With all of my stuff packed all that was left to do was stop and get ice. Once again I whacked my head getting in the car. Doh! This is going to be a long trip.

On the way to Oceanside the first of the ghosts began to play pranks. This one liked to play with the shifting. The car shifted gears inconsistently and often quite roughly. This was a constant and annoying issue the whole trip.

But the best pranks were saved until my first night out on the road when I had to sleep in the car. I was just about asleep when strange clicking and whirring noises came from the dashboard. Weird. The muffler or catalytic converter popped and snapped as it cooled, but it would wait for me to be almost asleep before it did it. I never did figure out what was going on in the dashboard. Nothing is more annoying than prankster ghosts.

While driving, the car liked to wander off on its own adventure. If I didn't pay attention, the ghosts would try to hijack the car for their own road trip. That made them angry, I think, because they took it out on my lower back by making it impossible to adjust the driver seat to a comfortable position. I got even to some extent by playing Afterglow and Barry Manilow on my iPod, and placing a notebook behind my lower back for support.

This was one rental car I couldn't wait to return. I had a Dodge Caliber two years ago and it had some of the same ghosts as this one: wandered all over the road, poor visibility with lots of blind spots, no power, shifting set at strange RPM, roof low, seat uncomfortable. I can't explain the weird noises, though. That was unique to this car.

Yeah, this one was haunted. Full of ghosts. Maybe that is why it was white?

RAAM 2011

2011-07-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

Another Race Across America is in the record books and what a great race it was. With this being the 30th anniversary, some big names were on hand including Lon Haldeman, Seana Hogan and Danny Chew (his nephew was riding solo this year. One big name was notably absent as we all remembered, with sadness, Jure Robic who was killed in a traffic accident last September. His best friend and long time crew chief, Matjaz Planinsek, accepted the plaque honoring Jure and marking his induction into the Ultra Cycling Hall of Fame, which was marked by a standing ovation. Quite fitting for a racing legend.

Before a race team was even inspected my RAAM was off to a truly stellar beginning when I had the opportunity to share a hotel room with the great Seana Hogan, who not only dominated the RAAM women's solo division in the 1990's, but handily beat some of the men as well. How cool is that! Here I am, a nobody, sitting up half the night talking with Seana about bikes, pets, computers and all sorts of stuff and especially, enjoying her stories about Furnace Creek 508 and Race Across America. Seana is a genuine person and even though we only shared a hotel room for one night, I feel as though she is a friend. Good luck in the Race Across Oregon, Seana, if you are reading this!

I went out with the solo women and men 60+ as I have done now for the past 4 years. I really like that assignment. I feel like I have my little herd of riders that I worry about and watch over the entire race, then its a special feeling when I get to escort some of them in from the Shell station in Annapolis.

My herd this year included favorites Janet Christianson,"the osprey", Caroline Van Den Bulk, David Jones, and Dex Tooke. New comers were Dave Elsberry, Kathy Roche-Wallace, Debbie Tirrito, and Leah Goldstein.

The first couple of days through the low desert of California and Arizona were brutal. Temperatures soared to 112 degrees F with a dry, hot wind to further suck the moisture from any living thing. Janet and Caroline looked good as they passed me in Salome, AZ. Sadly, the next day I received word that they had abandoned the race due to heat related issues. That was the lowest point for me this year. From that day until I arrived in Annapolis I felt sad and lonely. Janet called me a couple of times and we had some great conversations. She is a true champion. I wish the very best for Caroline, as well. I hope to see them both again at the start of another RAAM.

Leah Goldstein wasn't waiting for anyone so I was soon sent up the road to watch over her. That meant I left "my boys" behind. I kept tabs on Dex, Dave and David and even though I wasn't there to ring my cowbell, they were in my thoughts. As I watched Leah climb the imposing Wolf Creek Pass summit, endure the featureless plains of Kansas and the stifling humidity of the midwest, I watched a champion emerge. She had her struggles with Shermer's neck, digestive issues, dehydration and fatigue, but through it all she prevailed. It was my pleasure to escort her in to the finish in Annapolis.

David Jones made it, and I had the privilege of bringing him in too. Dex, Kathy and Dave finished. My herd was safely home. I felt sad again that Janet and Caroline had to withdraw.

I don't know why I was so emotional about this. I guess I really do care about the riders. I love this race and want all who enter to be successful, but RAAM is tough, no doubt about that. I have the deepest of respect for anyone who makes it to the start line.

Decision made - money paid

2011-05-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

I came to a conclusion Friday evening about the barefoot running shoe question. The Vibram Five Fingers won out over the Merrill Pace Glove. I was in REI for over an hour trying on different models of VFF's and the Merrill's. One of the sales reps is very knowledgeable about the VFF's and barefoot running. After much consideration and trying on 5 different models, I decided on the Bikila you see pictured above. I've had them on just about the house and in the yard and they are so comfortable. After a few minutes they disappear. I can't wait to try them on a short run tomorrow morning. I'll be reducing my distance for a few days until I get used to them.

Stay tuned for updates.

And another thing....

2011-05-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

So, I'm sitting in a meeting Tuesday night and my phone buzzes indicating I have a text message. I discretely check and the text reads "911". It's from my room mate so I quickly and quietly slipped out of the meeting to call back. Donna was out running errands that evening using our only vehicle, my 1991 Ford truck, Big Red. He's got 295,000 miles on him so a 911 call is disquieting.

Turns out a tire blew. I knew the tires were wearing, but there was no visible sign of imminent disaster. Donna called AAA and the tow truck came. The spare was flat and looked bad, so Big Red was loaded onto the tow truck for a ride to our house.

I got home (riding my bike) from my meeting just as the tow truck was leaving. There sat Big Red in the driveway, right front tire flat as a pancake. I looked at it with my bike's headlight and couldn't see anything obvious like a blown out sidewall, but I knew the tire was toast, nonetheless.

Next morning I got up and dropped the spare tire down. It, too, was flat. The only option available was to inflate the tire with a bicycle pump. I had done that to the bike rodeo trailer at work, so I figured that I could inflate a truck tire if it wasn't on the truck. It took 20 minutes, but I successfully inflated the spare to 35 psi, enough to get me to the Discount Tire store.

At the tire store I found out that there was another tire ready to blow so I had to buy two new tires. I was planning for new tires later on, so this was inconvenient. But, it had to be done. Now Big Red has two new tires and will get two more later this summer.

Now that the bad tire is gone, the annoying noise and intermittent twitch I could detect in the steering wheel is gone. That gives me some peace of mind knowing that there isn't something worse wrong like tie rods or shocks.

I really love that old truck. He's been good to me all these years.

Project

2011-05-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

Hey guess what? Riding bikes and running aren't the only things I do. About 2 years ago my roommate and I bought an old aluminum travel trailer. Its a 1964 Cascade, 14 feet long and was in horrible condition - water damage, looks like someone backed into something, and assorted issues attendant to being 45 years old with 20 years of deferred maintenance. Anyhow, we bought it for $350 in Phoenix and brought it to Tucson. As you can see from the photos, its in rough shape.

What we have been doing for the past couple years is gut it out completely. All of the old insulation, wiring, gas stove, ice box - everything, came out. I've been doing repairs to the structure. Its been a long project and is far from finished. This past week I installed the new tail lights and part of the trailer 12 - volt wiring harness. Donna and I both have been working on scraping silicon caulk off of seams so they can be reattached and properly waterproofed. The silicon has to go since it cannot be painted. Previous owners did quite a bit of "repairs" that have created much work.

Once this is completed, it will be so cute! It will have a mini - refrigerator, AC, a heater, TV/VCR/DVD, rope lights will provide ambient lighting and LED lights will provide bunk lights and kitchen work light. The old closet has been enlarged to accommodate a chemical toilet. The area where an ice box used to be will be pantry. Even the cats will have a place to call their own. Under the sink I'm designing a special place for their litter box. They can enter through a kitty door in the cabinet door. That way its out of sight and we don't need to worry about stepping in the litter box.

That's the latest. More to come with construction updates.

Running revisited

2011-05-06T09:14:00.000-07:00

After 50 plus years on this planet I may have learned some patience - maybe. After recovering from IT band problems and a sore knee, both injuries revisited in a 5k run in December, I really wanted to run without injury. Could that be possible?

Barefoot running. Seems impossible in the desert with hot surfaces and lots of pointy, thorny plants. Then there is the broken glass in the roads. Well, I'm not going to try running really barefoot, as in no shoes at all. I have been researching minimalist running shoes like the Vibram Five Finger shoes and the Merrill barefoot shoes. I still don't have a pair but once I decide which one I want, I'll get them. I've tried both on at REI and both feel really nice. The Five Fingers look a little funny but feel great on the feet. The Merrill's look normal and also feel great, and they are really light.

But at the moment I have a pair of Nike trail running shoes, also very nice, but they don't let my foot move much. From the research I've done, that is the problem. The foot doesn't get an opportunity to do what it was designed to do, that is, act as a shock absorber and stabilizer. If the foot can't do those things, then the duty is transferred up the leg to the ankle, knee and hip joints that are not designed to do all of the shock absorbing and stabilizing. Modern running shoes seem to be the cause rather than the cure for foot and knee problems.

I've been running carefully and slowly now for 5 weeks. No injury and no pain. Good. I'm being cautious, only running a mile or so each day at a miserably slow pace. But, the result is I don't hurt. Problem is, I have the cardio engine of a cyclist so when I run it feels good and I can go fast. My tendons and ligaments in my legs, however, aren't used to running, so right at the end of a 5k run- OUCH!- there goes the IT band and I'm out for 2 or 3 months. Same song same verse over and over again.

But not this time. My bucket list includes a marathon, duathlons and 5k/10k races. I also want to do cyclocross this fall. (Of course I'm still training for mountain bike events and have my eye on time trials and long distance cycling). No time for injury. So, I am being careful, building my leg strength to match the cycling cardio. Good news is it makes running easy when the engine is strong. I fall into a rhythm easily; breathing and heartrate are moderate on a rate of perceived effort scale. I should take my heart rate monitor, but I haven't wanted to get into that yet.

Also, from watching videos of barefoot running, the runner should land on the ball of the foot or mid foot rather than heel strike. The heel strike landing, encouraged by modern running shoes, concentrates the weight of the runner on the heel which places great stress on the foot and knees, whereas mid-foot landing absorbs the shock and is easier on the body. Knee injuries have done me a favor, actually. Due to injury at age 14, I didn't run consistently because my knee would swell and I'd be off again for a couple of months. Start/ stop. No consistant training. As a result, I never learned to heel strike, so transitioning to barefoot or minimalist shoes will be easier. I still need to work on form and learn alot, but at least I don't have a ton to unlearn.

Today and yesterday I ran 2 miles. Only at the end of the second mile was I starting to get tired and my form was starting to go to pieces. Perfect place to stop and not add anymore distance for a few more weeks.

Maybe after 50 plus years, I've finally learned some patience.

Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery

2011-04-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I've added a link to the best bike comic strip the web or world has ever seen: Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery. I've been a loyal fan for a couple of years now and have to catch up with the gang at the kickstand before I start my day. You can too. Click on the comic strip on this page to view it larger, plus visit the rest of the Yehuda Moon site. Give the artist/creator Rick Smith some love by subsribing to the strip for $3 a month. You know you can blow more than that at Starbucks or Micky D's! Plus, supporting the strip won't make you jittery and has zero calories.

See you at the Kickstand.

24 Hours in the Old Pueblo

2011-02-21T20:55:00.000-08:00

Wind, blowing sand and rain didn't stop over 1,800 enthusiastic mountain bikers President's Day weekend. The 12th annual 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo, produced by Epic Rides in Tucson, Arizona, was in full party mode. This year's event was dedicated to local trail builder Steve Anderson. His legacy will be the great trails he has designed for mountain bikers, hikers and equestrian to enjoy. He certainly deserved the honor of being the dedication recipient.

This was my second 24 HOP with much of the same team as last year. We called ourselves "Fat n' 50" since that was the team name last year and no one came up with a better name this year. One of our members is heavier than he would like to be, and poked fun at himself by naming the team last year when he entered a 5 person mixed team to commemorate his 50th birthday. I wound up on the team as the token female to make it a mixed team last year and have been riding with some of the guys ever since.

The event is held on state trust land in Pinal County off SR 77 not too far from the Biosphere 2 turn off on Willow Springs Rd. Nine miles back in on a dirt road is Willow Springs Ranch where miles of single track and dirt roads await thousands of knobby tires.

One of out team mates, Harry, took his pop up trailer out to 24 Hour Town on Thursday. It sleeps 6 and became our base camp. On Friday we all began to arrive. The weather last weekend was stellar. Clear, upper 70's and no wind. Fast forward to this weekend and the story is completely different. I arrived late morning and it was apparent that storms were brewing. The wind was increasing and was scattering things all over by afternoon. We had some hope that the weatherman might be wrong about rain in the forecast when the wind calmed some and we were treated to the beautiful sunset you see in the photo above. Sigh....false hopes.

Saturday morning the wind was blowing from the east around 20 mph. Sand stung your face an eyes and it was quite chilly. The race started at noon on Saturday and finishes at noon Sunday. 24 HOP begins with a LeMans start, where the riders leave their bikes with a team mate or in one of the many 2 x 4 stands, then walk down the road around 400 yards. When the shotgun goes off, they all run like maniacs to see who is the first one to get to their bike and head out on the trail. The purpose is to scatter hundreds of riders so there aren't massive crashes at the start line. This works well and it is quite entertaining.

My first lap on the 16 mile course was scheduled for around 5 pm. The wind was awful and it looked like rain up until I was ready to go out. The clouds were lifting and it looked like the storm might be clearing. Honestly, it didn't look like it was going to rain. So, I didn't take my rain suit. Bad call.

I set out at 5 pm. About half hour into my ride I hit misty rain. As the night came down, so did the rain. The wind increased to probably 30 mph with gusts to 40 or more. The rain was driving and coming down sideways. I was soaked and cold. What should have taken me two hours took three. The wind was blowing me off the trail, so rather than get blown into a cactus, I opted to walk up some of the hills. Little rivers were flowing, my tires were clogged with mud and everything was slick.

Finally, a welcome sight-the finish line. I was so cold that my fingers had trouble turning off the lights on my bike when I entered the exchange tent. I was only a short ways off from hypothermia. Once back at the camp I stripped down to base layer then got in the bunk and pulled the curtains to change into dry clothes. It took me over an hour to warm up.

The storm cleared out not long after my miserable lap, leaving the trails perfect. Unfortunately, we had to withdraw from the race. Everyone has to do one night lap and one of our team mates had a mechanical so he couldn't ride his lap. It was disappointing, but that's how it goes sometimes. We got an opportunity to sleep in the next morning then enjoy a nice pancake breakfast.

While I was out on the course I was thinking all sorts of negative stuff, like I'll never do this again, and this is stupid. But, you know, I finished my lap. Quitting wasn't an option since what was I to do-just sit down and quit? That wouldn't work. So on I went. Sometimes you just have to soldier on, and even though it was miserable, I'm glad I had the rotten weather lap. We DNF'd, but we worked as a team, each supporting the other. And that is what its all about.

OUCH!!!

2011-01-26T20:32:00.000-08:00

As you can see in the picture, I have a boo-boo. Too bad I didn't take a picture when I first did it. This was about a week later. What happened?

I was riding my mountain bike at Fantasy Island with a couple of the guys from our 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo (24HOP) team. We had been riding a little faster than I normally ride, but I was keeping up and feeling really good. No feeling like I was walking on the wild side and riding over my head. We had gone down a number of ravines including the Slide and Elbow Slammer. I was feeling really good, not cocky, but confident. My skills are improving. We were just starting down the Christmas Tree loop when I hit some sand just before the bottom of the wash. My front wheel slid out from under me and I knew that there was nothing I could do about it. The palo verde tree by the side of the trail was approaching fast. My last thought before impact was that I have a carbon handlebar and I hoped that a crash wouldn't damage it.

POW! I hit the tree. I felt the branch dig into my arm, and also felt contact on my right quad and left forearm. Next thing I knew I was sitting on the ground next to my bike. Harry, one of the guys on the team, said that it was an awesome crash. That is, after all, what really counts.

Harry picked me up off the ground. Blood was pouring out of the gash and making a mess. My sun glasses got knocked off but were not broken - good thing, since they are prescription. I had two large goose eggs on my left forearm and two on my right quad. What a glorious crash! I wasn't hurt, at least not badly. We dragged our bikes up the trail to assess the situation.

After a minute I decided I was OK. I really wanted to do the Shaft and Half Pipe, so off we went to finish our ride. My right arm had pretty much stopped bleeding. I figured I'd clean it all up when I got home. Good thing I was wearing red gloves that day.

I got home and Donna, my room mate and best friend helped me with the bandages. I got all the dried blood cleaned off and squirted some antibiotic ointment in the gash. As you can see from the photo, it is healing quite nicely. It will make a nice addition to my scar collection.

Guess I was riding a bit faster than normal, although that wasn't the only cause of the crash. Sand will take you down, and I am still learning new skills. Funny, this crash didn't effect my confidence. I want to figure out what I did wrong and fix it so I can ride faster.

My bike is fine, as well. No damage to it and the carbon handle bar is fine. Good thing, that, since I will heal for free most of the time, but bikes take money to heal.

More Biking and Running

2010-12-16T20:15:00.000-08:00

Since I last wrote I've had the opportunity to participate in two more events. Unfortunately I have no photos of the mountain bike event December 4 at McDowell Mountain Preserve near Phoenix. It was a blast. Dawn to Dusk was the name and as that implies, was a 12-hour event. Well, only 10 hours and something since there isn't 12 hours of daylight this time of year. My friend Eric and I drove up to Fountain Hills the day before to pick up packets and scope things out. We would have camped if we'd known that was an option, but wound up each of us getting a room at a motel in town. Its easier when its 2 girls 'cuz we can stay in the same room, but it worked out OK. Kind of expensive, but staying in the same room ain't gonna happen.

Anyhow, we got up early and drove to the start area. It was quite chilly. I went off first on the 15.5 mile loop. Nice course, wide double track and nothing technical. The only problem is 950 feet of steady climbing for the first 6 miles of the course. That wears you down. Eric and I took turns on the course, I did 3 laps and he did 2, which landed us securely in last place. I don't care. It was fun and I learned what I need to do to get better for 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo in February. (After I get over this stupid cold). My aerobic engine needs serious overhaul.

It was a great day once the sun got up. The only problem was my rear disc brake was screaming the entire race. It had a bad case of dust contamination and I couldn't get rid of the squeal. I haven't had time to work on it since the race, but the solution may be new pads.

December 11 was the Rillito River Run, a 5k/10k run or walk for the benefit of Volunteer Center of Southern Arizona. Great day. I signed up to do the 5k and since I haven't been training, things got ugly. I felt great cardio wise, but by the half way point, the IT band by my right knee was complaining. I alternated running and walking on the last half and still managed to do a solid mid-pack finish and 2nd place in age division.

I was sore the next day or so, but not too bad. Hammer Nutrition's exceptional product Tissue Rejuvenater helped recovery and cut down on the soreness so I don't need to take pain relievers.

Work is slowing down and we will be closed for 3 weeks until January 10. Its a well deserved break and I am looking forward to some time off.

Wahine Warrior, McDowell Mountain Preserve

2010-11-04T09:36:00.000-07:00

This article originally appeared in Tail Winds, the official newspaper of perimeter Bicycling Associaion of America, Inc. I am the author.

Wahine Warrior. Those two words ran on a continuous loop in my mind for days. Wahine is Hawaiian for woman, and we all know what a warrior is. The two words together constructed an image of a confident woman, ready for battle. Add knobby tires and you have the first-ever for Arizona women’s only mountain bike race, the Wahine Warrior.

A joint effort between title sponsor Global Bikes in Gilbert and Chandler and DCB Extreme Adventures, Wahine Warrior put down some serious rubber on the trails at McDowell Mountain Preserve near Fountain Hills Sept. 25.

Eighty women registered for the USA Cycling sanctioned event, including 4 Cross and downhill world champion and seven-time National champion Melissa Buhl, and Amy Regan, 24 hour cross country mountain bike world record holder. But Wahine Warrior wasn’t about pro racers. This event was all about bringing women to the sport of mountain biking. Women had their choice of cross country (Categories 1-3), an endurance race (18 miles) and a time trial.

Brandee Lepak, co-owner of Global Bikes and Dave Benjes, owner of DCB Extreme Adventures are the key individuals who brought Wahine Warrior from scratch pad to start line.

“More and more women are getting into the sport of mountain biking,” Lepak said when asked how this idea came about. “Other women-only events in other sports have seen great success, so based on that, I talked to Dave Benjes of DCB Extreme Adventures about including the race in his fall series, and he agreed to do it. The only other women’s only mountain bike race was the ‘Yeti Beti’ in Colorado this past summer, so this was a first for Arizona and only the second ever in the country.”

Benjes decided to produce the event as a means to encourage more women to do events or to try racing. Recognizing that they need to feel successful, producing an event like this was a simple connection to his fall Dust Devil race series.

“Looking at the number that came out, 80, that doesn’t seem like much, but when you look at the fall mountain bike series I do, the Dust Devil, we don’t get 80 women,” Benjes said. “We just increased the number of women in the sport, so this was fantastic.

“There were women who said they felt so much more confident,” he continued. “One woman borrowed a 50-pound bike just to come out and do this with her friends. So, yeah, it was a success.”

Benjes noted that he knew the event had a built-in constituency.

“The bike industry knows that women are buyers and that there is a demand for women-specific clothing, bikes and all that,” he said. “So, women are out there and we want to encourage them to do events, and give them positive experiences so that they develop skills and feel comfortable doing more events.”

The inaugural Wahine Warrior was a great success, if the smiles and cheers were any indication. Scorching desert heat notwithstanding, women of all ages and ability came out for a day on the trails.

So, what is the take home message now that Wahine Warrior is in the record books? Confidence? Yes. New skills? Certainly. But the point of bringing more women to the sport of mountain biking was best summed up by a spectator’s cheer: “Remember to have fun!” Isn’t that why we ride?

Here's a few more thoughts that appeared as a sidebar in the original article:

Why a Women’s Only Event?
Other than a “no boys allowed ride” an event such as Wahine Warrior is a reflection of the bicycle industry taking serious notice of who is buying. Women represent 40 percent of the dollars spent on bicycles and related items.

Isn’t a Women’s Only Mountain Bike Event Merely a Marketing Stunt?
Definitely not. Events such as Wahine Warrior provide women with an opportunity to have a fun experience on the trails, which will bring them out to trails again and to more races. Sure, they will buy more bikes, clothing and other equipment, which helps the bike shops, but the core idea is to get more women on bikes feeling confident and having fun. That could result in more events. It’s a scenario in which everyone wins.

An Opportunity to Teach and to Learn in a Testosterone-Free Environment
Mountain biking can be intimidating. Crashing hurts. Rocks and cactus are unforgiving. Oh, and there’s the guys. No offense guys, but some of us girls feel shy asking questions about knowledge and skills that to you seem to come naturally. Riding techniques and equipment questions can be a huge barrier, and removing the fear that someone is going to laugh opens the door for those who would never try a co-ed event. Before the race started, Amy Regan conducted a skills clinic. “The most important thing is to relax and look ahead. Keep your eyes up and don’t look at what you don’t want to hit. Staying relaxed will allow the bike’s suspension to take the hits from the trail. Keeping the pedals parallel will help your balance stay centered over the bike and also keep you from jamming a pedal into a rock.”

Why Would Pro Mountain Bikers Come to a Non-Competitive Beginner Friendly Event?
Melissa Buhl comes from a BMX background and became a professional mountain biker at age 16. She wants to get involved in women’s races like Wahine Warrior to give back to the sport and to draw women in. Buhl recognizes that women are often hesitant to try new skills.

“Bike handling skills that I developed growing up in BMX have been the foundation for mountain bike skills,” she said. “Coming to events like this, I can give back and teach women how to be confident and learn new skills.

“Women’s only events like this gives them a place to come and ride and be competitive in an environment that doesn’t require them to be competitive,” Buhl continued. “It’s a race but there’s no stress.”

Buhl pointed out that skills are developed a little at a time, and each success is a stepping stone. Riding with others provides support and new riders can learn new skills. She cautioned to take things at your speed and on your timetable, and not let yourself get pressured into riding over your head. That way you are less likely to get hurt.

Jure Robic - 1965-2010

2010-09-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

No. That’s not possible. No. It can’t be. Those were the first words out of my mouth as my mind staggered, trying to comprehend the news: Jure Robic, five-time Race Across America champion, was dead, struck by a car on a training ride. Jure has ridden thousands of kilometers as he trained and raced all over the world, yet his life was snuffed out on a dirt road not far from his home.

As an official for RAAM I’ve had the pleasure of watching Jure power his way over Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado, and as he endured the relentless wind swept prairies of Kansas. Calculating, driven and focused, this man knew how to win ultra-endurance races. He was our hero. The ultra – cycling world feels a deep lose at his passing.

I know that he can’t read this, but I’d like to speak to Jure for just a moment.

Jure, thank you for the excitement you brought to the Race Across America. You always seemed larger than life. Thank you for the sleepless nights trying to keep up with you, and I was driving a car! Thanks for the opportunity to reflect on the memories I have of you racing through the blazing sun and driving rain. Thanks for coming back to RAAM one more time. We will miss you.

InterBike 2010, Day 3

2010-09-26T21:39:00.000-07:00

Final day of InterBike. Time to pack up and check out of the hotel room. I forgot to mention that we stayed in the Imperial Palace this year. Its closer to the Sands Convention Center, but not easy to get to really. Its tucked in between the Venician and Harrahs. After executing a maze of hall ways and elevators you still have to either walk through the casino and then navigate the sidewalk on the Strip or go the back way through loading docks and parking garage entrances. After walking out the Strip once, I decided to take my chances with loading docks and taxis diving for parking garages. Lets put it this way: Las Vegas has earned its nick-name "Sin City." In the short distance we walked, in broad daylight, no less than 10 people were trying to hand us porn pages, solicitaion for, uh, "services" and I don't want to know what else.

Anyhow, back to InterBike. The show winds down by noon, although it doesn't close until 6 pm. I went out on the floor to make a few more contacts and to purchase a few pair of socks from Sock Guy. My business card holder was full when I arrived at the show on Wednesday and by noon on Friday I had two cards left. I made a lot of good contacts and next week I'll be busy following up and over the next few months keep the contacts warm. Hopefully a few of them will come to our expo at El Tour or take an ad in Tail Winds or maybe become sponsors.

I left for Phoenix around 3:30. Bidding Las Vegas adeiu is always a pleasure. I really enjoy the show, but I hate Las Vegas. In all fairness to the many people who live there, the bad part is really just the Strip and downtown. The rest of the city is regular people who work and kids who go to school. Even so, I won't miss Las Vegas when InterBike moves to Anaheim, California next year.

InterBike 2010, Day 2

2010-09-26T21:02:00.000-07:00

Day two began with the International Mountain Biking Association breakfast meeting. The focus of this year's meeting was to emphasise the threats and opportunities for mountain biking. IMBA was formed because trails were being closed to bikes, due to mis-information and misunderstanding. The Public Lands Initiative was created and is supported by by industry leaders, and it addresses the access to public lands. We like to ride and enjoy trails of all kinds in all areas. So do hikers and horse riders. We all want the same thing: access to great places to ride. The PLI will help keep communication open so that greater understanding can grow among these different groups. Advocasy is the key and working together with hikers and horse people on trail building and maintenance will keep us all happily on the trails.

That's some big-wheeled rig parked outside the door by the IMBA breakfast!

The rest of the day was staus quo for InterBike. There are so many things to see that after a while it all becomes a huge mental blur. At noon I attended the Bikes Belong seminar. The message there was getting people on bikes. Not "cyclists." We are already on bikes. We're talking non-cyclists. Folks who could ride or might ride if they felt safe of thought that it would work for them. Again, advocasy is the key, and bike shops and the industry are keen to attracting regular people, sending the message that cycling is safe, you can do it in regular clothes and it can save time and money. Safe Routes to Schools was another topic, bringing cycling back to kids as a normal part of their lives.

My boss, Richard, and Todd from Epic Rides were invited to ride across the new bridge over Hoover Dam. The Regional Transportation Authority arranged a private showing of part of the route for Viva Bike Vegas, scheduled for October 9. I had brought both of their bikes and my own for a total of three bikes crammed into Richard's Exterra that I drove. Made for a crazy time getting all three in and out of the SUV.

By the end of the day I was done. Tired and ready for some real food and sleep. I didn't go to the 'Cross Vegas last night even though I had my ticket. I am racing Saturday in Phoenix and decided that it might be best to get some rest, stay hydrated and well fed so that I had a chance of doing reasonably well at the race. So, that meant going back to the hotel and crashing for the evening. I had tons of stuff to look over, magazines to peruse and swag to sort, so hanging out in the hotel wasn't a bad option. Sally (co-worker and InterBike room-mate) and I ordered room service for dinner. First time I ever did that and it was an excellent decision. No fuss and bother about finding a restaurant, no parking problems and best of all, no noise! After a nice meal I kicked back with my Ipod and relaxed the rest of the evening.

InterBike 2010, Day 1

2010-09-23T06:01:00.000-07:00

Day One of InterBike 2010! If there is anything related to bicycles, it is here in the Sands Convention Center. This is my fifth visit to the industry trade show, and each year I get just as excited as the first. Although the overwhelmed feeling has faded, its no less of an adventure. My purpose in being here is to find contacts for potential sponsors, but that doesn't prevent me from having fun and looking with a more personal eye for items I might like to buy. There isn't a lot of retail sales on the floor since the main purpose of this show is for bike shop owners to meet suppliers and then place orders.

Perimeter Bicycling, my employer, has a small booth each year to promote El Tour de Tucson and to provide the staff with a drop-anchor point. So, I'm sitting at our booth and in walks this waxed handlebar mustache. Behind the magnificent mustache is a man in shiny blue suit, an O My Heck its Gary Fisher! Mr. Mountain Bike! I dashed around the edge to greet him and shake his hand. Of course I had to get my picture taken with him. Quite a guy. Always flambouyant, and just a bit crazy. Maybe thats what it takes to turn the cycling world upside down. Mountain biking has certainly done that!

Anyhow, my take this year is that electric assist bikes are definitely here to stay. I think there is a segment of the population that can benefit from electric assist bikes, and it could be fun to have one.

Women's clothing is another big segment of the cycling dollar. It's exciting to see the cute styles that are actually functional. Most of it doens't really appeal to me, but I am so glad that there are styles available. Whatever it takes to get women on bikes.

The Cyclo Cross race was last night, but I was so tired that I decided it might not be wise for me to go. Since I am racing Satruday in Phoenix, I don't want to be so tired that I am unsafe to drive back and I'd like to do well and have fun at Wahine Warrior Women's Mountain Bike race. More on that later.

Gotta' go. IMBA breakfast meeting is an hour away.

BONK!--that was stupid

2010-08-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

OK. You can tell from the title that I did something stupid. What makes it worse is I know better, so I can't blame anyone but myself.

I began stockpiling the supplies for a dismal disaster a couple of days ago. Actually, it started Sunday. I didn't drink much water on Sunday and got into a hydration deficit, although I didn't know it at the time and didn't feel bad.

Monday I drove my truck to work because I had to deliver a case of helmets somewhere and I had a chiropractor appointment. Once again, didn't drink much water all day, and I really didn't eat much. That evening I worked out on the stationary bike doing intervals for an hour with buckets of sweat pouring off me. I drank water, but wasn't hungry afterwards, so I just took a shower and hit the sack.

Tuesday morning I woke up feeling a little beat up. Had to go to the office early so I had a little cereal then hopped on my bike to go to the office. Once there I got busy and then didn't eat much the rest of the day. By mid afternoon I was getting hungry, but knew that I would be going for a run later so I decided to eat afterwards.

I got home, drank water, but not enough, and set out for a run. My legs felt like lead. Usually I feel bad for the first half mile and then settle into a rhythm, but not this time. I felt worse as I ran. My breathing settled down, but the rest of me felt awful. I kept checking to see if I had bricks attached to my shoes. After a couple of miles I could tell that this wasn't working, so I changed course and headed home.

Have I done enough stupid stuff yet? Oh wait, there's more. Once I got home from running I drank some water (which told my stomach that it had something in it), and laid down to stretch and use The Stick on my dead legs. (Great product, by the way. Excellent for self massage and working tight muscles). After a few minutes I began to sweat again, felt light headed and slightly nauseous. By now, I'm so deep into dehydration, low blood sugar and low electrolytes that I cannot think. I gathered myself up, and headed for the shower. My body was screaming FEED ME, but I couldn't hear the dinner bell.

More stupidity coming - brace yourself. This morning I got up and set out the door to do steady effort intervals just below lactate threshold. No breakfast, of course, since the effort is going to be hard and I was only going out for about 20 miles. Oh, and I only took one water bottle. I've been out of Heed and Hammer gel for about a week...note to self: need to place an order. On my second interval I could tell that this wasn't gong to work, either. I was 12 miles from home and in trouble. My body was shaking, vision was disturbed by little black dots. I briefly fantasized that the dots were vultures....

I finally limped home. I cooked an omelet and drank a bunch of water and took a couple Hammer endulalytes. By this time I was in such arrears that it took several hours to catch up.

Hope I don't do that again soon. How dumb can I get????

National Night Out

2010-08-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

Part of my job, and perhaps some of the most fun, is when I can go to community functions to promote bike safety. Among other things, I am the project manager for the Pima County Bike Ambassador Program in Tucson. The Pima Count Department of Transportation is the funding source and I am the manager. We have 57 ambassadors, 31 of whom are League of American Bicyclists certified instructors, or LCI's. We teach bike safety classes using the Traffic Skills 101 curriculum from the League, and we also work with children using the Leagues's youth curriculum and Safe Routes to Schools curriculum. Tuesday, August 4, 2010 was National Night Out, and for those who don't know what it is, its an organized opportunity for communities to get together and interact. We spend so much time sequestered in our own worlds inside our homes that many people don't even know their neighbor. Everyone is afraid of each other, and NNO is an effort to help people get acquainted. It brings community resources together and, depending on the energy and imagination of the organizers, can be a huge fun family party. Our Bike Ambassador program sent out 4 sets of ambassadors to 4 NNO events.

The one I attended was in Oro Valley, just north of Tucson. Julia, one of our Ambassadors, and I took the bike rodeo trailer, bike route maps, information about our bike safety classes and set up a mini-rodeo. We had kids ride our fleet bikes through a bike handling skill slalom, into a straight way where they had to stop at a stop sign and learn about why its necessary to stop, and finally over a low teeter-totter just for fun. We gave away around 65 helmets (thanks to SafeKids Tucson, and the Arizona Trial Lawyers Association who purchased the helmets for us). We gave out bike route maps and information about our classes as well as answered many questions about bike/motor vehicle safety. It was a great event! The other events around town were also successful, but since we only have one rodeo trailer, we could only set up one mini-rodeo. I wishi I had pictures, but I was so busy that I hardly had time to get a drink of water!

Anyhow, tons of fun, getting kids on bikes and talking to people about riding bikes. What could make for a better summer evening? Well, other than being out riding trails at night, but I can't do that all the time!

A dirty mountain bike is a happy mountain bike

2010-08-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

Since my last posting we've had rain. Nearly 2.75 inches at my house over a period of 4 days. I couldn't wait to take my bike out to Fantasy Island, a state trust land area near Davis Monthan Air Force base in Tucson. Its a mountain bikers's amusment park and, just as its name implies, is a paradise of single track, washes and features that will keep nearly anyone entertained. Want more challenge? Ride faster. Want to ride easy an take in the scenery and scent of the desert after a rain? You can do that too. How about bird and critter watching? It's yours, what with ample food supply, the area is home to a variety of wild life.

I couldn't wait to try out a new cassette that had a 32T large cog. Coupled with a new chain, shifting woes and chain suck should be a non-issue.

The trail was perfect. Not too sticky. The rain from the night before had soaked in or ran off in the washes, leaving perfect conditions. It wasn't too hot, the sky was still overcast. This was going to be an awesome day on the trails. I took a picture of my bike, covered in mud, but the camera phone has low resolution. Too bad the photo above doesn't show how much fun I had.

Anyhow, I rode the Lone Cactus trail. I bought my karma and safe ride insurance by saluting the cactus before I hit the trail head. My riding buddy, Eric, says that one must salute the cactus before setting out-helps to ward off crashes. I'm not one to mess with tradition, so I popped a nice crisp military salute to the lone saguaro.

What a day! Maybe it was saluting the cactus. Maybe it was the new chain, or perhaps the trail conditions. Whatever it was, man, I'll take another helping of that, because I had one of my best days ever on the trails. Bombing down trails into washes, climbing hills, swooping through sweet single track....ahh...what a day! A feature named the Half Pipe caught me by surprise as I skidded to a stop coming out of the first section. I ran the bike back up to the start and back about 30 yards on the trail to get a good run at it. Swoop, swoop--sweet!!!

Excellent day. Too bad I ran out of time and had to go back to the real world of getting things done on a Saturday. Honestly, I could take a lunch and spend the day out there.

Monsoon 2001...or is it "non-soon?"

2010-07-27T16:10:00.000-07:00

Ah, the monsoon. Welcomed relief from the intense desert heat. Literally, a monsoon is a seasonal change in wind direction, which in our case in Arizona, brings much needed moisture up from Mexico to mix with dry warm air, and BANG! Thunderstorms. Well, that is what is supposed to happen. So far, about all we've gotten is increased dew points (which has lowered the temperature some) and scattered showers. Not many of them have been scattered anywhere near me, but we did have .36 inches of rain on Sunday.

Race Across America, 2010

2010-07-09T21:34:00.000-07:00

I mentioned previously the Race Across America. Here are a few photos from the road. Hope you enjoy them. RAAM, as it is called, is a trans-continental ultra-marathon bicycle race that challenges solo racers and teams to cross the US in 12 days or less. The race started in Oceanside, CA and ended in Annapolis, MD. That is a little more than 3,000 miles. Yes, on a bicycle. This was my 5th year as an official. An official's function is to ensure the safety of the race as well as its integrity, weighing all that we see and do in the balance of safety and fairness. This year 19 countries were represented. The race rolls on through heat, wind, rain, hail, snow--you name it. Even frogs and fish over flooded roads don't slow the race down much.

New blog, new look

2010-07-05T21:49:00.000-07:00

This is the new and improved blog that replaces the old one that was started a couple of years ago. The intent of this blog will be pretty much the same as the old one, only this one looks cooler. Since the old blog ended and this new one has started there have been a few changes that are significant. Scamp, my beloved Maine Coon mix, passed away from a brain tumor in March of 2009. It was heartbreaking to let him go. The human heart has an amazing capacity to love, even when breaking, and that is the case with the addition of two furry friends, Mr. Sox and Oreo. They do not take Scamp's place, but I love them just as much, and I am grateful for them.

Another change is a move to Tucson, Arizona. I have lived in Mesa, Arizona most of my life an consider it to be home. Tucson is where my job is. Tucson is very different from Mesa. More on that at another time.

Those are the main changes. I still work for Perimeter Bicycling (check our website for more info on El Tour de Tucson and our other 3 great rides!), just finished being an official for Race Across AMerica for the 5th time, and of course I still ride bikes. Rode out to Sabino Canyon this morning. Very nice.