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!)
Friday, July 14, 2006
Monday, July 10, 2006
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!
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!
Monday, July 03, 2006
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.
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.
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