The adventures of 2012

At year end it is so fun to look back at all I have accomplished and learned through my cycling experiences. Every single event I partake in, I always learn something. It's just amazing after all these years, the learning never stops. That is part of why I continuously look forward to the next adventure, because I know indeed I will learn something. 

This year I learned so much. Shure I have been racing and competing for close to 20 years, but many races have been as a team or with Jay. This year was different. I started out by deciding I was going to attempt the Tour Divide, from Banff Canada to Antelope Wells NM, 2745 miles.  In order to prepare for such a feat, gear needed to be tested and I needed to ride. We are very lucky to live where we do and have the conditions that allow us to ride 365 days a year, with the right bike & gear of course, which I am also lucky to have.

My 2012 year started out with the Grand Targhee 1st annual Fat Bike race. Here I learned about putting new tires just days before a race. I didn't check to make shure the rear tire was seated on the rim and within 15 minutes from the start going around a curve my tire rolled off the rim. I had to let pressure out of the tube to get the tire back on which was my 2nd lesson learned, NEVER leave the pump! I was lucky to have 2 good friends roll up and help me, even offer me a bike! I finished in 2nd place with a time of 3hrs 12 mins, this year I finished in !st with a time of 2hrs 20 minutes-whew! what an improvement! 


The 2nd race of 2012 was the Arrowhead 135. Conditions were fast, and instead of listening to my instincts, having faith in my ability to change the tire, I stuck with the big knobby Nate tire I had on. This tire was way too aggressive for the conditions and I really felt it slowed me down.
The 3rd race was the Togwotee Winter Classic. I've had good luck at this race, lets hope it stays that way, since this is next on the list.  

The 4th race was the 12 hr Equinox Bike challenge. A friend and I had gone up the night before to check out  the course, relax and enjoy a little get away. We decided to go for pizza instead of staying in. Well 5 long island ice teas later, a push up contest and meeting up with my husband at 1 am, who had ridden from Victor, things were not pretty. I think the last time I had a long island ice tea was back in the 1990's sittin' at a bar on the Jersey shore. I really had no idea what I was getting into. The next morning I was so sick and hung over. We still rode, alternating laps, but I wasn't able to eat or drink til about 4pm that afternoon, hurting unit fer shure! Lesson learned-UGH!

The 5th race was the Stagecoach 400. This was it, this was the 1st time I was going to be ridding and make all my own decisions. Yeah, I was definitely nervous, but also very excited! I had some mechanical, food, sleep and navigation issues, but learned from each one and got thru them. I am planning and looking forward to returning this year. 
Then it was "the big one", the Tour Divide! I was so excited, but again oh so very nervous. Gettin a ride up to the start worked out, gettin thru Canada and the snow was tough, but I was fortunate to have people to travel with. Once we got to MT, the pack split up. I didn't mind riding alone, it was so freeing. It's hard to race this race b/c there are so many beautiful places I wanted to enjoy, lakes I wanted to spend the day by swimming, "plush" empty campgrounds. I had so much fun when Jay and I completed this race on a tandem, the company of my husband, the memories, the good and hard times we got thru together, the ups, the downs, but this time was different, but only in the way he wasn't physically there. I had a great time figuring things out. It was hard for me to get up and focus on the "race" at times. The BIGGEST thing I have learned from this race is that-I NEED a REALLY loud alarm! Other things learned: I don't need as much food as I think I do, and that I WILL be okay. I learned abut my nutrition, my comfort zone, to make decisions that work for me, my gear, and my desire to come back and do this race again. I think about the TD daily. I'll be back!
3 weeks after returning from the TD, I attempted the local Targhee Hill Climb, 12 miles, from 6700 to 9000 ft, fast! Shure I'm fast! I just rode close to 2800 miles with elevation around 200,000. I did a nice long warm up, which I probably didn't need, actual tired me out I think. I finished mid pack, but had a fun day watching friends and being outside. 

Ahhh, the Fitz-Barn was the next adventure, so sweet. Being able to leave pretty much right from my front door on my bike and ride through my backyard 350 miles to MT, with a party waitin'! whee-whoo! I had sooo much fun during this race. the terrain was variable, the places I came across were un-expected at times, and I rode really hard, pushed myself, trying to WIN! Again, I had a bit of a problem gettin up! It's hard for me to deal withthe dark and cold, gettin' out of a warm sleepin' bag, the sun is so warm. I had so great memories, meating up with Jay and TJ, close to 100 miles in outta no where, how light my bike/kit was packed, the excitement of a many friends 1st bike packing journey. The huge horses I ran into and rode with in the dark. fearing a bear run in. being slightly dehydrated. sleeping. finishing. It was August so still comfy sleepin outside.

Then I fell into a slump for a few months, kinda riding but not really, gettin the dogs out n such. Maybe I was just waiting for the snow? Novemeber, I decided last minute to go race the 25 hrs of Frog Hollow in Hurricane UT. It would be a nice break form the cold temps setting in and a warm place to ride. I learned it's hard to do a 25 hr race without support. I felt great, except for some blurred vision 12 hrs in which could have been caused by a variety of things, the course, festivities/crowd were great, I saw many racers I've got to know over the years. Due the the eye conditions I wind up sleeping for 7 hrs but still rode 144 miles. Due to the amazingly fun course I would definitely go back to this race. 



2013 has started out great, so I'm moving on to a new year, with a new post, SOON!!

See you out there!

How many?

I often think of how many miles I have ridden through my entire adult life, how many times have I turned my pedals?

So here is the math equation I've come up with:

I have beed riding for 20 years, competitively.

1990-1999-2,000 miles a year avg=18,000

2000-2008-3,000 miles a year avg=24,000

2009-2012-5,000 miles a year avg=15,000

57,000 miles, thats it?!?! It seems like I have ridden soooo many more. 

However, the adventures, places I've been and things I have learned are beyond any calculation I could come up with. 

This year I am going to keep track of my miles and see how close I am to my guesstimate. 

So far for the month of Jan I have 177 fatbike miles, 32 ICC miles, 20 miles of snowshoeing and 20 miles of skating. 249 miles for the month of Jan, 2013.

PHAT is BACK!!

Funny to think I was riding on dirt in 70F wx last w/e and riding in 20F on snow this w/e. We got some snow here in Victor, but we drove just 1 hr north to over a foot of snow, winter wonderland!!

 Just 33 miles from here is part of the Tour Divide trail, the road to Flagg Ranch. Jay and I took the boys here and did some reminiscing about riding on the trail, just not too long ago in completely different conditions. Now the whole family has been on this part of the trail, FUN!  We got the boys out for an hour, not shure how many miles, but enough to tire them out so we could go a on a longer ride.

Some trucks and 4 wheel drive vehicles had previous driven back to Cave Falls, ID creating a nice path to follow. The riding was GREAT and super quiet, we saw one car, which thankfully help reinforce the path through the 12 inches of still fallin' snow. The temps were cool approx 20F from my guess, but havin' the right gear and knowing how to use it totally makes our trips comfortable & fun. 

The reward:

It took us 3hrs 15 mins to ride 28 miles, more of a climb on the way in. We finished up in the dark, my batteries were dying, my light was dim, so I followed JayP's red P-Tec tail light and followed his line, not too close, not too far away or I couldn't see. I was comfortable & REALLY havin' fun, workin' on my night vision. 

The next day, I took the boyz out for another 11 miles.

To another cool place, minutes from home...

Til next time! 

Well I guess I'm not going to win if I take a 7 hr nap during a 25 hr race.

 Just another wicked time! 25 hrs of Frog Hollow was just a race I heard of until I was asked 3 weeks ago to be on a team for the event. I like to ride for a really long time, I am fer shure more of a solo rider, so I declined joining the team but since there were a few friends going as a team that could help support me, I decided to join the group and go to Hurricane UT, where it was nice and sunny and race the 25 hrs of Frog Hollow solo! Yippee-I was stoked!

I'm not in super great shape, nor have I been riding like I normally do, whatever that is. I mean I get the dogs out for a few miles a day, 4-5 days a week. I go on 2-3 hr rides on the weekends, and thats about it. So I was relying on my 20+ years of cycling to get me through the 25 hrs of Frog Hollow. Honestly, I felt great! I was a little nervous at the start, but otherwise calm and relaxed. I was totally looking forward to spending 25 hrs in the saddle, overcoming the challenges which will evidently arise. but WHAT challenge will arise today?? ahh, will my stomach go? will I bonk? will I sustain an injury? will my bike breakdown, and if it does how?? Seriously I don't think too much about these things, but they are thoughts that come and go. What I do think about is how to be efficient in and out of the pit, how to stay strong mentally through tough times, knowing they will only last a short time, remembering to eat and drink and how important that is, and how to use any resources that are available to me, oh and of course to have FUN!!

The race started with a nice jog to Magic Wanda aka Salsa Ti El Mariachi (I love this bike) and it was go time! I felt really good, and was riding a moderate pace knowing I shouldn't crush myself. It's hard not to get caught up in that speed trap in the beginning. My 1st 5 laps were between 1:03-1:20, and I felt I could sustain a 1:15 hr lap comfortably. I thought I was going to have support, but it fell through during the race. A few people checked in now and again, gave me some food and lubed my chain, but for the most part I was filling my own bottles, getting my own food and tending to my bike, which is fine, but it would have been great to know before the start of the race so I could set myself up a little better. Lesson learned.

After the 1st 3 laps the vision in my right eye started to blur. It occurs only in my right eye during intense biking and when I sweat a lot, it could be dehydration or dry eye, but since I've been racing for over 20 years and it just started happening this year 2012, it's definitely odd and of course I have to get it looked at. I do wear contacts, so I changed the right one out, but there was no difference, it was m eyeball fer shure. I've already talked to 2 doctors and it was recommended to see an ophthalmologist.

By lap 5, my forearms were KILLING me! I had never felt this pain before, it was very sharp, uncomfortable and made it hard to ride over any kind of bump, which there were a lot of. I figured my arms were out of shape, but I soon found out I had been riding rigid the entire time. My fork was broke, didn't move up and down. If you rode this course you would know the importance of front suspension. I also had some front derailleur issues, like it wouldn't drop into the granny gear.

After my ninth lap and riding one eyed in the dark I decided it was time to rest my eye with the hopes it would fix itself and stop burning. It was 11pm, I set my alarm for 1am. When I woke up my eye was still burning, so sleep it was. I woke at 6am, 7 hrs later-ugh, my eye was betta, I ate some food and started riding again.

I finished with 11 laps, less then I had anticipated. Overall I had a great time at this event and highly recommend it if you wanna have fun! The course was a mixed bag of terrain, which was awesome and kept it interesting. In the future I would definitely bring my support man JayP, no one does it betta and I shure did miss him at this event!! I am undecided about the bike choice and wonder if the Salsa Spearfish would have been a better ride for this course, guess I'll have to find out next year!

Til next time!!

Fitz-Barn 2012

Wow! Fitz-Barn was a WICKED good time!  I definitely recommend this ride for 1st time bike packers, for those who are gear testing for a up coming longer ride or for anyone who just wants to have FUN!

As I was getting ready for this "ride" I focused on carrying the least amount of gear that I could, which of course changes with every ride depending on temps, wx conditions and terrain, very hard to figure out sometimes. Being that I was on home turf made it a little easier.

My gear list was as follows:
Sleeping system: NeoAir therm-a rest & Montbell sleeping quilt
Clothing: Montbell rain, wind & puffy jackets, tights, ultra light wool long sleeve top, arm warmers, warm hat & gloves, 1 and a half buffs
Fix it: 2-29er tubes, quick links/small piece of chain, lube and rag, zip ties, duct tape, patch kit, pump
Personal: eye drops, toothbrush and paste, vitamin I, chamois cream, contacts, antibiotic ointment, phone, camera
Food: Kate's real food bars, licorice, sunflower seeds, nuts, grilled cheese, nut rolls, misc, no bags of hot nasty

It was so great to be able to leave pretty much right from my house with several friends! The start was a little delayed but ya gotta be flexible, a lesson I learned long ago. Roll out was fast & furious as usual, there is always talk of this casual group ride start but it just never seems to go that way. I headed out with JayP, TJ & Bill M and was able to keep up until my seat post started to slide down and I had to stop ant fix it just outside Tetonia, after that, I was on my own-which I kinda like & am getting more used to.

This part of the road was a little knarly, but didn't last for long.

I had no idea these sand dunes were so close to my house!

I had no idea there would be snacks in the middle of where?

Heading toward Dubois where I caught up with JayP & TJ.

I caught up with JayP & TJ just about 20 miles outside of Dubois, it was freakin' HOT! I was still feelin good   but that changed within 10 miles of Dubois. My stomach started cramping and I needed something cold to drink. 5 of us showed up in Dubois and had lunch. I wanted to leave with JayP & TJ which I did, but I just wasn't able to keep up. My legs started cramping, no way did I stop, I began to rub my legs and move around on the bike asking the cramps over and over to go away, I just dealt with it and ate some more electrolytes. 10:30 pm rolled around and I was at the bottom of Banock Pass, it was time to sleep. I dread going to sleep cuz it's so hard for me to wake up. I ate a grill cheese and set my alarm for 3:45 am, which I have discovered is unrealistic for me, unless I am with someone, which makes it easier to get up. My sleep was restless and the cramps made me whimper in the night, but I just fought thru them and kept asking them to go away. I surprised myself when I heard my alarm and woke up. I saw what I thought was like 4 people riding and moving around, only to find out later it was just Bill and I was hallucinating in the dark. I got up about 430am and started to move. Lemme tell ya, it's cold & dark, I do not like it. Getting redressed is tough, and within minutes I changed only to change again, and again. It was very cold coming down the Banock Pass, I couldn't feel my hands so I put them down my pants every few minutes and continued to ride towards the sunshine! I did stop at one point and cry, but all was good after that and the sun finally hit me. It was kinda freaky going the opposite way I had just come 2 months ago, very cool to be in a familiar place.

Food was scarce during this ride so good planning was essential, but very hard at times. I did run low on food between resupplies and ran out of water 2x's 20 miles out of resupply, which is fine, so long as it's not 40 miles out. I was excited to get to Grant, as it was familiar and I knew there was water there. I ran into a man who lived next door to Ned & Ester the water resupply in Grant. He wanted to chat and tell me where to go, but you can't listen to these people, b/c they have no idea what you are doing or willing to do to follow the track and they don't ride bikes! When people tell you its downhill, it's not, they have no idea how far anything is even though they have been living there for 30 yrs. It was NOT all DH from Grant to Jackson, not even close. The road was washboard and this car with the license plate Spine DR, kept driving back and forth around me stirring up the dust-ugh!

Ahhh, Jackson! What a relief, food and cold drinks! The hot springs here were very tempting! I Got a good meal and a grill cheese with fries to go. It's very interesting how different grill cheese's can be. There was a man who was touring to PA who said Jay and TJ had been in 3 hrs earlier, boy did I want to catch them! I was happy about not staying here too long & got on my way, wanting to make it as far as I could that night.

I laughed when i saw this thinking, I wonder if anyone will try to ride this. Shure enough I later found out TJ tried, fell in but had his get out of broken bike card with him. 

It was definitely smoky, which made it hard to swallow food. As I headed over to Skalkaho Rd, I ran into 6 huge horses that were on the rd. It was dark and they wanted to race! I tried to get around them but they just kept running faster kicking up the dust, after about 10 mins they finally tore off into the woods. It was cool except for the dust. I went to bed about 1130 Sat night, and really, really wanted to get up at 4am, but was unsuccessful, instead I woke at 630-ugh! I believe the time for me to get up is 5am, that is doable, guess I'll find out next time. The grill cheese was not appetizing, it was soggy, so I had a Kate bar which was great. Once it warmed up a bit I was able to choke down the GC, and again was running low on snacks, so the rationing began. By the time I finished all I had left was salty sunflower seeds & no water. 

The roads were quiet, and I hardly saw anyone. I did see lots of wildlife though, cows, horses, big horn sheep, regular sheep, skunks, a heard of Elk which ran right in front of me, a huge buck, some other deer, rabbits, snakes, a monkey, & coyotes howling in the night  

It was thru here I was unable to shift down into my front small chain ring, about 50 miles from the finish. The housing on the cable was shredded and was rubbing the cable itself, so I peeled as much of it as I could off, tried turning the adjuster barrels but eventually just dealt with not being able to down shift, I certainly did not want my cable to snap! Welp, I gotta lotta miles outta those! Hopefully my mechanic will replace them. 

It was so amazing to be riding through this area, as I looked around I could see the rds to where I was going and it seemed so big, very FUN! The terrain was very friendly, a good time fer shure!

The finish! I was super stoked to make it! There are so many variables and things that can happen in these multi-day rides, ya just never know, so I always feel very fortunate to get to the finish!

As always I learned a few more things which I will carry to my next adventure!

Thanks to Magic Wanda Salsa Cycles, Fitzgerald's Bicycles, Red Barn Bicycles, Princeton Tec, Montbell,  WTB, Giro , Kate's real food & Trackleaders for being a part of another successful ride! 

Til' next time! T-Race

Finishing place	4
Race Status	Finished
Last Update Rec'd	09:17:58 PM (MDT) 08/19/12
Current speed	0.1 mph
Route mile	404.56 mi
Route average speed	6.7 mph
Route distance per day	161.02 mi
Moving Time	1:13:37
Stopped Time	0:22:33
Moving Average Speed	10.8 mph
Current Elevation	3675 ft

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I can't keep up with myself! My right hand is not back to full working order yet, I'm not totally caught up at work, damn that paperwork seems to multiply like rabbits, but I'm super stoked to be gearing up for the Fitz-Barn! Even though this ride will 'hopefully" be just a few days, I am looking forward to the freedom and fulfilling this addiction I have acquired, ride, eat, sleep, repeat.

I was back on the bike a week after I got back from the TD, leading the ladies ride. I've been riding here and there, getting the boyz out on Rush Hour, a sweet new local trail, a few single track rides, which kinda freaks me out knowing the bears are around, plenty of time on the road bike, which is good but I do get bored of, even did a local hill climb, which I thought I was going to do betta in but I was slower then last year, some volunteering at local events, Victor ID fer shure has it going on! Back at the farm, lemme tell ya, people think it's this easy volunteer job, but that farming is physically demanding, some days it's like doing 5 hrs of squats, harvesting & weeding. Pretty awesome we get a homemade lunch afterwards. Since I do get so many veggies and love to cook, that takes time as well. The days are just too short, or maybe I need to hire a house cleaner, chef, grocery shopper, bookkeeper and quit my job.

I started commuting again over Teton Pass last week, drive in, ride Magic Wanda home, ride road bike in, drive home. I love it! Am I recovered from the TD? I don't know. I haven't been sleeping as much as when I first got back, but I am certainly not in any fast kinda shape, I do know that I can ride for a long time. And thats where I am at. I've actually been here for  awhile. I have done a few "fast" races over the past couple years, but my main races have been multi-day & I my 1st real solo race was the Stagecoach 400.

So, I have much to say, many memories to share, I'd love to publish my gear list if I get a chance, and eventually will, but this is all for now. Gotta get ready for the FITZ-BARN!

Long time coming...

I am working on my TD update. I have been catching up with work and life and doing many great things. Be shure my story is something I can't wait to share!