I just signed up for ....

Vision Quest 2007

As quickly as I signed up, it has sold out. Thankfully Georgina talked me into signing up in time!

I have been too busy to update much on the blog lately. Just putting in base training and trying to fit in Christmas shopping and work!

Happy Holidays!

ESRI Hell Ride Group Photo

Here is the group picture from this year's Hell Ride. I organized the event again this year and it was a success! We had an even bigger turnout than last year (perhaps the largest turnout ever for a Hell Ride in the 10+ years it's been going on! There are a few people missing from the photo, but I think this shot turned out really great (Thanks Steve!) I think we had 34 riders total, 31 who did the longer course. There are alot of great riders at ESRI and non-ESRI folks who came from as far as OC.

Also thanks to Bob, Joy, Colleen, Trevor, Suzanne, John and Lisa for a great pre-ride the weekend before!

The long course ended up around 38.5 miles including some pavement.

More Demo Bikes!

The last two weekends I have tried out some more excellent 2007 bikes!

Including the Trek Fuel EX 9.5.....
I enjoyed this bike on a nice long 40 mile MTB ride. It was nice to have the suspension for the long haul. This bike climbed great for a dual sus and was only just over 24 lbs! NOT BAD for a dual sus! it had 2007 XTR group and performed great. Also had Bontrager Race Lite wheels and a nice Bontrager tire set up. I would definately like to get my hands on a Top Fuel to see the weight difference and stiffness during climbgs. The nice thing about this bike is that it was set up perfectly for my weight and suspension preferences. So the suspension kicked in only when needed. Thanks to Greg and Josh from Trek for another great demo bike!


And the Orbea Alma 29'er (only full carbon 29'er on the market!)



Both bikes were fantastic, but my heart goes to the hardtail! Riding a 29'er for the first time was awesome. It handled very well on climbs, turns and semi-technical sections. I took the bike out on SART, but not any super technical sections. So not sure how it would handle on say, east coast rocks/roots. Also didn't take it on any super steep/technical climbs. I have heard that 29'ers aren't the best for those conditions if you can't keep the momentum going with the larger wheels. I will have to test it out to see! I LOVED the full carbon HT frame. It was plush compared to my aluminum frame. The bike fit me very welll and I loved the FSA and SRAM X.0 components. The Bontrager Race Lite wheels also felt great. The bike handled nice and stiff on the climbs and made little bumps feel like nothing. I also felt like it cornered very well, even on narrow turns (maybe I was just imagining things). I had a blast and would definately love to ride that bike again! Thanks to Ramon at my shop, Redlands Cyclery USA. I have to say, Orbea makes a sweet mountain bike! I am happy with my road bike and even happier with the experience on the Alma!

Good Luck Jonathan!

I wanted to send out a wish of luck to my friend Jonathan Weaver. This coming weekend he will embark on his 2nd Ironman (and said to be his final as he shifts gears to focus 100% on road racing). Ironman Florida is this Saturday! For updates check out Jonathan's blog.

Jonathan will be coming back to SoCal next spring to join me at the San Dimas Stage Race. He is working on bringing out some of his teammates from Feedback Sports Racing in Boulder.

GOOD LUCK JONATHAN!

Cal State Finals

The 2006 MTB season is officially over!

Well after much deliberation, I decided to go out and race the California State Finals at windy, hot and brown Castaic Lake Recreation Facility. In 5 years of racing in SoCal, I have never been able to fit the finals into my schedule. The last few years October has been time for travel, weddings, wildfires and the start to the off-season. This year Team Big Bear kept the season going a bit longer! My body was already somewhat in the off-season, so I knew this race would be tough! Castaic is known for short steep climbs and a few long, somewhat loose climbs.

Apart from the pain and suffering caused by not being able to train as much the last few weeks and a nauseous feeling in my tummy almost the whole race, it was a good day. I had fun starting off the race with Chrissy, Carolyn and Tommara. People commented about how there was too much friendly chatter at the start. Actually the chit-chat continued for the first 5 minutes or so into the race. It was probably the most relaxed start ever! I think the expert women's start was alot faster. But it was fun and a nice way to end the season.

In the end, I finished pretty far behind but wasn't expecting to go out there and have a stellar race in the first place. I finished 3rd (Tommara DNF'd) , so I ended up on the podium one more time for the season which was very nice. Even better, I ended up 4th overall for the series. Moved back up from 5th (was in 2nd place for half the season, but missed the last few races so lost points).

One last race podium for the season. 3rd place.

4th place overall for the series

Greg's parents were at the race and got to see me start and complete the first lap. Then they were on their way to Monterey and then back to San Fran to finish up their California vacation. It was exciting to have them there for sure! Too bad it wasn't one of my better performances though... :o) Hopefully next year!

Greg and Murphy did a great job feeding and taking some pix. Thanks! Also thanks to the Backbone peeps for cheering me on during the race. Congrats to Papo for a stellar fastest expert time of the day and sealing the championship!!!!!!!!!! Congrats to Joy for her age class championship as well! Congrats to everyone for a great season.

2007 Demo Bikes, Cross Racing and W.O.W.

NOTE: I just realized that the post date for this blog is Sept 29, 2006, when actually I published it on Oct 3rd. :o)

A detailed blog update is long overdue, so here it is! I couldn't make it to Interbike yet again, but hopefully next year I can make it work into my schedule. I got to hear all the scoop from everyone who was up there. Sounds like it was yet another great year.

Yesterday was Incycle Cross Challenge at Bonelli Park. I had a great time and did pretty well for only my 2nd cross race ever! I got to demo the Redline Scandium Team Conquest cross bike. It was fantastic. I ended up 5th overall, not too terribly far behind 3rd (Carolyn) and 4th (Mandy). Got a little prize money for my efforts which is always nice! I will definately do some more cross racing this fall/winter. It's a blast. Matt was also racing (he is doing all of the series races!). Jeremy rode out from Redlands and took his post in the feedzone during the race. Thanks Jeremy! Greg and Murphy were there snapping photos and Veeze and Milkman were there heckeling! Of course they were hanging out in the hardest spot for re-mounting the bike which only made things worse as each lap passed! :o)

Check out our Team site for pix! Check out our not-so-flattering facial expressions! You can tell how painful cross racing actually is!

A couple weekends ago I was an instructor at Team Big Bear Women's Only Weekend again and had even MORE fun than last year. We had a smaller turnout of participants, but it may have been better that way. I got to know some of the veteran and new instructors a bit better and we had a blast. It was great to share my skills and experiences with the participants, I think I may have taught them a few things :o). I have to say working W.O.W is one of the best and most meaningful weekends of the year for me. I will continue to volunteer each year (hopefully it won't interfere with a NORBA race next year!)

I have had the opportunity to demo two dual suspension bikes this past month. First is the 2007 Gary Fisher Supercaliber . This set up would give me a similar geometry set up to the Race Day. I enjoyed riding it, but would have definately liked to take it out on the trails I took the next bike on.....



The second bike I demoed was the 2007 Trek Fuel EX7 WSD. I put this bike to the test on some awesome technical trails around Jenk's Lake/South Fork/Secret Trail. As much as I love my hardtail, riding a bike with more suspension was definately a nice treat. Prob a bit too heavy for a race bike, but very fun for other occasions.

Tentative 2007 National/World Cup Schedule

The 2007 NORBA and UCI World Cup tentative schedules are out. For my friends and family around the country who might want to see me race some of these big events here is where we will be (if I can actually swing all of this travel time!):

March 31 – April 1: Phoenix, AZ

May 5-6, Fontana, CA

May 20, San Jose, CA

June 16-17, Park City, UT

Jun 23...World Cup: Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada

Jun 30...World Cup: New Mexico, USA (Angel Fire)

July 7-8, Sonoma, CA

July 16-17: US Mountain Bike Championships, Mt Snow Vermont

August 11-12, Series Finals TBA (Utah or Colorado)

The Future of Mountain Biking

I am proud to report that our 4 year old nephew, Jackson, has just completed his first Shimano Youth Series Race back in Indiana (part of the DINO series). We are all so proud of him and his excitement about riding bikes at such an early age! Karen and Trent gave us the full report!

Lining up at the start with the big kids! Jackson (center) has his game face on.

Jackson settling into his pace displaying great form (head up, good arm stance!). He also appears to have great focus and concentation.

A commanding finish! Reports have it that Jackson loved going across the finish line so much that he went back several times to relive the experience!

Jackson's first mountain bike race was a success!

It sounds like Jackson will definately be competing again during the 2007 season after some focused off-season training. This training will likely include more bike riding, razor scooter riding, gymnastics/tumbling, sledding and other assorted sports.

Murphy and Pals

Murphy (left), pseudo-Sister Jade, and pal Bucko in perfect formation!

Where have I been?

Ok, I am going to make this update short and sweet. Hopefully I will be back on track in the future with posting. Maybe I will even start posting PICTURES again. Pictures are way better than text anyways. I have categorized the items in my list as Living, Race, Annoyance, and Work.

My last month has been like this:

1. Living: Pack up and move out of house in prep for major remodel.

2. Living: Stay at Frank and Edie's house (THANK YOU!)

3. Race: Rim Nordic XC #2

4. Annoyance: 2 hooligans threw a piece of metal at me on my road bike. Caused the rear tire to blow out while I was riding. NOT GOOD!

5. Race: NORBA Brian Head XC/STXC

6. Annoyance: While enroute to Brian Head, my honda civic was vandalized at our house... driver window broken out completely, nothing stolen though, some dents and scratches on the driver door. Come to find out 6 other cars were burgarlized/vandalized that same night in our area.

7. Work: ESRI International User's Conference in San Diego.

8. Race: Rim Nordic XC #3

9. Living: Move over to the Residence Inn for 7 days. Next stop hopefully back to OUR HOUSE.

So, lots of racing, riding and shuffling around between different locations! it has been good overall! Except for shelling out cash to get my car fixed and more cash for new tires for my road bike.

Deer Valley Race Reports

Here are my belated Deer Valley NORBA race reports! Today I should technically be at Nationals (the US National Championship), but with so much going on in my life right now I had to skip it (major house remodel starting Monday and Greg, Murphy and I will be nomads for a month).. Trestle may end up in boarding. Anyways, sounds like it's really hot up there and the course is pretty boring.. SOOO i will try to look on the bright side. Next stop Brian Head, UT NORBA. I love that place!

Ok, here are the race reports:

Cross Country: I felt pretty good at the start even though I had been sick for a few weeks and had a terrible showing on the east coast. We had a really bad crash at the start of the race (it was very loud and several girls went down). Fortunately I was able to get around falling riders without being taken down. I figured I was taken down at Fontana NORBA XC and then blocked in the STXC race the next day, so maybe I could be spared this time. I was in a pretty good position going up the first climbs, or at least I thought. Then I started getting passed by peopel who were trying to catch up after the crash. In any event, I was in a big pack of riders the whole first lap which made passing quite difficult. Had to make some passes in some tight situations and pray that I didn't get a flat from riding over sharp foliage! Half way through lap 2, my chain fell off.. also I didn't mention that I ended up with some shifting issues that caused me some time also... Anyways, my chain fell off and I come to find out the train I was in was actually very long and I watched 5-6 riders pass me. UGGH!!!!!!! That really frustrated me and I struggled to get back into the pack. I passed a few more riders and got back in the middle, but never back to where I was. On the 3rd lap, things spaced out more, and I started to feel dehydrated and had tummy issues. Climbing was uber painful and I felt like I didn't have the same power I had on the other laps. I had to remind myself I was JUST SICK and on antibiotics. Should be happy I could even race as I was. Also reminded myself we were at elevation, which this was only my 2nd elevation race of the year. I also found out recently that those who excell at elevation races, don't necessarily excell at sea level!! Makes sense I guess! In the end I finished 49th out of 67 who started the race. However only 60 finished... I was happy to stay with large groups and at least feel good enough to do some passing and felt in control on all of the decents. I love switchbacks! At the end of the race I felt TERRIBLE. My asthma reminded me that it exists as I was talking with Bert within minutes of finishing. Then my tummy screamed at me for 2 hours ..... Matt and I rode back to our condo along a great Park City bike trail system. I could barely drink my recovery drink I felt so terrible! Not even NERDS ROPE could fix it.

Short Track: I thought I was feeling good going into this race and thought I could do well.. had a long warm up along some great roads above Deer Valley, checked out the course a few times... Also the cloud cover appeared making it *less hot*, which also was a nice bonus. I had a pretty good start position in the middle, but then got stuck in a bottleneck and behind fallen racers on the technical climb section. I ended up having to get off the bike and in trying to get back on I kept getting bumped into. I lost several spots that I would not make up. It was a very short course, therefore making it hard to pass and hard not to get pulled quickly. I only survived 2 laps, which is my worst short track EVER (except for Vermont where I was sick and just did it for the points). After the race I felt like I did nothing! I really hope to do better and have a smarter race at Brian Head (both XC and STXC!)

Ridin' and Rollin' in Park City

Just got back late last night from Deer Valley NORBA.......

Matt's blog gives a good recap on some features of the weekend, but I owe it to everyone to tell my funny story..

Saturday we rolled from our condo up to the venue in our rental suburban (sorry, it didn't have DUBs) with bikes and gear. Matt was racing XC at 11:30 and I was racing at 1:45 (which turned into 2:30). I took my time getting ready and decided to just relax in the 'burban and listen to my iPod. I rolled over to the bathroom with my bike, and then back to the car. Had the music on, unlocked the passenger door and lounged with my feet up. Decided it was getting warm with just the door open, so figured I would open the windows. Got the keys out to stick in the egnition, and for some reason the keys wouldn't fit. I have to admit, I tried several times to get that darn key to fit. Wasn't sure what the deal was (it must have been the elevation getting to me). Decided to go back to the trunk to get my phone so I could check the time. I walked back to the trunk and reached for the handle. Hmmm...... the handle wasn't where I was reaching.... Then I saw the word "YUKON" and realized....... THIS IS THE WRONG CAR. I quickly took my bike and moved 10 feet away to where our ACTUAL CAR WAS.

OK yes you are laughing at me. HOWEVER, this Yukon was the SAME exact color as our 'burban also had the same interior! AND the door was open (or somehow unlocked with my remote). So, yes I spent 15 minutes in and around someone else's car.

This is what takes the cake.... on the dashboard, while I was lounging, I saw a pair of Burton long fingered gloves. I was thinking to myself "who's gloves are those? who would be wearing Burton gloves out of our bunch? Maybe they are Trevor's and it's a single-speed thing?". even that didn't even make my brain register that perhaps I was in the wrong car.

I know I will never hear the end of this story, but I have to admit, as silly as it makes me look, it's a good one!

I will put up another post soon with actual recap of the racing and other tidbits!

An incident possibly scarier than the Snake getting caught in my casette last year...

Well yesterday on my road ride (alone), I ventured up a hill into a pretty quiet area. Wanted to go up to the top, so turned left onto "Panorama Drive" or something like that. Greg and I have been on this street before on our bikes, and I was pretty sure it wasn't a "private drive". It's one of those small streets with no outlet and a sign listing all the names of who lives on the street. HOWEVER, there was no sign that said "Private Drive" or "no Tresspassing", etc.

As I rode down the street, all of sudden I heard some dogs barking. Then I could feel that they were at my back wheel barking and chasing. I told them to please just let me go by and yea yea I get the point.... etc etc. I was hoping that I would find an outlet on this "no Outlet" street. Once I saw the end of the street, another large dog came tearing after me. I said "ok ok, I will leave!". I turned my bike around, which only made this dog more agressive. As I tried to ride by, he bit my foot. THANKFULLY, he didn't bite hard enough to break through my Specialized road shoes (thanks Specialized for making a shoe that makes it a little tougher for a dog to BITE THROUGH IT).

At this point I am very scared, shaking, upset., etc etc. I rode away, thankfully the dog didn't chase. However, I knew I had to get thorugh the other 2 dogs. I was looking around for ANYONE, any single person who could help me get outta there. Thankfully a guy in an SUV drove up, and I flagged him down. I didn't have to say much because he saw the dogs blocking my way out of the street. He yelled to the dogs "Be nice!", and I rode along side his car slowly. He said "don't worry, they will only intimidate you". I then mentioned that the dog down the street actually BIT me. He said "Oh ya... that one.. well these dogs are the watch dogs of the street". I found it hard to believe that no one else has complained about these dogs. Without a sign that says no tresspassing or private drive, why wouldn't people venture over there? It's one of the nice vista points in Redlands. What if I was on foot, or a small child? Yea I sure felt like a small child out there yesterday!

Anyways, it was definately scary and I will never go back to that street! Maybe I am the last person in town to know that you should never ride/walk down "Panorama Drive!"

Thursday night, Matt, Trevor, Joy and I are off to Deer Valley, UT for yet another challenging weeekend of racing! I am feeling alot better now, but hopefully I can feel 100% for the weekend.

Back on the West Coast

It feels good to be back, after 13 days of busy travel and racing and being sick.

Apparently my poor performance in Vermont was a combination of allergies, asthma and coming down with an upper respiratory infection. I started antibiotics about a week ago (thanks to my allergist who takes very good care of me!)

The days in between VT and our trip to World Cup at Mont Saint Anne, QC were good. Spent time with family, friends and did some work, ate some really good food, etc. However, I was coughing and hacking and feeling generally crappy. Had some emotional moments once I realized that I might not be able to race the World Cup and reflecting on my terrible performances in Vermont. My parents and Greg and Teri did a good job convincing me to just give it my best shot. Greg told me that even if I lined up at the start, and couldn't even do 1 lap, I was still going to try!

Gareth had me take it easy most of the week to try to recover from my illness. Therefore on Friday at Mt St Anne, I could only do a visual inspection of parts of the race course. Knowing I would pre-ride Saturday AM, then race on Sunday I was ok with this. Greg and I watched the Quebec Cup race on Friday and I was able to pick out some lines I would take through the technical sections when I could finally ride it. Meggan and Teri were out pre-riding Fri evening and Greg and I went out again for more visual inspection.

Saturday AM I was eager to get out and pre-ride even though I was still feeling asthmatic and quite congested. Meggan told me it was OK if I had to stop and hack :o). I definately took advantage of it. Teri, Meggan and I did a few laps of the short, yet highly technical course. I really enjoyed being out there pre-riding with all of the other pros. Got to see many of my favorites on the men's and women's side.

The course was only 5k in length, and would end up taking the top female races only 20 minutes to complete. yes that means people were going to be lapped. My goal was to stay in as long as I could. I knew that being sick that could mean only 1 or even 2 laps. Who knows! There were a few sections where we would have to dismount and walk, but also alot of fun root/rock/mud sections where we rode. I must say other than the heat and humidity and allergens, I LOVE EAST COAST RIDING! It's REAL MOUNTAIN BIKING!

Sunday was the race! I was nervous because I still didn't feel great, but was excited to just get to try! They called all of us to the start line (there were around 80 women). The race started out SUPER fast and my legs tried to answer as best they could given the situation. It was going to be a tough race! The spectators certainly kept me going. It was just as I had imagined and seen in Off Road to Athens. Fans were ALL over the course, shouting, clapping, cheering in different languages (mostly French) and were very excited to be there. In the end I only survived 2 laps before being pulled, but didn't finish last and met a cool gal from New Zealand who was ALSO sick and gave the race a try just like me.

Highlights of the day:
1. Being called up to the start line in French "Numero soixante-dix-huit, aux Etats-Unis... Christie Pleiss"

2. The amazing spectators! "Allez! Allez! Allons-y! UP UP UP! Let's go!"

3. The spectators who were actually shouting out my name! It took my a while to figure this one out, but I remembered Heather telling me that some people will call your name when you come by!

4. Greg got to be feeder for me, Teri, Dara Marks-Marino (she finsihed 21st even after a bad crash!), Zeph and Heather . He did a great job! I know that Joy would have really liked this job too. NEXT YEAR JOY!

5. Watching Marie-Helene Premont beat Gunn-Rita with nearly a 1 minute gap! Teri and I were right at the finish line to watch this. It was an emotional sight and seeing Marie-Helene take the win over Gunn-Rita a 2nd year in a row in her own home race was AWESOME!

**** 6. Seeing Mary McConneloug get a solid 5th place podium finish!!!!!!!!

Overall, it was an awesome experience and I would definatley do it again. Hopefully I will be healthy this time and can stay in the race longer before being pulled! Nearly 1/2 of the field was pulled out of the race before the final lap! In the men's race even MORE were pulled out and some only did 1 lap!

Photos to come SOON!

A Weekend of Highs and Lows

Well, NORBA #3 Mt Snow is complete, but didn't pan out as I had planned. In the end, it was a fun weekend, got to see family and friends and had a great time with Teri and Joy. In the end, my performance had nothing to do with family and friends being present over the weekend. Race-wise, it was a terrible weekend for me. I guess I forgot how bad allergy season is out here! I got hit HARD with allergies and asthma.

Here is a short list of the BAD THINGS that happened to me this past weekend:

1. Back wheel BROKE at the hub during 2nd pre-ride (good thing I pre-rode 2x, however in the end it wouldn't even matter). Thanks to Joy for sharing her wheel with me.

2. Shifting problems (thanks to SRAM for sorting those out for me and thanks to Shimano for trueing Joy's wheel for me before the XC race!)

3. Leg cramps (i actually had to get off my bike during the race! that has NEVER HAPPENED TO ME). Who knows!

4. Crashed on lap 1 and handlebar was caught in my frame. That was really the start of the end for me in the XC race. Threw off my mojo completely.

5. The final straw: Asthma attack on the final lap of XC did me in. It was the worst attack I have had in years. I had to pull the plug on the race at that point. Wasn't sure if it would happen again, and I still had a while to go. It was emotional and hard to decide to pull out of the race. My family and friends in attendance, I had wanted them to see me do well. They still love me and are still just a proud. I think it was fun for them to see what this racing thing is all about. I know they all have a new appreciation for everything goes into it.

6. Allergies were terrible as soon as I arrived in Vermont. it carried into the Short track on Sunday, sore throat like when I have strep throat! Raced anyways, and at least I got some points for the series in STXC. Wasn't a good race for me, but at least I tried.

The GOOD THINGs that happened this past weekend:

1. Family and friends came to see me race: Mom, Dad, Marsha, Lydia, David, Noble, Liz, Mike, Jen, Drew, Seth, Karen, Mandy, Dan and Joey! Quite a turnout!

2. Joy took one for the team and gave me her wheel during pre-ride and walked all the way down the mountain with my broken wheel. In return, her wheel is going to be racing with me at the Mt St Anne World Cup this weekend ( as long as my allergies will CHILL OUT).

3. LOVED the XC course at VT. Prob the best XC course I have ever been on . Loved the technical roots, rocks, mud, etc! the hardtail did just fine and I was pleased with how I handled the tech sections. It was really really fun.

4. During the XC race, Adam Craig passed by me and said "Hey.. is James here?". it took me a second to figure out what he meant and that he was talking to me. Adam is roommates with my teammate James Williams and recognized our team kits. I was so excited and so tired all I could say was "James... here.... yes". hahaha.

Greg and I are still in NY (back home with family) until tomorrow. Tomorrow we will drive up to Quebec and shift gears towards another race weekend (WORLD CUP... eeek!). My goal, get over these allergies, pre-ride as much as possible and just do my best during Sunday's XC race. It's going to be a different race altogehter, even faster and possibly even more technical.

Why Bother!

Well things WERE going well until we had to race in some of the hottest temps/conditions I have ever raced in (almost as bad as Bonelli 2004, but at least this time I didn't DNF). I need to revisit my hydration/electrolyte plan, and even my food plan because my stomach was in turmoil during the race. Some may ask why we would actually do a race in near 100 degree temps, I am asking myself that same question! HOWEVER, I learned that I need to take a step back and evaluate my race nutrition.

I felt good at the start and surprisingly excited to go out and race, but soon into the first lap, my stomach started churning. It was not pleased with me. It was unbelievably hot, with little wind. I quickly fell out of 2nd place; descending down the bumpy trail just made my sidestiches and stomach discomfort worse.

After a couple laps I started to feel somewhat better, although I felt like the heat just ate up all of my power. There were a few climbs were it literally felt like we were on fire. The last climb of the 3rd (out of 4) laps, I started to get disoriented/dizzy and more nauseous. I had a bottle mishap where I didn't get a bottle before the 3rd lap started which may have thrown me off. However, I am not sure it would have helped. I did feel thirsty which is never a good sign! I knew it would lead to problems. At one point I felt like I was going to vomit, but it subsided.

On lap 4, even after being cooled off with hoses by spectators, my body was just shutting down. I was sort of delirious, but do remember hearing Bert's name called out over the loud speaker as starting his 5th lap and kicking butt in semi pro (as usual!). It was sort of like an out of body experience at that point! Other girls started to pass me and I basically knew it was just not my day. I saw Joy and told her to hurry up and pass me because "everyone else was doing it". The cramps were getting bad enough where I just couldn't push like I wanted to. People pulled away from me pretty quickly on that last lap :o) However, It was fun to get to see Teri and Joy have a good day (well Joy's was good until the drive home, and when she discovered her sunburn through her jersey .. see http://joyonbike.blogspot.com for more!)

Congrats to Teri for being a great teammate out there and staying positive and smiling finishing 3rd. She deserved the podium for sure! I knew right away that her attitude and sportsmanship was stellar and I was hoping she would make it to the podium. Also congrats to Mandy who took a solid 2nd place! I closed out the field in 4th place.

Congrats to Jeremy who did great in his sport race, taking home another medal. 4th out of 15 riders.

Also James who was called up to the start line as a leader in his class. THAT WAS AWESOME to hear! Thanks to James for being a great friend and support no matter what (and for helping my friends). I decided to be silly and run in my flip flops along side James on his last lap.

Bert once again kicked butt out there! He's amazing!

Thanks to everyone who cheered for me and poured water bottles on me. Roger, Vanessa, James, Mary Ellen, who knows who else! I can't remember because I was delerious. Chris was out there cheering in a good spot, I am sure everyone who saw me out there, knew it was apparently my turn to have a bad day! Thanks for the support anyways and it means alot.

Next stops: NORBA #3 Mount Snow Vermont and UCI World Cup XC #5: Mt St Anne, Quebec, Canada.

I am bringing my laptop so race reports should happen promptly!

Back to Big Bear

Sunday was the first race of the season up at Big Bear (Race #4 of the California State Series). We only have three races there this year, as compared to previous years when we had at least 5 or 6. It's always nice to get back up to Big Bear and away from the heat down in the lowlands. The weather was great and the course conditions ended up being alot better than one week prior when Joy, Teri and I tried to guess what the race course would be.

The pleasant surprise was that we ended up racing on much more singletrack than I had expected. This made the day much more enjoyable than just racing on the sandy fire roads. We got to ride 1E01 going up (normally we go down), which made it fun and challenging. 1E01 is definately one of my favorite trails on the mountain. Also got to ride down Lower Falline to Fern trail which is also technical and fun! I give props to Team Big Bear who put together a great course!

I just flew back from Austin, TX (trip for work) on Friday night, so I was not feeling as energized as normal. Didn't think it would be a great day, but after the first 25 min or so of the race, my legs opened up. Still not sure where the energy came from (maybe my Espresso flavor Hammer Gel w/ caffeine?), but enjoying the course and the nice weather probably helped. Also, working with Teri at the start (who had an excellent start!) really helped motivate me through the first round of pain. She helped keep me from fading out during the first climbs. I was very proud of Teri yesterday because she was looking very strong when we were together and was having a great race until she flatted near the end of the course. I also enjoyed riding with Jeremy, Jay and Bob a few times in their respective race categories along the route.

I ended up finishing 2nd place overall. I guess I ended up feeling pretty strong yesterday as the race went on, even after travelling and not feeling super motivated to do the race. So I can't complain about that! It ended up being a good day. I know Carolyn wasn't feeling well (but still raced), else I probably would have had some more work ahead of me! Congrats to Mandy who finished 3rd and Tommara the usual 1st place finisher! Man she's fast!

Thanks to Jess, Chris and Nicole for coming up for the race! Also for bringing mini-Murphy (Jade the puppy who looks just like Murphy). Greg also enjoyed the company for sure!

Congrats to Team K&N Jeremy who also had another podium finish! Other podium pals include James, Jay and Papo! Congrats! It was also great to have in addtion to myself, Teri and Jeremy, fellow K&N teammates Matt and Trevor racing too. Might I add that Matt is not only a pro racer, but also has a 1 year old son!

Next stop: Santa Barbara Bike Festival in 2 weeks. Can't wait, should be a great course PLUS Fat Tire Beer on tap! That might entice Greg into going!

News Flash!

Team K&N Performance is featured in an article on Mountain Bike Action's website. Check it out!

Trestle the cat: Just Chillin (or Chillaxin' as Shane likes to say)

NORBA Nationals Round #1

We just finished round 1 of the NORBA National Championship Series in Fontana, CA (20 min drive from our house). It was a whirlwind weekend with lots of excitement, stress, pain & suffering, high and low points.. everything that a big race weekend is meant to be.

Things kicked off Friday night when Joy claimed an awesome 3rd place in the Open Women's Short Track (an event I have learned to know well over the past few years). I was still at work when she was racing, but was glad Teri got to witness first hand what is being dubbed the best race of Joy's career to date!

Race 1: Cross Country

Saturday kicked off the racing for me and the other pros with the cross country race. As this was my first NORBA race as a pro, I was both very excited and VERY NERVOUS. The announcers called each of us to the start line and naturally my last name was mispronounced (Fortunately, Longo says it properly which he would do Sunday at STXC staging). However, I was still excited and also excited that Teri was called up right after me. So we go to start near eachother. Everything would have been fine and dandy had I not been tangled in a pile up that occured no more than 20 yards from the start line. I wasn't hurt, but had to collect myself and my bike and get going again. I had to make my way back through the pack and was stuck behind people WALKING on the very first mini-not-even-really-technical climb. Things would continue like this for much of the first lap, as people were falling everywhere! I managed to make it through the 1st lap back up in the 30s (out of 62 starters) and maintained that through the 2nd lap. Probably was as high as 32nd or 33rd at the start of lap 3. That is when the ol legs said they were done. I felt like I had lost some of my power and the heat was really getting to me. I dropped my chain (on the inside)! Then lost my position and at least a few minutes because of how I felt especially after getting off my bike to get the chain sorted out (a 2nd time). Not to mention the times I fell or had to manage the very fast pro men passing (most were VERY NICE thank you)! I am pretty sure just about EVERYONE who raced the XC fell down at least once or had some issue. Finally when I knew I was getting closer to the end, I was able to pick it back up a bit, but only enough to regain 1 of the spots I had lost. In the end I was 37/62, not too bad for my NORBA pro debut. Also I hadn't slept as much as normal during the days leading up. THAT I am sure, went into play! I will chalk it up as a decent result and a good learning experience.

Thanks to everyone for the awesome support. Especially JOY for feeding me and helping all of us get out little warm up area sorted out, Gregs (Johnson & Pleiss) for sweet photos and words of support, Country James for making me keep on riding up that first steep climb around the walkers, Papo and everyone else who was out there supporting! Also special thanks to our friend David W who also came out from Redlands to watch!

Race 2: Short Track A.K.A "The Hurricane of Pain"

Sunday was the short track on what ended up being quite a challenging course! I tried my best to recover properly after the cross country, so we would see what happens. I was definately tired, still trying to catch up on sleep and manage all of the excitement. I warmed up for a long time hoping that it would help. Staging took place, my name pronounded right (Thanks Longo!) and this time the National Anthem was sung before our race (Sat the pro men had the honor). It was definatley a special feeling to be lined up once again with the best mountain bikers in the country (and some best in the world!). The race started and naturally I got boxed in around the first corner (DARN IT!). I had to seriously make up some time, so I just hammerd around as many people as I could right away. However, we ended up in a massive bottleneck at the descent section. I saw Teri pick up her bike and run over the rocks. I followed her and realized that we were not going to be riding down this thing unless we waited 10 minutes for the bottleneck to clear. It was intense, but we made it down OK and back on the bikes. I knew I had to make up some more positions, so passed a cluster of gals right at the start/finish line. passed a few more around the next few sections. I heard the whistle blowing which meant they were ALREADY pulling people after only 2 laps! YIKES! I guess I needed to hustle. Teri shouted me a message I must have heard without realizing. She had been pulled and was shouting to me to GO!!!!!!! I was in alot of pain (as we all were in this event), but tried my best to keep going. After 4 laps, I was pulled too. Only 22 women ended up staying in without being pulled. Turned around expecting to see the leaders come through and after at LEAST 1 minute, no one was coming. I was very surprised to be pulled because apparently I was not far off some girls who ended up making it into the final 3 laps. OH WELL, next time go faster and don't get boxed in! In the end I finished 34/53. Not too bad, but always so frustrating to get pulled too early!

Before and after the race I got to see several friends who came to watch! Edie, Katy, Greg & Ronda Mader (with baby Lorelei!). Not to mention all of the other usual suspects like Veeze, James, Ara & and the Backbone Crew, fellow K&N teammates, Kenny and who knows who else! I heard alot of voices out there during the race and it HELPED. EVERYONE in the world could hear James (Cross) cheering us on. "I KNOW THIS IS PAINFUL CHRISTIE... BUT THIS IS YOUR KIND OF COURSE!!!!" was just one of the selections from James during the race. Other comments like "GO CHRISTIE GO! GET ON HER WHEEL!" etc etc. The funny thing is that I could hear James EVERYWHERE on the course as if he was right there. Matt commented that he could hear him loud and clear during his race too.

All in all it was a successfull first NORBA weekend. I felt proud to see so many great results for my friends and teammates. Also really enjoyed our house guests and super strong racers: Zeph, Kenny & Heather. All three of them had a great showing at Fontana!

Check out our team site for more scoop on how everyone did and lots of excellent photos!

Firestone Walker Race Report

Yes that's me the one holding up 2 arms while everyone else was holding up 1. Maybe it was because I was extra excited to be there? If you look closely my eyes are watering with emotion. Then I looked out into the crowd and saw Teri doing the same. It was a special moment I have to say. I think Teri and I hugged 100 times that day. James was kneeling down in the front taking this picture. He was happy too.

The race was held at the Firestone-Walker property near Los Olivos/Solvang (right at the mile 90 SAG stop for those of you who have done Solvang Century). I rode up with Joy and her posse (Jason, Uriah and Dozer the 105 lb American Bulldog.. not even full grown yet).

Saturday we did an easy pre-ride of the course realizing that it was going to be a very fast race and it would be mentally challenging as well since everyone would likely be together for a while. James was there helping me, Joy and Mandy tune up our bikes. Thanks James! Sat evening we did the pasta-feed at the venue with Meggan/Steve and Sami/Jon.

Sunday race day: The cloud cover burned off, the humidiy was rising along the with temps and my nervousness. It was going to be our first hot race of the year which always takes some adjustment. Race started in the peak of the heat and as I expected went out FAST. Most of the group stayed together for the first 30 minutes or so, and then finally broke apart. I stuck in the top 5 with some toggling as high up as 3rd on the first lap (with some interesting tactics and mind games to deal with). In the end I ended up in 4th overall out of a strong field of 12 pro women, only 35 seconds out of 2nd place! I tried so hard to catch #2 and #3 but they always saw me coming. So of course they weren't going to give it up that easy! It was a great experience, definately excellent training as the season continues!

Congrats to Jeremy who took another sport 25-29 podium in 4th place! He was looking very strong out there that is for sure.

Congrats to Joy who took first in her expert class and 2nd fastest expert time of the day. Thankfully she had NO MECHANICAL problems!

Congrats to Ara who finished his first marathon race. 5 laps of a 15.5 mile course!

Thanks once again to the Backbone crew for their cheers and support out there on the course!

The Many "Firsts" of Bonelli

I always make fun of Bonelli Park and call it Smelly Bonelli, "the place where Teri saw a giant dead catfish floating on the trail", among other things. As much as I poke fun, it actually represents several "firsts" for me. Another one of those firsts occured yesterday ...

2002: First MTB race in California and first podium as sport racer (in Cali)
2003: First podium as expert racer (in Cali)
yesterday: First time on the podium as a pro!

Picture of the Day: It might be hard to tell in this picture, but Meggan, Teri and me are at the start dancing in place to a dance remix of "Total Eclipse of the Heart". Meggan even broke out a rendition of the guys from Night at the Roxbury. The pre-race music pumping from the Team Big Bear trailer included American Idol Theme Song, something by the Backstreet Boys and a wide variety of other selections. The odd tunes were definately a topic of conversation as Joy, Teri and I warmed up.

It was a fun day, good weather, good trail conditions and great company. At the end of the race, Steve (Meggan's hubby) said "What did YOU eat for breakfast?". I actually took a second to think about it after he asked because whatever it was worked! I ended up 3rd place yesterday out of 8 pro women finishers (9 started). A pretty good turnout of strong ladies again for a local race. I learned alot yesterday during the race about myself and my capabilities when I really put my MIND to it (because it's not all about the legs!). I am still in shock that ole Smelly Bonelli would be the place where I would experience yet another "first". It was also great to spend so much time with or nearby Chrissy and Carolyn out there during the race.

Shout Out Thank Yous:

Thom Blaine, manager of Team Jose Ole. thank you for the support before and during the race! (Thanks Joy for sharing your peeps!)

Cap'n Chris Sharp, Ara, Abel, Al, Short Stack and the whole Backbone Crew. It was fun hanging out and thanks for the encouragement out there on the course. Thanks for sharing your BBQ food and playing with Murphy-dog!

Biggest Bummer of the day: Joy lost her cranks (2x) and had to finished her race single-legged! Props to Joy for FINISHING under those circumstances!

Other exciting Bonelli news: Jeremy had his first MTB podium EVER with an awesome 5th place finish in his sport race! Congrats!!!

One of the reasons why I race....

I wanted to post the picture (as seen below) because it really made this year's Sea Otter a fun experience (apart from the mud and suffering). We really have a strong group of local (and semi-local) pro ladies. It has been exciting to see alot of us in our first year as pro MTB'ers and going through the whole learning process. In some sense, your first year (or even 2) as a pro is like being a beginner. A small fish in a big pond, with lots to learn and experience. A whole new level of speed, power and endurance is required and just getting out there and racing at this level makes us stronger.

After the Sea Otter Time Trial: (From Left to Right: Heather Svahn, Carolyn Popovic, Meggan Flaherty, Teri Strayer, Christie Pleiss, Chrissy Bono and Mandy Eakins)

It's having a group of ladies like this to race with every weekend that helps make racing a good experience even on the worst day. We can act crazy, chat about "girl stuff", make the guys want to have nothing to do with us, etc etc.However, then we get out there on the course and work hard and strong. Yet, while we are out there working hard and essentially competing against eachother, we are still friends and help encourage eachother in times of need. That was especially evident during some of the stages of Sea Otter. Just simply encouraging eachother and helping as friends.

Also, I can't leave out Joy, who is technically an honorary pro gal. Sometimes we forget that she has not yet moved up to pro, which only goes to show we see alot of potential in her and know she will do GREAT THINGS!

Bike Fitting

Yesterday Matt and I got our professional bike fittings done! I learned so much new and interesting information about bike set up and body positioning on the bike. Mike McKovich (Max Performance Bike Fit) is one of Team K&N Performance's wonderful sponsors and we sure appreciate the support! Here are a few photos courtest of Matt! He said they are low quality, but they still get the point across.

Running through the fit test a 2nd time after some minor tweaks...

Mike making some additional measurements

Sea Otter: Full Race Report

OK I have been pondering the best way to recap each event without writing a million lines of text.

Matt sums up the high level of competition nicely in his blog. On the women's side, we had the usual World Cup suspects (Sydor, McConneloug, Florit to name a few), also among them 3 time world champion Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja. I had only ever seen her before on the cover of Velo News. I didn't get as emotional as I thought I would lining up for each event. Probably since I knew I had business to attend to! Wasn't just hanging out at the side lines watching my idols like I had before. I was racing with them! HAHA.

**UPDATE: What I forgot to include was comments about the shifting problems that occured the short track and XC due to all the MUD! yes yes, that cost me some time as well! Yea yea, excuses, excuses!

Stage 1: Super XC

I basically just wanted to survive this race! I had no idea what it would be like. 60 minutes 1/2 pavement 1/2 MUD. Figured I would see how long I could stay with the pack and try not to finish last. I felt great on the road, had good legs, but then once we hit the mud, I just kept picking terrible lines. I felt like I was wasting lots of extra energy out there and it was very frustrating. People would pass me in the mud and then I would pass them back on the road. Same thing occured for the 4 laps I ended up doing. Would have done 5, if Gunn-Rita (who had a several minute lead on teh next group) hadn't passed me! Oh well, finished the event 57/69. Not bad for my first major pro event and lots of foul ups in the mud. One of the highlights of this race was working and finishing with Mandy.

Stage 2: Time Trial

I was hoping to do well in this event, but all good things come to an end! We lined up in the mud waiting for our start times. Preparing for a 2 mile time trial with a combination of mud, climbing and then more mud. The best line from the start line was right through the water. Mandy kindly reminded me of this right before she took off, and I waited my 30 seconds for my turn. Thanks Mandy! I had a pretty smooth start, with a few wobbles, but pretty good! James video taped several people's starts and I actually had a better start than some of the top pros! Waaa hoo! Anyways, like I said all good things come to an end. I was so close to catching Mandy on the climb, which meant I was making good time. However, got to the big mud pit, found what I thought was a good line, but in the 2nd section had to clip out. I SHOULD HAVE JUST RUN!!! Oh well in the end I had a coupel more struggles in teh mud costing me even more time. I finished 51/68 ( I think one person dropped out after day 1), and missed top forty by matters of SECONDS. YES the time I wasted in the mud could have put me in a much better postition! OH WELL C'est la Vie!

Stage 3: Short Track

Thankfully I have done a number of short track events at this point, so I knew the pain and suffering we were all about to embark on. However the big difference is that this course was 100% mud!!!!!!! I was very nervous at the start because it was going to be crazy trying to get around the first corner without falling. It was pretty exciting to have all sorts of photographers taking pictures of the group as we lined up. There were fans lined up ALL over the course. It was very exciting, but I tried to stay focused. Right off the start of course I was involved in a pile up which made me lose my good positioning from the start! UGGH! Anyways, once I finally got back on the bike I knew my strategy would include RUNNING ALOT. Turned out to be a good trick. I ran through the two big key mud sections which got me around other riders. The bottom half of the course was brown muck/mud/water and was basically like riding blind. Each lap the lines were different and you just had to hope you picked the right line. On one lap, a girl crashed in the brown water right in front of me, so I had to think fast and "MOVE _____ ! GET OUT the way!" For those of you familiar with hip hop, that was a excerpt from a fabulous little tune by Ludacris featuring Mystikal. :o) Yes, White Cocoa in the hizzouse! In any event, I made it 3 (or was it 4) laps of the course before Gunn-Rita threatened to lap me (again she was WAY AHEAD of the rest of the field). A bunch of us were pulled out at the same time which we were all honestly thankful for. According to the results I was 48/68. Whatever! Not too shabby for a mud-fest short track! Also I moved up in the ranks a bit more, which was also a pleasant surprise!

Stage 4: Cross Country

I basically summed up the XC race highlights in the previous post. To make it short and sweet: All I wanted to do was SLEEP that day. My legs tricked me into thinking they felt good, but my eyes were ever so tired. I think we all felt that way! The start was intense on the track for the start of the 38 mile race (in the MUD and the drizzle!). I stayed with the pack through the road section and then the pack was seperated on the first sections of trail. 20 minutes into the race, I endoed over my bars in the singletrack. NOT GOOD. Hurt my back and then realized that my front forkie no workie! I lost my mojo and my plan to keep up with some other gals. Took me a while to feel good again, and it wasn't until I saw Meggan out there that I felt happy again. As indicated in her blog, we worked together for a while and I think it refreshed both of us! On lap 2, forkie no workie still, so I had to back off on the descending. Luckily I ran into Mandy around 1/2 way through lap 2 and we worked together for quite a while. I also had a great time dukeing it out with "Jimbo" Wimberly (of Angela's hubby fame!) and some of the other expert men! Those guys helped make this race fun! My legs decided to come to the big show once we hit the pavement climb, and helped me work a pretty strong finish (relatively speaking.. gotta have my own little personal goals right?). I ended up 46th in the XC. Out of 69 women who originally started the 4 day stage race, including the best racers in the country and some of the world's best. I finished 44th overall in the Omnium GC. Can't complain! Especially considering how many problems my bike had and my mind had dealing with the mud!

It was also especially wonderful to have my fellow So Cal pro ladies out there. Mandy, Meggan, Teri, Chrissy, Carolyn and Heather (honorary So Cal gal). It was a tough week for everyone and we need to focus on the positives! ALL OF US have at least a few positive outcomes from the week. Ailments, mechanicals and illnesses aside!

Also BIG PROPS GO OUT TO:

Team K&N: Matt, James, Josh, Trevor, Teri and Jeremy. Everyone gave it their best shot given the outrageous conditions! What a crazy way to really kick off the season! It can only get better (hopefully!)

James Cross: Thank you for all of your help you provided to me, my friends and other folks! Yea yea, I know you just wanted to get closer to the pro chix... ;o) Thanks for all of your help and support!!!!!!!!!!

Hubby Greg: Thank you for another memorable year at Sea Otter. We have alot of photos to sift through. I know you had a good time and hopefully you will win the Velo News photo contest and then give me your prize! ;o)

Mud Otter Classic 2006: Introduction

I don't even know where to begin with this series of blog updates. I could write a million lines about what the past week has been like! If you read Meggan's blog, she does an excellent job of recapping each event in precise detail with great pix! So in the meantime, as I get the momentum together for a really amazing blog update, read Meggan's! Or Joy's!

Greg took 800 pictures over the 4 days of racing. We will post all of the K&N related photos on the team site, plus a few highlight pix on this site. All Backbone team related pix will be posted by Cap'n Chris on Backbone team site.

I will begin with one of the highlights of the weekend, which happened to occur on the final day in the final race (Cross Country).......

As I was climbing approaching the 3k to go sign (also the pro feed zone where my wonderful husband Greg was stationed), the small white/grey figures in the distance became clear. Hundreds of sheep were migrating across the hills and were making their way across one of the final climbing sections of trail. It made me laugh out loud, but also feel somewhat concerned about what would happen when it was my turn to pass through the wool. As the guys ahead of me made their way up the climb, the sheep scattered to either side of the trail. I figured they would stay off the course for a little longer. As I made my way through, I looked over at a mama and baby as they watched me in my final minutes of agony. I wonder what they were thinking "she's crazy!" was probably one of the things that came to mind.

At this time, durign the final parts of the race, a feeling of accomplishment and joy masked the pain I had been feeling for the prior 3+ hours. I was going to DO THIS. I was going to finish the most greuling race I have done in my 6 years of racing, let alone my first 4 day UCI elite/pro stage race. Yes, the emotions were brewing, a few tears could have surfaced. But I knew I had to remain strong and continue with the power I had somehow built up a litlte while earlier once I hit the final road climb. From that point on (4 miles to go) I had legs that I didn't realize existed. Was wishing I had them 2 hours earlier on the first lap, but over time it will continue to come together.

When I surfaced onto the track for the final descent to the finish, I pulled with every ounce of energy I possibly had left. My bike noisy and voluntarily shifting while I tried to pound through in the big ring, I proudly made it through the finish to be greeted by friends, teammates, and the COMPLETION! It was DONE. my legs were shaking, but the adrenlaline was still flowing through my veins (would continue to do so for around 24 hours as I reflect on the pain and suffering of the last 4 days with friends and co-workers).

It was a pretty memorable and successful journey, bike problems and sore legs and tired eyes aside.

MORE SEA OTTER STORIES TO COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sagebrush Safari once again!

It was the inagural MTB race weekend for several members of Team K&N Performance. We had our shiny new kits; "STEALTH" as Joy calls them. I definately put mine to the test as I made quite the embarassing and painful tumble early in the pre-ride (see Joy's blog for full recap of pre-ride and various crashes!) The ride with Teri, Jay and Joy was good. It was great to enjoy one of my favorite trails once again. The conditions were sweet, and even the notorious hike-a-bike had more rideable sections than in past years. Joy and I both finished the ride with various ailments.

Joy had to drive me and my bum ankle back to our hotel to meet up with Greg and Murphy, Since Joy could still walk without pain (sort of), she proceeded to the town store to get some medical supplies for her abrasions and my hurt ankle. Epson salts, bandages, peroxide, advil liqui-gels, and some candy were part of her purchases. She also convinced me to follow up the luke-warm epson salts soak with an ice soak. EEEEK! Well it worked pretty well I must say.

In any event, hurt ankle aside, Josh, Jeremy, Teri and I represented Team K&N at the 2006 Cal State Sagebrush Safari. Greg captured some good photos along the way. My ankle felt fine during the race which is a pure miracle! It's actually continually getting better just in time for the impending doom that is called SEA OTTER PRO MTB STAGE RACE! Only 2 days away!

Take a look at that snazzy new kit!

To recap the race: I didn't get a proper warm-up due to some last minute monkeying with my saddle (thank goodness it wasn't a crit, else I would have been in big trouble w/out proper warm up). Race started fast as usual, and I ended up getting pushed by one of the expert riders which made it feel more like a road race. Whatever. Teri and I worked out some basic team tactics and I got myself in front of this other gal for the time being. The road climb to 4 corners was tough as usual, but I felt much stronger than in years past. Everything was fine and dandy until 1/2 way through the singletrack where I made another silly error and fell, knocking my gears out of sorts. Thus I had to manage w/out a big ring for much longer than I would have liked. Thankfully during the Mt Pinos climb I tinkered enough with the fine tune adjusters that I salvaged the big ring. It was noisy, but it worked with some brute force! I finally got my mojo back on Mt Pinos and it continued for the rest of the race. Built up a gap between myself and the next rider, and also closed the gap on those in front of me. In the end, aliments and mechanical issues aside, I finished 6th place and felt strong. Had I not had issues, I think I could have placed better, but I still can't complain! I shaved over 20 minutes off last year's time (partially due to paved climb up Mt Pinos) It's amazing how much time you can lose monkeying with things on your bike (even when riding) and when you don't have a big ring when you really need it !!!!!!!!!!!

Another Sagebrush Safari in the history books!

The Pre-Season Comes to a Close

Well the last few weekends have been quite busy! My pre-season racing has come to a close and now it's time for MTB season to officially start.

Here is a quick re-cap of the last two weekends:

(Thanks to Greg for all of the great photos the last 2 weekends!)

Mar 17-19: San Dimas Stage Race. I knew that 3 days of road racing would be good prep for 4 days of racing in a row at Sea Otter. I learned alot from doing these events, which was really only my 2nd time in an official road event (Boulevard being the first). My best event of the weekend was the 3.8 miles up Glendora Mountain Road time trial (19th/54 riders. Cat 3 and 4 combined). I passed three other racers along the way and we had all started at 30 second intervals. I was pretty pleased. However, during the road race I made some critical novice errors that cost me any kind of decent showing. I ended up a rather embarassing 35th place! EEEEK! However it was still great training, since I was in a chase group or on my own for alot of the race! It was definately a fast road race, not meant for climbers (like Boulevard was), so I paid the price. Day three was my first criterium EVER and it went pretty well. Some say it was the fastest crit they have ever done. It was definately fast and never let up! I stayed with the lead pack for the first half, then fell into a chase group. In the end, I finished 28th, but with a gap of only 33 seconds behind the leader. not bad for my first crit! plus NO one crashed and I made it through a 3 day stage race alive and still wanting to get on a bike again! :o) All in all, a great experience and trained me to do solid warm-ups and decent cool downs and to work on nutrition before and after the races.

SDSR Road Race: The joyous KOM climb

Men's 4 crash at the finish (same time my race was finishing! Only good reason I was dropped)

March 25-26: Redlands Classic: I decided to do the Savage Hills Challenge put on by the Rotary Club here in Redlands. We did 60 miles with at least 5,000 feet of climbing (not nearly as much as Breathless Agony, but more than I would have liked to do day before a race). It felt like more than 5,000 feet of climbing... Might need to get someone's GPS results! We did 7 individual *hill climbs* that definatley put us to the test. The hardest being the Smiley Drive climb which was prob 1.5 miles long with grades of 22%. I realized that I probably could have used more gears ! It was certainly a challenge and I would feel very tired the rest of the day. Sore legs all night again.. yuk!

**** NOTE! Just recived confirmation from GPS results that the ride had 6,500 feet of climbing. Yep, I knew it was more than 5,000. Sure felt like it!

Jonathan competed in his first crit today (men's 5s) and dominated nearly the whole race. He made an impressive break from the group with a few laps ago, but unfortuantely was engulfed by the peleton by the finish. In any event, he had a great race and it was fun to be a spectator.

Today was also my women's 3/4 crit as part of the Redlands Classic. Had all sorts of friends, co-workers and some family out there cheering us on. Teri and Joy also joined the crew as well as many of the gals from San Dimas Stage Race. I knew it would be a tough race. The course had some hairy turns which caused a few crashes later in the race. Teri and I managed to stay with the lead pack the WHOLE race which was by far better than I though I would do with my dead legs from all the climbing the day before! Joy worked in a chase group and won a prime as the chase group leader (yay!). I was very very happy with my results for my 2nd crit of my career. Ended up 16th, Teri was 11th. Being in the lead group, we held a steady clip, with an average around 23 mph and all finished very close together. I was definatley pleased with how my legs operated after such a greuling ride the day before. Guess that means the work is paying off and that I will be more ready to handle the multiple race days at Sea Otter. We will see though, as Sea Otter is BIG TIME. Espeically since people like GUNN-RITA DAHLE (3 time World Champion, cover of Velo News multiple times, etc etc) will be racing with us. EEEEK! Exciting, but only makes the competition more intense.

Leaning into the hairpin turn

There is no doubt I have the whitest legs in Southern Cal

Joy wins a prime as lead of the chase group!

Teri takes a turn in front

Just a cool picture...