T-Race, a.k.a Tracey Petervary

2012-01-22T12:54:00.000-08:00

What's going on??? Well I had a very interesting year, one I wish to not revisit, which is why I am so looking forward to 2012! It's here, it has begun and it's gonna be fun!!! I have been busy doing stuff, living life. We all know it goes by so quick and day to day life takes time. To start off we have been doing lots of riding in West Yellowstone, and it has been amazing! Not only is the riding out of this world, but it's a quick little w/e get away for Jay, myself and the boyz. The 1st few times we went, people were asking if we were sleeping in the van or outside, but we haven't been, we have been sleeping inside hotels, kinda like "normal" people. We like to head up on Friday, get the boyz out for a couple hour ride along the way and then make our way up to West, either for a quick skate or another ride and spend the night. The next day we get the boyz out and then get ourselves out.

Let's talk about the riding. We have gone several w/e since Thanksgiving and the conditions have always rocked, lots of riding, not much pushing. We haven't had any run ins with the snowmobilers and have gotten plenty of thumbs up! I am comfortable saying there is over 500 miles of sweetly groomed trails for our riding enjoyment! But, it is still a work in progress. We "snow bikers" are a new user group, so details need to be worked out and I agree we should have to contribute some $$ to help pay for the grooming. There are many opportunities for our new sport to grow, many people are gaining interest and want to try it, including some bilers!

The local ski resort, Grand Targhee, has introduced snow biking, and even had it's 1st race Jan 15th, which was a huge success, 46 snow bikers showed up to race! We attempted the West n Back, but due to fluke conditions there was a re-route ridden with a great lunch at the Pond's with lots of brainstorming and story sharing.

So what does my exciting year hold in store? Well I will be heading to MN, instead of Alaska this year to partake in the Arrowhead 135. I am really excited about getting into this race and conquering it! The conditions haven't been favorable for snow biking in MN, but of course it changes constantly, and you never know what'll you'll get but it is fer shure what you make of it! I am looking forward to some nordic skating, more riding in Feb, the Togwotee Winter Classic, spreading the word about snow biking and getting more people on snow bikes! oh and some more riding!

Got some other adventures up my sleeve for the year, so stay tuned!

Til next time!

Gear Baby

2011-04-20T00:51:00.000-07:00

Gesh there is a lot of gear to keep warm and carry in my pockets. On top of all the layers, one starts lookin' pretty prego! So what do I wear? I start with an Ibex wool bra, I/O bio glory zip or contact 2 top, depending on temps, followed by my RBH design vest, Montbell Nomad softshell, and then as temps drop I put on the Montbell thermawrap, which I also refer to as my honey, and when temps really drop I add my Mountain Hardware puffy jacket. I also carry one more jacket used for wind or wetness, and thats the top. Bottom gear starts with Pearl Izumi 3/4 bike shorts and either the I/O Bio 3/4 contact tights or full contct 2 tights, covered by Swix nordic pants which are over 10years old and I have finally wore holes in the seat.

In my pockets: spare headlamp which is the Princeton Tec Fuel, a set of spare batteries which include 8AA and 4AAA, tp, wetwipes, firestarter, matches, tool, aquaphor, chain lube, contacts, toothpaste, toothbrush, 4 packs of handwarmer, camera, and music player. The there is my pack which contains a 200 oz bladder, my Princeton Tec Apex Extreme, a pic to comb my hair, some barretts and eleastics, as well as a list of phone numbers, ID and cash-o-lah. In my pants pocket I carry a small knife, duct tape, and lighters.

This is also how I sleep outside. Fully dressed, with all the layers, water pack, boots on, all the gear in my pockets. My hands get really cold, really fast so I like to be able to just get up, stuff -n-go! This way I can start moving ASAP and get the heat generating.

Socks-n-Boots

2011-04-07T14:09:00.001-07:00

So here is my foot wear setup. I start with one of the 3 base layers, either the super thin Bridgedale liner, a thin Icebreaker sock or sometimes the thicker Smartwool sock, then I use a RBH design vapor barrier, this prevents my insulating sock, which is the Wigwam El-Pine sock, from getting wet. My boots are RU outside Tundra boots which they no longer make-boooo! They have been seamed sealed several times and got a fresh coat just before we left. The replaceable liner, which I did replace this yr, in the boot insulates as well as reflects heat back to the foot. I use the PolarWrap Toasty Feet insole, made to regulate the temperature of the foot, made with aerogel, which is comfortable to me. My feet did get cold just a couple times, probably lack of circulation, but I got off and ran and they warmed right up. I also put hand warmers on my shines which are held there by my socks and around my knees which are held there by my OR gaitors and pants. Due to the colder temps last year, I do believe I did some damage to my toes, cuz it was 3 months before I could flick my shoes off with my toes. I didn't experience that this year with the warmer temps.

Last year I used the thicker Smartwool sock b/c it was much colder goin' to Nome. This yr I used the thin Bridgedale sock to McGrath and the Icebreaker sock goin' to Nome. I did get some rubbin' on the inside of my heel which caused blisters, not shure if it was the holes in the Icebreaker sock, the new vapor barrier sock or the new boot liner, could have been a combination. I also use Aquaphor ointment on my feet, face, hands and a$$. It's one thing that covers it all.

I did step in some overflow and it was approx and hour before it soaked thru to my foot, by which time we were in a safety cabin drying out. Had that cabin not been there, I would have had to stop, make a fire to dry my boots and change my socks. I carry and extra liner sock and wigwam sock for emergency. I also have screws drilled into the bottom of my shoes for traction on the ice.

Frozen overflow leaving Ophir on the way to Iditarod. Now while this setup may work for me, it is highly recommended YOU figure out and TEST what works for you! Til next time!

The race starts long before the starting line

2011-03-29T16:37:00.000-07:00

I remember dreaming of the Iditarod Trail Invitational in June while working on the Cosmic Apple Farm. Not shure how I got so addicted to it, but I did. A lot of people ask me why I do this race. The main reason is because I can. Other reasons include the challenge, the freedom and experiencing big, beautiful, wide open Alaska, having it all to myself at times. Gettin' ready for a race like this starts long before the start line. Purchasing plane tixs, guesstimating a return time, finding someone to watch our house and dogs, gettin all the survival gear together, scheduling all the bills to be paid while we're gone, findin' a place to stay in AK, and gettin' a ride to the airport with our 2 bike boxes and luggage. I started shopping for our drops a month before they had to be mailed, picking up different food items here and there keepin' it as cheap as possible, since everything is X's two. Our main meals consisted of ramen, which I love at the checkpts, Idahoans (instant mash potatoes) with butter, these are good when on the trail using my thermos of hot water, different styles of mac and cheese side dishes with powdered milk, butter (packaged at home) and sometimes a pouch of salmon, also good at checkpts due to it needing to be boiled a little more. I thought I would like the stuffing a lot more, but it wasn't all that and I will probably leave this out next time. These would be our main meals, with JayP varing his with meat. Then there is the trail food. This is really tricky cuz you don't kow what you'll want to eat or how warm or cold the temps will be. Warmer temps, less food, cold temps, possible storm or other variables, more food. I have kept a list of the past 3 yrs and what I put in each drop, I still don't have it dialed but believe I am gettin' better at choosing things I will eat. I love candy, shiny, bright, all the dye and sugar you you can pack in CANDY! Sour patch kids, gummy bears, mike and ikes and welches fruit snack are a few of my favorites. Chocolate bars, I learned a lot about these this yr. I was able to find smoe nice belgium chocolate bars for cheap, but once they froze they tasted like crapolah! So lesson learned the cheaper chocolate usually 2 for 1 bars such as reese PB cup, almond joy, carmello (my fav), reese crunch (2nd fav), PB snickers, take 5, whoppers, are a few I rely on. Then there are the nuts, cakes and cookies. We were fortunate to recieve lots of tasty calories from Tram Bar which was great, but I prefer them chopped in pieces. The cookie of choice is nutterbutter, followed by just about any other kind of cookie. The cakes of little debbie or hostess of any kind are always a welcome treat. I am pretty shure I ate my 1st Suzy Q this past trip, T-lecious fer shure! Fruit pies aren't so good frozen, but thanks to handwarmers, this can be quickly solved. We also carry hot coco, coffee, emergency, cough drops, lots of vitamin I and different hard candies.

Just wanted to get out a food diary and will follow with a gear list soon! Thanks for your support all! Til next time!

ITI 2011-workin' on it!

2011-03-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

I am compiling stories, pictures and workin' on gettin' it together to share. Many people ask what the highlight of my trip was. The truth is there are many highlights, I remember being so happy and smiling A LOT! So to start I'll say some of the highlights were gettin' to the start, waitin' to start is hard. Sleeping outside by myself in -30 temps and fixin' a flat tire at -30 gave me confidence, good thing the wind wasn't blowing. Getting to McGrath and meeting up with Jay was very exciting since I knew this is where the vacation began and knew we would have a great time together. Finding the trail from Ophir to Iditarod was packed down was EPIC! I told JayP I had called "the people" and asked them to take care of it, glad they followed thru! The NEW shelter cabins are beautiful, I hope this encourages people to use the trail, even though it's in the middle of nowhere, guess thats why it's so beautiful. Spending 2 days in Oasis Iditarod in the mushers cabin, and the people that we meet and helped us there was a real treat, so glad we didn't have to camp outside for 2 days. Gettin back on the trail was a relief. The interview in Shageluk was neat. Becoming friends with the trailbreaks was great! Winning the pizza in Unalakleet and the breakfast Nita made us in the checkpt was amazing and very generous of her. Gettin welcomed to Shaktoolik and meetin' up with our friend Rick Swenson was a happy time. Cuttin JayP loose was a huge relief. When leaving Shatoolik, preparing to travel the sea ice of Norton Bay solo in the dark, a man by the name of Phil directed me to the trailhead, then asked if I had ever traveled the sea ice before, it was liberating that I could tell him yes, I have.

Inspiring a mushers to walk the last 10 miles of sea ice whose dogs were running in circles and was going to scratch, I heard he gave me props when he finished. That was very special to me and gives me chills. Meetin' the people of Koyuk, and interactin' with the kids was fun, they asked a lot of questions. Heading to Elim, I had the wickedest tail wind ever, I was just sitting on my bike and the wind blew me to Elim! I passed a musher which was really wild, I also saved a musher from going to the wrong way. Elim was great and to me is the prettiest of all! The ocean and sea ice just does something to me. I got to see JayP briefly and spent some time eatin' and sleepin' in Elim. It was also where I had the BEST piece of musher cheesecake ever. Golovin was a quick stop, but I was greeted by 2 kids and 2 women, who invited me into their house for coffee and bread. I also ate a ramen. Gettin' to White Mountain was bitter sweet, as I knew I was nearing the end. Jack, Joanna and Liam openly welcomed me into their house like it was my own. I had a wonderful diner cooked by Joanna, took a shower and got way more rest then I had intended. Going over Topkok mtn was amazingly stunning, it was hard to keep movin at times b/c I had it all to myself, beside a couple of ravens and really just enjoyed it. Safety was cool cuz there were people there and my friend Dustin the trailbreak, his wife and friends were all amazed by my accomplishment, which felt really good. Last miles into Nome, I had a tail wind, I didn't get caught in the blowhole and knew JayP was waiting for me.

I plan to follow up with a gear, food and detail stories.

I can't help but think of next yr already. This race is the most EPIC adventure I have ever, ever done.

Til next time!

T-Race

TWC1-2011

2011-01-11T20:45:00.000-08:00

The w/e b4 the TWC I remember feelin' chilled, like I couldn't get warm. Shure enough by Tues I was sick, so was everyone else. I decided to ride/be outside as much as I could, you know like gettin' up at 6am. So I was able to accomplish this by riding every morning for 2hrs leading up to the race. Really I had no idea how long the race would take me. It turned out to be 5hr n 20min day followed by good beer, great food and a bunch of friends/teammates (18 to be exact)! Kicked that cold right the heck outta here!

The race was intense. Maybe it is functioning that is my slowness in the am. I am a procrastornater. I remember being called that by my nun teachers in catholic grammer school, it has stuck with me and I believe it. Not really shure what that means, but I know I get some shit done. Gettin up that early, gettin dressed, makin & eatin b-fast, feedin the boyz, gatherin gear, water, DogFood, bowls, wonderin what to wear, loadin up bikes (JayP), preping to camp out, skis, dog gear, walk the dogs, bikini, towel-GO! you gotta be flexible.

The course was easy to follow so long as you had your directions or could remember that much, I had to check mine. All were gearin up in the PL. Lots of new bikes on the scene-lookin good. I don't think anyone warmed up? A picture of us, all lined up would be pretty cool. Head over to the start, ready-GO! Conditions were good in the line, a little soft otherwise, not ideal for passin early on. Lots of climbin, which is just really fun, lots of rollers, whcih are fun too. I love to snowbike, so it's all a good time to me. It was snowing as we started the race and lasted about 2 hrs. I was able to ride with a few of my teammates, TJ & Byers for a bit, watchin JayP in the distance goin faster and faster-he knew I was comin for him! There was a really wicked DH on the K trail, I stuck out my foot and rode it out and made it thru rubber side down, fun when your done!

My eatin was random. I had a sweet potatoe, kidney bean, cheese burrito, same as the night b4, for b-fast, so I was fueled. 1.5 hrs into the race I ate a carmel milky way, which I enjoyed much more frozen, then when I stuck it in my pocket and it got all warm, it's easier to break off when frozen, followed by a PB snickers at some point, pack of cheese crackers and 1/2 bag of jelly ring gummy candy things which got me thru those last few miles. I drank about 40oz of water.

What do I wear?
Obviously temps dictate this, but one thing I always wear unless it's above 30F, is my RBH design Vapor barrier vest, it keeps the sweat warm. I recently received the morning glory zip from I/O Bio, and wholly, this is fer shure my favorite piece. It was perfect for this race and temps, and is going to be my choice for Knik to McGrath. The zipper has a nice protector over it, so the cold metal doesn't ever touch your skin, the hood is sweet, keeps the neck breeze free, and of course, it is so soft. It snowed early on and this piece just thrived. I was never uncomfortable, wet or cold, things I like to leave up to the gear to handle-so it was perfect! Under that I wore the contact top (bra) and racer tank, hey I like my layers! I also appreciate how long the I/O Bio gear is, so my back is never hangin out catchin a draft. Since the temps were so warm, I wore 3/4 cycling knickers and some 13+ year old wind tights on my legs. Again being so warm, I wore super thin Bridgedale liners along with my raglin wool socks inside my RU Outside Tundra boots!

I won the womens division with a time of 5:20, and was quickly reminded by JayP that I was 15 mins behind him like last time! ;)

Super fun time! Til next time!

snowday

2010-12-27T17:47:00.000-08:00

I knew it was goin' to snow big today! Super physced I didn't go to work. Instead I went for a 4.5 hr snowbike ride on the back rds of ID. Departure time was 730am, with a turn around to put more air in my tires, which I later let out. The snow was DEEP today, proabably a foot on top of ice covered rds, but thats ok. After I ate it on a corner, I deceided to let the air out, which was a huge improvement. It was a very quite morning, with few autos out. It wasn't until the tree farm, 1 hr into the ride that the plow caught up with me. Then I turned on Bates, which had only 1 truck track, and once I got to Teton Creek bridge, there was no tracks for a bit, until I hit the next farm. It dumped until I got to Driggs, so goggles were in order. I had to defrost them a couple times in my jacket, which worked really well, a little tip I learned from JayP. Then I headed up to Darby Canyon, the snow was deep here too. I ate it again, due to some off camber ice under a foot of snow, then finished up by takin' the backrds out to the frontage rd, which was smooth sailin', deep but nice. Had some lunch, shoveld, made pizza and chocolate chip cookies. It was a great day!

Rodeo Run

2010-12-17T18:34:00.000-08:00

The w/e's have been the time to get out and do it all! In addition to all the awesome SBing we have sooooo much great skating in the area, it's nutz! Alta has been my go to with the dogs on the w/e. Got them out for a hour of mad runnin' then enjoyed another 45 w/ music and poles. The sun has been gracious as well as the winds, nothin' but perfection! Far from what I expect to receive in AK. I have been Snowshoe runnin' during the week, good trainin' and great for the little dudes to get out. We had some Moose encounters this week and my little problem child Rippin' did outstanding! He saw the moose, kept his distance, let out one bark, told him to come and he was on the leash strollin' past the moose! I'm really proud of him! Chillin' is usually very well behaved/scared so hats off to him too! Jay is up in WYS participating in the Rodeo Run. This is a practice race for him as the handler, Stacey and Frank Teasley finished 3rd and 4th along with their 3 teams of eight as racers. Really exciting! Jay's team got a little tangled up, but he handled it like a pro! I know how much work it is to take care of myself during a race, gesh, think of taken care of yourself and 26 dogs! Jay you the man!

With the holidayz approachin', I got some xmas shoppin done and will be sendin' out cards. Of course I'd rather be w/ JayP in West, but I am really lookin' forward to the several dayz we will be spendin' together in March for our honey "ice" moon. Thoughts are rollin', prep is always in mind. Gettin after it!

2010-12-11T13:43:00.000-08:00

Cedron Bates Loop, 12/11/10, 20F, approx 2hrs. I stopped for a pee break and speak w/ JayP after his double lap on Mt. Glory. 3 people stopped to see if I was ok, timing is everything. I didn't need to use my RBH vapor barrier sock today since it was warm. Bridgedale liners and a wool wigwam sock inside my RU outside boot which is now Baffin. I'd like to get a loop on the front of the toe for my gaitor?? and also need to apply some more wtr sealent on the seams. I do however love wearin' my RBH vapor barrier vest. It's just a piece of essiential gear. I saw my snowbiker buddies, the Byers gettin' some SBin' done themsleves. We disscussed the sizing of the VB vest, when travelin' via snowbike your clothes need to be bigger so you can fit stuff in your pockets/jacket perhaps your goggles or snowglasses if they freeze. It's easier to get your Jacket zipped up and is more comfortable with a water pack on. Pit zips, a two way zipper on jackets. Elastic waste band pants instead of having to tie.

Thoughts

2010-12-06T16:24:00.000-08:00

The wx has been fluctuating a lot, so it's a good thing I have gear, snowshoes, Nordic skis, xc skis, a bike w/ studded tires and a snowbike b/c I have been usin' them all! I think about the Alaska Ultra Sport everyday. Thinkin' about those rough times I will need to push thru, the solitary times and of course the good times which brings a huge smile to my face. Until then I continue to "practice". I don't follow an actual trainin' regimen, but I know how important it is to get out everyday, or as much as I can. I am thankful to have the boyz (dogs) Rippin' & Chillin', b/c yes there are days I'm not so motivated and since I have chosen to be a dog owner and I am responsible for gettin' them out to exercise, I do, it creates a happy world for all of us.

I'll be working on gettin' my gear & food list together from notes I compiled from last yr. I will also be thinkin' about what I can get done prior to arriving AK for Nome. It was a little crazy last yr with all the running around before hand. We are on a pretty tight budget, so fer shure plannin' ahead of time will certainly help.

I am looking forward to the new Ti bike and rims we are graciously receiving from Chain Reaction Cycles in AK. Their support has been unbelievable as well as their bikes!

Til next time! Movin' forward!

The Cube in Rexburg, 3 race series

2010-11-14T08:12:00.000-08:00

The Cube is a really fun race series and being that is less then an hour away makes it great! The City of Rexburg, Bob and Chris have done a super good job making a challenging and spectator freindly course, then even run it in reverse!

Lat week I raced with the ladies, their were 5 of us. The ladies are really awesome and fun, but since I have more experience the playing field wasn't fair. So after last weeks race I asked Bob if I could race with the dudes, no problem.

I have to admit, I was nervous and my main concern was gettin' in the way of my fellow racers, but JayP gave me confidence and suggested I just go for it! So I did. I watched the ladies race go off and then started my warm up. I did a couple laps and the course was definitely technical with some running, but REALLY fun. It had snowed so sloppiness it was going to be. The ladies finished and it was the men's time to go. All the men had lined up 5 a breast, there were about 20, then I pulled up and placed myself in the front row. There were a couple comments, one being, I hope you guys don't have big egos, shure no pressure, thanks. It was a little brisk standing there waiting for the go. The horn went off and with all I had a raced for the hole shot, I wound up in 3rd off the line. Within seconds I was passed by 2 men, but that was it! I held on to my place for 8 laps, the middle laps were the hardest of course, but I kept it together. JayP was cheering me on the whole time along with other teammates and friends. I finished 5th overall and felt great! I had a clean race with no bobbles and just kept my head together-wanting it more then the men who finished behind me. Looking forward to next week, the last of the Rexburg and my cross season racing this year, I think.

Thanks to all for the support!

whoa!

2010-11-09T17:56:00.000-08:00

Well I can't believe that the Alaska Ultra Sport is only 4 months away. I don't think a day has gone by that I haven't thought about it. And of course so much has happened since then. I have all these 1/2 post that I started and are just sitting waiting to be finished.

For example the story from McGrath to Nome. I remember bits and pieces now and may still work on this. Returning to ID it snowed til June, the vision of white was overpowering. Driving 17 hours to Iowa to race for 12 hours and then have the race called due to lightening, then driving back the next day. I kinda don't want to remember that race. I wasn't as motivated as I normally am to race MTB this year like I have been for the past 15+ years, even though I purchased a brand new super sick Jamis 29er, which is just amazing. I competed in the Boise 9-5, which was a blast, and another story I have 1/2 written. Then there was the Leadville 100, Jay and I raced on the Grinch. I don't think it helped us building this bike less then 2weeks before the race, and not having it dialed it. We finished in 9hrs 9mins.

I led the Fitzgerald's women's ride on Weds with the help of the other women top shelf riders, which was great. Really great to see the women come out and try it. By the end of the season there was a consistant group of 5 training for Lotoja, that was really awesome to see and be a part of. I supported my husband JayP, who won Master's 35+, despite me missing the feed in Afton, which of course I felt horrible about.

Then what? Freakin' cyclocross season! Wholly fun-ness! To date I have competed in 5 races winning 3 Thanks to Victor Velo for creating and putting on Kross Kickoff, Moosecross and Spooky cross. I volunteered to host a women's cyclocross clinic in Victor, ID at Pioneer Park on Tues. We had a solid group which averaged around 5 women and everyone made so much improvement and learned so much, including myslef. Thanks to my friend J9 I was able to get rid of my stutter step!

So I have 2 cross races left in Rexburg at The Cube. This w/e I will be racing against the men, which I am REALLY looking forward to. Then, it is time to focus on snowbiking and the Alaska Ultra Sport.

I will start snowshoe running with my 2 boy dawgs and will watch the grooming report like a hawk.

Knik Lake to McGrath 2010

2010-03-20T11:23:00.001-07:00

Well, we did it! Our snowbike trip to Nome AK was the most wicked thing I have ever done. My fingers and toes feel like they are sleeping, my nose is burnt from frost, a piece of ice formed on my buff which was covering my nose and thats how it got burnt, I had no idea it was there. The ride from Knik to McGrath seems so long ago. It was very warm when we started, approx 30 to 40 degrees. I was so nervous at the start, I made myself sick. My stomach was just in knots, wondering how I was going to do this with out my safety blanket JayP? Would I be able to get up the happy steps? How would I get over the pass if I were alone? What if I fell in open water? Gesh! Well all that worring may have helped and kept me focused on the goal-finishing! Winning the race and setting a new record was a bonus. My 1st 6 hrs I was unable to eat due to the stress I had caused myself. We just used the leftovers from our other drops so most of the food I had was chocolate, I like it but could have used some real candy, sour patch kids, Mike & Ikes, I like that kind of candy and it works for me. The temps were warm and the trail was variable. Before the race JayP said I should suck it up and try to mke it to Skwentna, but when I had arrived at Yentna I was completely soaked due to the warm temps, it was after midnight and the only thing I wanted to suck up was a pillow. I ate some Ramen, which I really developed a taste for on this trip, dried my stuff and slept there for approx 3 hrs. I departed the next morning at 425am, the trail conditions were variable, so some walking some riding, it took me approx 7 hrs to get to Skwentna. I had a salmon burger there, dried a few things, spoke with Craig who was breaking trail then continued to Zoe's place. Again the trail comditions were variable. I stopped at Zoe's had a bag of stuffing and a bag of instant potatoes, spoke with some locals who were having a good time, then continued to Finger Lake. As I was leaving Zoe's 2 of the men sleded out to some overflow and clearly marked it so no one would fall in. They were very kind and really wanted to help out. I made it to Finger Lake at 1am to find everyone sleeping. I looked in one of the tents and thought I saw a bunch of chopped off pig heads, but when I looked again the following morning it turned out to be sleeping chickens, guess I was tired. I got my drop, left a lot of food there and departed the next morning with a few others, heading towards Puntilla, which wind up being mostly a walk. My main goal was to stay close enough to someone so I could travel over the Rainy Pass with them. I wind up lagging behind, which meant I had to climb the happy steps by myself. It wasn't as bad as I feared and I even had an audience. Craig Medred was there taking pictures and making me laugh. He was joking around with me saying "Look at me, I'm so little and my bike is so big!" Once my bike is fully loaded, yes it looks pretty big. I caught up with the guys just before Puntilla, but about 5 miles to Puntilla some sort of sprint started, I wasn'r able to keep up, but casught the guys at the checkpoint. We all got some food and rest before heading over Rainy Pass. We pretty much walked from Finger Lake to Rohn. Once at Rohn, Rob who is just an awesome volunteer greeted us with food, warm drinks and made room for us to sit and eat. We all got some sleep before heading to Nikolai. We departed approx 830am. We had to cross some ice and it was really cold, but I recall riding a lot. I was with Bill Fleming, Plesko and Kyle, I was very fortunate to be with these guys, we had a great ride and even some fun! Once we got to Nikolai we had some of the most awesome spagehtti, cheese and butter, which I remembered from last year at was looking forward to. Nick and Olene welcomed us into their house at midnight and were so helpful in feeding us and letting us dry out our stuff. Within 2 hrs we were ready for departure. We wind up dropping Plesko, just becasue he was being thoughtful about me trying to break the record. I was amazed how Chris was able to do this race on a Singlespeed 1st of all, and then with a ankle he had broke only a few months before. So the pack was Bill, Kyle, Sean and myself. They totally pushed me to keep going and helped keep my focus on winning and setting a new record, Sean even shared his skittles, which was very exciting to me, since I love candy. I really didn't think about either, until I was approaching Nikolai. So the stint from Rohn to McGrath wind up being 24 hrs. Once I got to McGrath at approx 10am I was reunited with JayP, who I couldn't wait to see and greeted with a plate of MANCAKES!!! What a treat!

Thank you Chain Reaction for the sick 907 rocket ship, which made my adventure amazingly comfortable. Thanks to Fitzgerald's Bicycles for all your help. Thanks to Jeff at Carousel Design works for the custom frame bags, which carried all my survival gear. Thanks Salsa, Vicious Cycles and Wilson Hardware for giving me the time off.

I knew we would be departing the next day by noon, so I took a shower, washed my clothes, ate and slept as much as I could. Stay tuned for part 2, onto Nome!

2010-02-08T16:36:00.000-08:00

Last w/e we rode about an hour from the house up to Darby Canyon where we slept for the night, it was a full moon and quite. Everything went super smooth. We found a spot and kicked out enough room for the both of us. I took my boots, jacket and water pack off and stuffed them into the bottom of my bag, just to see how it would all fit. It was very cozy. We had some cookies and hot chocolate, slept for 7 hrs, woke up and headed back home. The temps have been really mild here in comparison to the temps along the Ultra Sport Route.

Look Mom! I can fly!!

I'm too handsome for myself!

I love spending time with all my boyz! Rippin' and Chillin' are really awesome. We spend at least 1-2 hours a day, snowshoe running, nordic skiing or snowbiking, otherwise all their energy explodes in the house, and thats just nutz!

Friday I became sick in the head, like there was something stuck up my nose, sneezing and runny nose soon followed and has been hangin around since. Rippin', Chillin' and I proceded to ride Darby canyon, it has been great! Usually nobody is there and we can run all over. Sat, I rode a 2 hr loop from the house then took the boyz out snowshoeing.

Sunday we all headed up to the Warm Springs campground for some snowbiking! Chillin' and Rippin' joined us for the 1st 5 miles, then we dropped them off and headed out for some super sweet riding! The trails were just unbelievable! Miles and miles of beautifully groomed trails in perfect condition! We could have spent forever out there. We are really fortunate to have this incredible network of trials just an hour from our house!

We are really excited about the Ultra Sport and working on getting in all together!

Til next time!

wishing...

2010-01-29T18:34:00.000-08:00

My heart will be in MN this w/e...We really, REALLY wish we we're packing up gear, food, the truck and heading to MN to do the Arrowhead 135 this w/e but with my career as an accountant, Sunday being month end, and my boss JUST deciding he was going to AZ for the week, just can't make it work. Maybe next yr. So good luck to all! Hope your recovered for AK!!!

This week has been fun! Got in some serious snowshoeing with the boyz in the am, a couple nordic skiis under the lights at Pioneer Park, a supa fast snowbike TT from the house Friday, a technical SB today-it was hot! got the boyz out for another snowshoe and ressting up for the practice overnighter tonight. It's nice to be able to ride from the house for a few miles and access a nice quite place to sleep. Looking forward to the run thru!

2010-01-17T16:56:00.000-08:00

Gosh it just seems to be day after day of fun! or what some people call training.

Nice to start the week off with some nordic sprints under the lights at Pioneer Park. So fun to have others to play with!

My ever faithful playmates, always ready, always patient, always having fun!

Freshies!!!

Everyday is beautiful!

It was a great week of playing and I expect more to follow. Camp Dave was great this w/e! I was able to make 2 out of the 3 days and it was nice to share the adventures and fun times with good company. It's all what you make out of it. The 1st day of camp Dave was interesting. We didn't get to ride much but we spent some time out in some blowing snow pushing our bikes, it wasn't like 120 miles or anything. Day 2 was very fast on the QUIET backrds of Idaho, approx 20 miles in 2:15. I squeaked out another 45 minutes riding with the boyz and checking on the mayor's kitties. Looking forward to another great week of "playing" which started today with a snowshoe run in the am before work and a skate afterwards-with my little buddies, who are currently passed out sleeping!

Til next time.

2010-01-10T11:39:00.000-08:00

Kicking off 2010 with the Togwotee Winter Classic was brilliant!

I am not a fan of getting up in the morning, so I am fortunate to have a husband as wonderful as JayP, who makes the coffee, takes care of the dogs, loads up the bikes and then still patiently waits for me. Thank you love.

I am also fortunate to be riding an alunimum 9 zero 7 (which eats snow for breakfast, lunch and diner) from Chain Reaction in Anchorage, AK. This bike is dynomite! It is 2lbs lighter then my Pugsly and switching the parts was cake for my mechanic a.k.a JayP. The 9 zero 7 frame is an 15 inch compared to the 16 inch pugs, so it feels more like my MTB cockpit, which I am really enjoying.

Jan 9th, 2010-Seven snowbikers met at Togwotee Mtn. Lodge in Moran, WY for the 9 am start of the 3rd annual Togwotee Winter Classic snowbike race. As each of us arrived we fiddled with our gear and questioned what we would wear. The overnight temps remaind around zero which helped keep the track firm. The start was approx zero as well with the temp rising to almost 30F when we finished. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel and was a little nervous. Ready go! We started off climbing and continued to do so for approx 8 miles. About 5 mins into the race, JayP of course takes off, bye-bye! At this point it was JayP, the Junkie, and Fitzy ahead of me with Keith hot on my tail. It took me about 3 miles to finally start warming up and the climbs were feeling really good. After a short battle with Fitzy on the climbs I was able to pull ahead and focus on what was ahead of me.

I could occasionally see Dave Byers in front of me and really wanted to catch him. I continued to drink, kept the pedal strokes strong and efficient and kept pushing the legs and mind to go! The course was in great shape with 98% of it being ridable. The terrian is wicked fun, lots of steep climbing with supa fast DH's and lots of rolling in between. At about hr 2:12 it accured to me that I could beat the women's record, with this motivation and the focus of trying to catch Dave I was really pushing myself. I finished 3rd overall and set a new women's record with a time of 2:57, 6 minutes behind Dave and 20 minutes behind JayP. It was a blast having racers to chase and wondering how close the racers behind me were. I didn't really eat much during the race, approx 5 chocolate peanut clusters, due to the homemade breakfast burritos we chowed on the way to the race. I drank about 32 oz of the 96 oz of the water I was carrying. I get nervous about running out of water and am getting use to carrying the full bladder.

After we all finished we had lunch at the Lodge, which was generously purchased by Athlete 360 and received great prizes from Fitzgerald's Bicycles, the Bunnery and JayP. We exchanged stories from our rides, laughed and went over some tips.

Looking forward to the next adventure!

2009-10-24T07:01:00.001-07:00

Well a lot has happened since Laramie Enduro, and what a trip it's been! 2 days after getting back from the TD the place we had been care taking at, informed us they were going to remodel our place and we had to be out in 30 days-whew! Ok so we did just that we found a house, got a mortgage and moved in, all within approx 30days! Jay did most of the moving and packing, he is definitely a professional. So the last thing we needed to pick up was our kayaks from a friends house, then all our stuff would be here-done! Jay then headed to the bike park, 30 minutes before diner to tool around, upon his return, was a broken collar bone. Good thing we got all our stuff moved in.

Our dog Burnin' had been throwing up, so we took her to the vet. I thought she might have eaten a dead bird and was having trouble passing it. It turns out she was diagnosed with Ostersarcoma, it's a type of bone cancer, but in her case it was lining 2/3 of her stomach and part of her intestine, there really wasn't anything we could do. She went on for 5 weeks, was happy and of course beautiful. She was able to walk and was playing with her ball. Her last w/e was at Moosecross, she was out walking around saying hello to everyone, being her lovable self. Monday morning we went for a walk down the road approx 9am, she got in my jeep like she always did, ready to go to work with me. She was in my car approx 2 hrs when i went to get her, she wouldn't lift her head and her breathing was very labored. I was freaking out, trying to get in touch with Jay who didn't have his phone, when he pulled up, it was like Burnin sent him a message to come. We drove to the vet, carried her inside and laid on the floor with her, within 10 minutes she had passed on her own. We were very lucky she waited for us both to be there with her. There will never be another Burnin'. She went everywhere, everyday with us. She traveled to Mexico, Canada and several of the western states with us on our vacations. She was so well behaved, didn't jump on people, didn't bark or bite, she was caring, kind and oh so soft, like a big teddy bear. When we would go out for rides or even at races, we would leave the truck door open and she would sit and wait until we were finished. She touched so many peoples lives with her charisma and enthusiasm for life. People would always comment on how soft her hair was and often asked if she was a puppy-gosh, I wish! Burnin' will always be with me everywhere, everyday.

2 weeks before Burnin' passed we added Rippen & Chillen to our family, 2 male yellow lab mixed 6 month pups. They wrestle and play with each other and are coming along just fine. It's great to see them tear up the backyard chasing each other and enjoying their toyz. We really need to work on their training, but they definitely understand and listen to the command come, for now.

Cyclocross season has been great, I've completed 3 races so far and have 4 to go. I am so fortunate to be able to ride to the start line from my house for 4 out of 7 races. The Victor bike park is just amazingly fun! Til next time, Spooky Cross Oct 31st!

Laramie Enduro 09-Loveshack style

2009-08-11T07:22:00.000-07:00

YeeHaw! The Laramie Enduro! What a terrific time! I really wasn't sure how it would turn out. I imagined walking more then we did, possibly taking some diggers, but none of that happened.

We left JH around 12ish. On the way there we encountered this horrific hail storm about an hour outside of Laramie. The ice chunks quickly gathered on the side of the road and the hood of the truck, there was one pt. we were sprayed by a truck and couldn't see at all! Pick up the race packet at Fine Edge, smooth and organized. Good T-shirt, good swag bag. I recall it always raining in Laramie. We got to camp about 20 mins b4 the rain hit, which gave us enough time to set up camp and have a dry diner. Had some pre-made T-race pasta, bread and cc cookies, and of course a beer. Does anyone sleep the night b4 the LE? Jay is the am person, I am pm, good thing. He is excellent at waking up, getting the coffee going and me moving. Jay pretty much does everything twice as fast as me, and when it comes to eating, it might be 4x's as fast, ie., he can eat 4 potatoes to my 1. The start was great, we rode right thru the single-track! Aid one we grabbed a gel, banana and refilled a water bottle. Before we even started the race I was telling Jay I would like to walk this one steep DH, as we approached it I was repeatively saying, I don't want to do it, I don't want to do it, and before you know it we were descending and had cleared it. We had a good time on the firerds catching people left and right, cruisin'! Aid 2 we stopped to check the air in the tires, the fresh strawberries were so good I didn't want to leave, grabbed some more banana-GO! I remember them laughing at the aids because I was trying to stuff food in my mouth while Jay was asking if I was ready, and the food was just flying all over. I get a lot of comments like "oh you can just hang out back there and do whatever." They should try it, I'd like to see them to even be able to hold on! Eating, which includes having the food, unwrapping the food, getting the food to the mouth, breathing, stoking and drinking at, well, you'd have to try it to understand it. The help at the aid stations was amazing. Pointing out the food, filling wtr btls, holding the bike and asking what we needed. We lubed the chain a couple times. Aid 4, I really needed to recoup there, but no time for that. I ate a couple chips and 1 potato, chugged a cup of gatorade, and Jay said are you ready? I said no as I climbed back on the shack starting to feel the past hrs wearing. As we headed into Headquarters, it became harder to breath. There was a steep part in there and I just lost it. Jay was pushing the bike, I was trying to help, my breathing got short and shallow, and then there was no more air coming into my lungs. I had to stop, put my hands in the air and try to relax. I've had shortness of breath before, but never like that, completely scary. I think my body was stressed from trying to keep up with JayP. The tight single-track was really fun! There was a couple close calls with the trees, but what I learned is KEEP YOUR HANDS AND FEET INSIDE THE RIDE AT ALL TIMES!! I know I have walked some of those DH in the past, but with JayP as captain, there was no hesitation. Such a weird view from the back coming down the rocky DH, only being able to see parts here and there, but that's better fer shure! Towards the end the timing chain fell off 2x. It was great to get back on the single-track we had seen just 6 hours ago and be headed towards the finish! We finished 1.5 hrs ahead of the 2nd place tandem team and somewhere around 50th overall! The after party is definitely worth hanging around for. LOTS of great food, drinks, raffle prizes and friends to reminisce about the race with! I would HIGHLY recommend this race!

Tour Divide 09

2009-07-10T17:15:00.000-07:00

Gesh! Where do I start? Getting to the start was a little adventure itself. We rented a car in JH, the smallest car they had of course and stuffed the loveshack in it, drove up to Whitefish, spent the night, rode 100 miles into Canada, where we layed around on the grass of a burger joint for 3 hours waiting for our ride. Got our ride to Banff from Aaron Teasdale, thank you, arrived around midnight or so, slept, got up, ready go!

Canada was beautiful and rugged. This is where we learned how to ride the loveshack, being that we got our bike only 1 month before the race (not by choice), we really had no back rd experience on it. Sure we had a month to practice on flat, paved rds, but getting out climbing and descending on firerds that were rocky, loose, gravel and sometimes mud slick, WHOA! That was eye opening fer shure! It was hard at first, the sound of the gears and chain grinding and popping, the communication, co-ordination of pedaling, shifting, standing and coasting together. But after a week or so, we were riding like pros, ok maybe not pros, but definitely a lot smoother. Climbing was really difficult because of all the weight between us, the bike, gear and food, but the DH-wholly smokes! I was definitely not ready for that. Not being use to having no control on loose, gravely, mud-slick roads took some getting use to. At first I kept asking Jay to slow down, which made it harder for him since he knew I was so nervous, that energy spreads. On the finally decent to the pavement in CA, I was in tears, it was wet, cold and the rd was supa mud-slick, cows running next to and around us while we were traveling at probably 40 mph, I just couldn't control myself.

Getting to the border and into Eureka was a huge relief. We got some food and carried on. That night we missed a turn, slept and in the am took a very beautiful 30 mile side trip up to a lake-it was early in the race, so we just recovered from our error and carried on. Traveling together, it's easy to lose focus, cause we were having such a good time!

Montana was really beautiful and BIG!! But the passes were really cute! Nice, rolly rds. This is where we meet Paul Bunyan aka Jim. Jim asked me what I thought of MT, as he was towering over me at what seemed to be 8 ft tall, my response was everything is really BIG!! It took us a long time to get out of Montana, I guess cause it was so BIG! It was really wet and there was SO much water everywhere, but the mosquitoes didn't seem to be an issue. We lost our spot in Lincoln and replaced our drive train in Helena.

We seem just to cruise thru ID, but I do remember the rail trail. Jay said it was a lot worse for him when he did it in 07, and it was definitely bumpy while we were going thru, so I'm glad it wasn't any worse. The mosquitoes starting getting bad here. Poor Jay, I think for every bite I got he got 20! As we headed down the end of the trail, we saw some men in orange in the middle of the trail-waving and yelling! How cool! It was our good friends and teammates Dave B and Piker! They came to greet us and cheer us on!

Ahh-WY, our home state. It was nice to get here and know we would see the familiar Tetons we love. As we were descending towards Flagg Ranch-who did we see? Our good buds and teammates, Jill, Andy, Chris E. and Lori! More friends greeting us and cheering us on! They got some pics, a little video and Chris E made us a cool banner! After we got some snacks at Flag we headed to Leeks, breaking the chain on the way, for some yummy pizza and tea. We made it to Moran, which wasn't too far for some sleep. The next morning was really hard for me to get up. Up and over Togwotee pass, then on to Union pass. Union pass was tough. It started raining, so the mud and gravel gunked up our drive train and we broke the chain like 4x's.

CO, was definitely the hardest climbing. The passes were steep and long. We replaced our drive train at the Orange Peel in Steamboat. They were really awesome, taking the time to work on the loveshack, getting it dialed in and telling us where to get big fat burritos-which were delicious!

Getting to NM was very exciting, but also very sad, because it meant the end was in sight. Our stop in Abiqui was a good time. Good food, and we were with Chris P., so it changed the scenery and conversation. There was some dogs chasing us thru the town and into the night, heading up the pass, but we were saved by a cattle guard. We climbed 1/2 this pass at night and then finished in the morning. This is where the rainbow gathering was happening, miles and miles of cars, hippie vans, painted buses and people! Lots and lots of people in the middle of the woods. The wx on the final stretch in was just like the prior days, enough rain just to soak everything, rain jacket on, rain jacket off. As we headed in for the last 20 miles we were lucky to run into Kurt on his way back from the finish. He and Maggie were kind enough to turn around and wait for us at the finish and give us a ride to Deming.

And that was it-it was over! No more simplicity of riding 15-20 hrs a day, living off the bike, no more putting on wet Lycra first thing in the morning, definitely no more king size candy bars and crazy food we ate, no more solitude of the trail. Of course there are a ton of details and experiences I have not included, just cause it would be a book. Maybe someday that will happen.

Thanks to our friends Jill, Andy and Cora for taking care of our kids, Burnin' & kitty. Dave Byers for the support and getting our spot back on. Thanks to everyone who helped build our bike, WTB, Fitzgerald's Bicycles, Phil Wood, Crank Bros., Salsa, Slime, Old Man Mtn. racks, Carousel Design for the sweet frame bags, Smartwool, Montbell for keeping us warm at night, Slime for keeping up flat free-which is unbelievable, and MTB Tandems for the guidance and generous support!

Thanks Jay for being the best husband I could ever have! Sharing this adventure with you was just amazing! We are really fortunate to have each other.

more weekends like that!

2009-05-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

Having a 4 day w/e sure is nice! We could all use more of those! Starting off Friday, which was Jay's and mine 10 yr wedding annivesary, we did what we love best-RIDE! We left from our house on our road bikes and rode out to Antelope flats which is about a 40 mile ride round trip. On our way back we stopped in Kelly, WY at a little cafe for some really good coffee. That evening we celebrated with some wine, sake and sushi! Good times. Sat, I did my 1st crit race. I'm not really into road racing and all the tactics, but it was fun to be out with friends, riding bikes. Sun, we took the tandem AKA "the loveshack" up Teton Pass! It was a little wet out, but the nano raptors held tight! We meet our friend Dave on the top, stop for a couple photos, it was so cold and windy, we headed out ASAP. It was so fast on the way down! The DH is sooo fast on the tandem, it's awesome. Monday, I rode from the house taking the backroads, Spring Gulch, to the park and came back home along Moose-Wilson rd, which was super quite and in pretty good shape.

Tandem-maiden voyage

2009-05-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

Well, the tandem is so supa-fun! JayP and I left from the house and rode out to Slide Lake, Sunday on the tandem! Gosh it was so fun! It was approx 80 miles all on the road and took about 5 hrs. I was a little nervous on the first downhill heading out of the driveway, but after that it was like, let it rip! It was nice that Jay didn't have to wait for me, we could talk to each other, and I could totally look around and check things out, make grill cheese, nap. There is some definite dialing in to be done, fitting, temp parts that will be replaced, new vocabulary to be learned, but what a good time and an exciting adveture to look forward to. Jay's pack was a little in my face, but once we have our amazing bags from CDW that will take care of that. So many details, to go over and figure out. We are going to have so much fun on our upcoming trip, I can't wait!

More wicked times!

2009-05-11T18:12:00.001-07:00

More wicked times! Over the w/e JayP and I headed out to test some of our gear on an overnighter from Pindale to Alantic City, WY. It was approx 175 miles, which took approx 15 hrs. We hardly saw any people, or cars which was really nice. Although you feel miles and miles away from everything, there was a main hwy with in 10 miles. The wx was mild, kinda chilly especially when the wind blew, which WY is infamous for. We left Pinedale around 1130am and arrived in AC around 730pm. I was fine up until about mile 70, then just got really tired, but pushed on to and made it to AC. We didn't really have any plans except to sleep somewhere. When we got to AC we had a bit to eat and asked around for a place to stay, when we were offered a wood shed, I was relieved, perfect! It got below freezing that night, so we were totally stoked we had some coverage. I was really pleased with my new Neo thermarest and Marmot 40 degree bag, probably could have worn another layer and put the bivy on.

What did I learn:

-Well I didn't just learn this but CDW are the best bike bags ever! My sleeping system was secure to my handle bars, I was able to carry my stay warm gear in my seatbag with no problem .
-I tested a Montbell pack that Jay let me borrow and carried 200 oz of water, it was very comferble for me and carried xtra gear (my favorite Montbell UL thermawrap jacket) I didn't have room for on my bike.
-went to bed warm, but as the temps dropped during the night I could have used another layer.

-don't sleep in a wet chamis
-life on the bike is so sweet

Well we are working on getting our tandem built up for a test ride and some more gear testing. Yahoo!

Till next time.

RAIN

2009-05-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

The wx in JH. Sun, snow, rain-repeat every 5 minutes. Well the rain has been pretty consistant. Riding between the drops has become a mastered craft. Fortunately we were able to get out on Sunday just before the rain really hit and even enjoyed seeing a double rainbow. Still waiting for the tandem to arrive and get some practice in.

Spring clean-up

Some of us just can't let go of the snow.

Lemme outside already.

Spring is coming!

No rain, no rainbow-ok I gotta picture!

Moab, 4/15-4/21/09

2009-04-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

OK, here is my 1st post!

Had a sweet w/e in Moab, UT, lots of riding and of course spending time with my favorite person, JayP and my best dawg, B-love.

We left JH Weds at 830pm, grabbed a pizza at Wildlife in Victor, ID and slept in Pookie, ID at the super 8, arrived in Moab, UT approx 3pm Thurs. We set up camp at Slickrock at one spot, but then moved an hour later after a better spot became available, it's all about timing.

Thurs-rode fins n things, 10ish miles, good warm up.

Fri-Slickrock, practice & reg loop. I have ridden Slickrock several years and have come close to clearing it all, but for some odd reason I was freaked out diving right into the big loop today. After informing Jay I was freaked out, we rode the practice loop, where Jay kindly pointed out that ALOT of people ride this trail, as a group of people stood next to me with their bikes wearing jeans, sweatpants and sneakers, my confidence rose. It was a great ride. 15 miles, 2 hrs. It was super windy.

Sat-Porcupine Rim, 30 miles round trip, 4 hrs, 70oz of water, fantastic ride as always. After a nap we rode Two Tortoise Rock, 16 miles, 2 hrs and great views. There really were turtles.

Sun-Dead horse point, 70 miles, 5.5 hrs from Slickrock, the rd was in great shape with hardly any traffic, a definite great alternative to Arches.

Mon-JH ride, 26 miles, 70oz of water. This ride combines 3 rides in one, with an awesome hike a bike and sweet DH to finish. Lots of sun exposure and crazy views. Along the way we were invited to stop at a the ranch where you turn to JH. I was amazed at where this man lived.

Tues-We had planned to ride Slickrock again b4 we left, but woke up late and with the long drive ahead called it a trip.

To keep it cheap, we camped at Slickrock all 5 days, cooked all our meals, which were killer and Jay did lots of bike maintenance. I'd really like to be there right now.

Burnin. What a great girl. She is an excellent camp dawg. Despite having to wait for us several hours at a time, the walking, running and swimming she did up Mill Cr everyday was a great adventure for her as well.