Live Fearless

Pepper Bach 2003-2011

2011-10-26T22:56:00.027-05:00

As I'm trying to type this post, tears are uncontrollably running down my face and I can not see.

I used to be a rock. Now I realize that I am not.

I used to be able to withstand anything. But now I know I am at my limit.

I used to be embarrassed to cry in front of others. This week I broke down in front of everyone in my personal and professional life. I'm not going to apologize.

In a twisted turn of events we lost our sweetly sensitive 8 year old dog. The way it went down was totally unfair and fucked. We may never know why and that makes it all the bit harder.

Jeff and I spent every penny we had but could not save her. Let me assure you that it was more than two carbon hardtails worth. I almost cashed out my 401k today to keep her alive, but Pepper's body couldn't fight the good fight.

We are flat broke now. I really don't even care. Money seems pretty meaningless.

When she left this earth, Jeff and I were whispering sweet nothings in her ear....with promises of tennis balls and squirrels when she got to the other side.

The house is so quiet that it is completely unbearable.

To me she was that one in a million dog that oozed with herding dog sweetness.

I fear that there is more tragedy of the human variety waiting around the corner for us. So Jeff and I will probably be off the grid for a while.

See you in a few weeks.

Some of the Things on my Paleo Plate

2011-10-22T21:52:00.001-05:00

Pork Stuffed Peppers with Squash Puree

Pork Tenderloin stuffed with apples, cinnamon and honey, topped with Pecash Butter Glaze

Smoked Paprika Chicken Thighs with Roasted Onions and Brussel Sprouts


Eggs with Vegetables, Sweet Potatoes, Fruit and Almond Butter-Banana Pancakes

Paleo Nutty Cookies

Apricot Bars

While my kitchen skills pale in comparison to my knife-wielding counterpart, I can still throw down from time to time. And for the record, I made everything except the pork stuffed peppers....but I did break the food processor making the Pecash Butter. Sorry J-Bach.

It Ain't Over Yet.

2011-10-16T21:56:00.002-05:00

Sheboygan is over and WORS 2011 is in the books. I left it all out on the course and managed to sneak myself into the last podium spot. While it wasn't my first elite podium, it was my first one at She-Vegas. And I couldn't be more pleased with how I wrapped up my WORS 2011 season.

Photo by Loren Beyer

Clearly I thought it was a cyclocross race.

Photo by Niki Frazier

Running is not my thing, but sometimes it's a must.

Photo by Niki Frazier

I looked pretty calm considering there was some fast company nipping at my heels for the majority of the race.

Most people are hanging up their mountain bike shoes and calling it a season. Not me. I'm a glutton for punishment. Yesterday I made my way over to Badger Prairie and signed up for my first WCA Cyclcross race of the year. I wish I could say I was the Little Engine That Could.

But really, I was the Little Engine That Couldn't. The Little Engine who exploded into 1000 pieces and barely made it to the finish line....full of pain, fury and a jersey full of spit and snot.

Getting dropped on the start line makes for a really long 45 minute race. A flat, fast, windy, open, non-technical course doesn't really do a scrappy mountain biker like myself any favors. Catching back on to the pack was near impossible, but I gave it my best shot. Sitting in 8th (a.k.a DFL), I was somehow able to weasel my way into 7th after the first lap or two.

So I sat there, lap after lap, pounding on the pedals, heart singing to the tune of 180+ bpm...wondering why I didn't call it a season after Sheybogan. Thinking all kinds of negative thoughts in my head like - this hurts, I suck, I hate cyclocross, bike racing is stupid. I could go on, but I think you get the point.

On my last lap I finally pulled up behind the racer in 6th place. I sat on her wheel though a few turns and let myself recover. She decided to ride around the sand pit while I rode right through it. Boom, I was ahead of her. My excitement was short lived, as she stood up on the pedals and made her way right back to my wheel...and was past me in an instant. I chased her up the run up, onto the road, into the prairie and inevitably crossed the finish line behind her. 7th out of 8th on the day. Not impressive, but I gave it my mountain biker all.

The amazing thing about Cyclcross is during the race you hate it and vow to never do it again. But when it's over you suffer from a major case of amnesia, forget how terrible it was and think about how awesome it would be to do it again.

My amnesia must be in full effect because I'm already excited about winding it up for the double header next weekend. Thank you sir, may I have another?

Paleo Diet - Game On.

2011-10-07T18:22:00.002-05:00

The Bachnessmonster has resigned himself to the possibility that he might be gluten intolerant. How many stages of grief are there? Shock, Denial, Anger? I'm really not sure, but I think we've finally arrived at Acceptance. For the month of October we are officially on the Paleo Diet (I'm really viewing it as an elimination diet).

Vino at the Tornado Room

So last weekend we hit the town and said goodbye to some of our favorite foods....at least for one month. Goodbye protein pancakes and sprouted english muffins. I'll see you in 30 days. No, don't be silly. I'm not giving up my wine. Now that would just be crazy.

What the hell is Dragon Fruit? I'm still not sure.

Jeff said a very sad farewell to his beloved bread, beer and potato chips. But we spent some time grocery shopping and spicing up our food repertoire a little. Trying things like Dragon Fruit was a new experience for both of us.

Dinner on Tuesday night.

I really don't feel deprived eating this way and scarfing down a significant volume of food is seriously in my wheelhouse. It's great. I might have to go back to tracking my calories/carbs to make sure I'm eating enough and fueling my workouts. Out of the box, the Paleo Diet can be a bit lowish carb if you are not cognizant of what is going in the pie hole. After all, if I'm going to take a beating in the WCA cyclocross series this fall, I don't want it to be because I didn't eat enough bananas or sweet potaotes. I'll take my beatings fair and square like a big girl.

Eating this way is really not very different from my typical routine. Just a few tweaks here and there. Two weeks of not riding the bike and one week of the Paleo diet, should make She-Vegas very interesting.

The Whirlwind that was September.

2011-09-27T21:29:00.010-05:00

Photo by Niki Frazier

First up was Lake Geneva.

Photo by Amy Dykema

Didn't quite make the cut for the overall but received a little WORS cash.

Firetower climb - Photo by Skinnyski

My favorite race of the year, the Cheq 40. I had reports during the race from a variety of individuals telling me I was in the top 10 (which turned out to be off by one or two places). I've never experienced quite so many physically and emotionally draining battles with myself and the other women on the race course. I rolled to the finish line 12th overall. I'm still a little sad about it, but I'll be back next year.

Photo by Amy Dykema

The look of happiness masking the relief that I was finally done.

Photo by Flame Photography

This last weekend was a double header - USGP and WORS Bear Paw. On Saturday at USGP I spent 40 very hard minutes getting spanked by some pretty serious cross racers. I can say hands down, I was one on the most skilled bike handlers in my race. Unfortunately I was one of the weakest riders who went backwards on wide open flats sections. The net result was 8/11 for Cat 2/3 women. Ouch.

Photo by Niki Frazier

After Saturday's pounding, there was a little redemption for me in WORS #11 Bear Paw.

I found myself riding the first lap with Lisa and Anna as we were sitting 3rd, 4th and 5th. I grabbed 3rd a time or two but with no pre-ride, I wasn't riding well enough to hold it.

On lap 2, Lisa and Anna dropped me on the last part of the climb. Then they opened up some serious time on me on the flat leading to the singletrack. I eventually made my way back to Anna for the rest of the lap.

Going into the final lap, my bike wouldn't shift so I ran the climb while Anna rode away from me. I spent of good part of that lap resigning to the fact that I'd probably have to settle for 5th. But low and behold, I caught Anna half way through. So for the rest of the race we battled it out - riding, running and sliding all around. Anna made a small mistake and I slipped past her. I turned on the juice a little, kept the mistakes to a minimum and was 4th when the dust settled. Good stuff.

What's up next? Two weeks off of training to transition into Cross season. And Sheboygan! I have no vested interested in the Elite Overall as I'm not in the running for a top 5. But I do plan on bringing my detrained legs, pride and a little bit of left over Bear Paw confidence. It's those miserable, cold, muddy and technically challenging races where you find out what you are made of. More importantly, you can use that knowledge in many areas of your life...racing and otherwise.

Did you know that this guy has a blog?

Look for him to do some damage on the WCA circuit this fall.

How do you know that Cross is in the Air?

2011-09-05T21:33:00.000-05:00

1. Your coconut oil goes from liquid to solid.

2. You receive the following email:

Dear Renee Bach,

The following request to change your USAC category has been approved and processed by USA Cycling:
madisongrrl - 2011-08-22 5:30
Member: Renee Bach
License: Cyclo-cross Racer
Request to change category from Cat 3 to Cat 2

3. Planning, plotting and scheming for the 2012 MTB season begins:

Who wants some?

G-Berz nearly killed me.

2011-08-31T10:23:00.002-05:00

Question: How is that I still feel wrecked from racing on Sunday when it's Wednesday?

Answer: 1000+ TSS from last Sunday to this Sunday punctuated by the punch in the face that was WORS#9.

Having the week off from work after Sunday's suffering is exactly the doctor ordered.

The last two days were spent recovering.


Drying Fruit.


Making protein pancakes.


Recovery shakes for later in the week.

Energy Bars - the real kind.

Don't worry the, TSB won't rise for long.

I've already got today's ride prep underway.

Going Paleo?

2011-08-30T10:41:00.005-05:00

Sort of. Not really. Not yet. Actually, we just try to eat really well. But maybe?

I have a fairly solid understanding of nutrition. Certainly more than the average bear or perhaps even the average nutritional professional. The science nerd inside me gets excited when you talk about health and nutrition especially related to biochemistry, athletics, longevity and disease. And if I weren't such a slacker that is uber focused on my hobby of turning the pedals faster, it's one of the subjects that I would want to pursue a Ph.D in (with exercise physiology second and ethology third).

There have been a lot of individuals that have contributed to my nutritional self-education over the years - Lyle McDonald, Robb Wolf, Joe Friel, Chris Kresser, Ben Greenfield, Sally Fallon, Martin Berkhan, Leigh Peele, Chris Masterjohn, Stephan Guyenet, Mat Lalonde, Nora Gedgaudas, Cassandra Forsythe, Matt Fitzgerald and Jon Fass to name a small few. Many of these professionals fall into different nutritional camps, but I definitely enjoy their viewpoints, dissections and disagreements on nutritional research and their opinions on the cause, effect and the mechanisms involved.

If I were absolutely forced to label my nutritional habits, I would say that Weston A Price Foundation and I are on similar pages. I eat real food, minimize processed food (just don't take away my occasional Culver's trip) and the grains in my house mostly gluten-free and/or soaked/spouted. Perfection isn't the goal, but health and wellness are definitely in play most of the time.

Our grocery bill does get out of control more often than not, but we are pretty ok with that. If I had to put our nutritional purchases in the framework of "Paleo", this is what you would find:

Some of our typical, very-Paleo purchases:

Ok, some less-Paleo, but very tasty purchases:

I'm not going to lie, I like my wine and dark chocolate. And I'll be one angry chick if you ask me to give it up.

Some of our Paleo-friendly cookware:

Some of our less Paleo-friendly cookware:

I'm a pharmaceutical chemist, but I did work in nutritional labeling for a number of years. The Bachnessmonster is a semi-retired executive chef who traded his busy chef career in for a slightly less busy role as a corporate chef. One way or another, food is has had a substantial impact on our lives and is very important to us.

The Bachnessmonster loves his sugar, bread and pasta. Take those things away from him and I'm not sure what will happen. After much investigation and soul searching, the Bachness has finally come to terms with fact that not only does he have a dairy sensitivity, he most likely has a gluten sensitivity too. I finally have some buy-in to reduce the gluten in his diet.....but he is not ready to pull the rug out yet. So yesterday I did this:

1st baby step = gluten free grains and alternatives.

Gluten tests are highly inaccurate. Some of the more advanced testing procedures are less inaccurate but extremely pricey. What is the best way to figure this out? Elimination diet. What is the best way to execute this? Paleo diet. There is a variety of science behind this diet (some strong, some weak, some grey and some not yet tackled). The bottom line being, if you have an autoimmune condition you would be very unwise to not to at least TRY a strict Paleo diet for a few weeks - grain, legume and dairy free and additionally removing the nightshades, nuts, seeds and eggs.

I offered to do a strict Paleo diet with the Bachnessmonster during my off season. The question is, will he take me up on it?

Back in Business

2011-08-30T10:29:00.005-05:00

The business of blogging, that is. There is really nothing like having your computer and back up system die at the same time. I've been trying to put my computer life back together since June. Lessons learned? Have everything backed up in no less than two places.

It's hard to believe that mountain bike season will be over in a few short weeks and Cross is almost in the air. I've had a pretty fun summer of racing. And, as usual, I'm not doing as well as I would have liked. But I can say without hesitation, the competition has been phenomenal this year.

There were lots of mediocre races finishes in June and July, but I was finally able to get a bit of a decent result at CamRock. Home court advantage coupled with some training tapering being the primary factors for my solid result.

Every dog has their day....and I hope to have one or two more before the season ends.

The Big Ring 2011

2011-06-16T21:02:00.009-05:00

There were some good moments and not so good moments. Considering that I just finished up base training at the end of May, I'd say that my race day performance was par for the course.

Some good moments include eating at the Great Dane, camping with a blazing fire and consuming a few adults beverages. Oh, and ripping some of Wausau's singletrack almost flawlessly during the race.

Photo By Gary

Some not so good moments include getting dropped on the flats, losing a game of cat and mouse and getting got on the last lap. And of course my usual beginning of the season, slow starts. I figure why blow yourself up in the first 10 minutes when you have a whole race to repeatedly blow yourself up in.

Photo By Amy

Yes...there I am... watching the race take place ahead of me.

Photo By Amy

If you can manage a smile at the finish, life is not so bad.

Photo By Amy

WORS cash is not a terrible thing to line your pocket with. Don't confuse that look on my face with disappointment. I'd like to call it anticipation. The train is scheduled to arrive at the station at the beginning of August. I just need to find the patience to make it there.

Crystal Lake.

2011-05-28T18:32:00.052-05:00

Three hard laps, two tired legs and one orange sports bra.

The level of unzip must be proportional to ones lack of fitness and rate of overheating...that's my theory anyway. Note to self: Keep the jersey zipped up for all future photo opportunities.

I wasn't really ready to race, but I made the long drive to Rhinelander, WI. The lead out was faster than anything that I had ever experienced at any race. I won't lie. It broke me. I blame Adventure 212. They are even faster this year. Is that possible? Apparently it is....

But those types of experiences are good for the soul. You can waive the white flag, make excuses and DNF or you can suck it up and finish the race. So I gutted it out for just over two hours. One pedal ejector crash in the first lap reigned in my ego. I spend the next few laps perfectly carving singletrack and racing within my fitness ability. In the process I got acquainted with my new friend.

A carbon frame given to me by a teammate, a few new parts and a few old ones too. Total weight is 24 lbs. There is room to bring the weight down but I'll work on that later in the summer. Right now the focus is on the engine. My old bike was in the 29 pound range so this new set-up feels like I'm dancing on air. And hopefully, by mid-summer, I will be.

Spring is Usually Not a Time For Rest.

2011-05-15T13:40:00.004-05:00

April is always the busiest month in my calendar. Lots of training, projects at work, getting bikes dialed, managing sponsorship for the Chain Smokers MTB Team, topped off with lots more riding. Not this past April. I've spent the whole month (and then some) not riding my bike or even exercising. This is a very strange place to be.

My new nightly routine.

Prior to this bump in the road, base training was movin' right along. Instead of upgrading the bike, I spent most of my efforts upgrading the rider. There were tons of focused trainer workouts for which I utilized the new toy to the best of my intellectual ability.

Putting out 3.7 watts/kg on a 30 minute test early on seemed like a pretty good start to the spring training season. But realizing that I have no clue as to what good power numbers would be for a female Cat 1 WORS racer, I thought I'd figure it out when the rubber met the road. I'm still waiting for that to happen.....stupid knee.

Body recomposition has been a priority in the off season. After all, your best racing weight is both a weight and body composition that you perform best at. The goal had been to bring the body fat down to 15-16% while keeping the power to weight ratio in mind.

Measuring body fat is mostly an inaccurate science, but there are a few methods that are considered to be the gold standard. One is the DXA scan. It has a high degree of accuracy but is very expensive. Instead of paying for one, I jumped into a UW study for female cyclists and got one for free.

Participating in this study brought me to a few important realizations:

1. I've achieved my body fat goal and then some. Region (%Fat) is the soft tissue + bone while Tissue (%Fat) is just the soft tissue.

At 13.1% body fat, I have returned to my regularly scheduled program of consuming dark chocolate and red wine daily.

2. I have normal bone density. Which is always a good thing. Osteoporosis is nothing to fuck with.

3. I now understand why I have problems with sciatica and my right knee.

Mmmm pelvis tilt. Fighting genetics is an uphill battle that you probably won't win.

While my knee feels like a major set back, the season is long. May will be the month of recuperating, resetting, re-strategizing, rebuilding (the engine), repeating (base training) and hopefully racing. Crystal Lake? Most likely...

Living a Holistic Lifestyle: The Year Of The Bike

2011-05-13T19:51:00.001-05:00

Chef Jeff (aka the Bachnessmonster) and I are always trying to life a healthier, simpler life. Thus I have decided to label the summer of 2011 as the Year Of The Bike. Well, how is that different from any other year, you ask? We have decided to set aside our cars as much as we can. And ride our bikes to work as much as the weather and our schedules will allow.

While I have a substantial number of bikes for every occasion, Jeff does not. A recent trip down to Willy Bike's Mega Sale increased his bike stable 100%, from one bike to two.

A large sized Cannondale Quick 5.

I will be commuting on my winter bike. Rolling some pretty meaty tires isn't optimal but never know when you might want to ride your commuter bike on some sweet singletrack.

I ordered Shimano two sided road pedals to put on this beast. One side for clipless and the other for tennis shoes. Having options is a good thing.

Roughly totaling up all the money that I've spent on bike parts, components, cycling clothing and gadgets in 2011, I'm up over 3000 bucks. Yikes! And that doesn't include the new, shiny, spectacular, titanium, custom race bike that I won't be purchasing. But I did make a very important purchase that will make the Year Of The Bike a success.

Meet our new grocery/errand running wagon. It can be pulled behind a bike or used as a hand cart. Non-race weekends will be spent pedaling down to Willy Co-op and the Farmers Market, attaining all of our food needs for the week. Don't be jealous. You too can own your very Croozer Cargo Trailer for $149.99 from bike Nashbar.

The decision to purchase lots of extras for commuting, parts for Jeff's race bike and parts that I've needed for all my other bikes has most likely delayed the purchase of my glorious titanium racing stallion. Although, don't count me out. There will be a few upgrades in store for the good ol' 2006 Trek Fuel Ex TANK that I've raced on for the last few years (as in a new frame and wheel set). More importantly there have been a few significant upgrades for the rider as well. But that is a different blog post.

Overwhelmed but Making Progress.

2011-05-08T21:28:00.002-05:00

I've been a pretty lazy chick for the last few weeks.

This whole knee situation has been a major irritation.

After a month off, I started riding again this week.....like a grandma. That's O.K. You have to take each moment as it comes. I did get to rip my first singletrack of the season today. I'm happy to report that CamRock is in fine shape.

As usual the projects have been piling up round me.

I'm no bike mechanic, but I play one every spring. As the stable of bikes in the Bach household grows, so does my stress level. Too much to do, too much to fix, too much to upgrade.

Some fairly substantial tasks were undertaken this weekend.

Out with the old.

In with the new.

Who knew that wheel bags were multi-purpose?

I have Beautiful VMO's.

2011-05-01T12:33:00.003-05:00

That is what my physical therapist tells me. Unfortunately my right Vastus Medialis Oblique is very upset with me right now.

This problem is generally not common in cyclists (more so in runners), but lots of force intervals on the trainer and skipping my usual wintertime gym routine has brought me to my current condition. 90 days of fitness was fun, but next year I'll return to lifting heavy in the gym.

If you are a cyclist, you probably have beautiful VMO's too and they are probably currently working better than mine. And you probably are racing at Iola today. This would have been my 8th Iola in a row. Sitting on the sidelines is not one of my strong suits but bike maintenance, grocery shopping and laundry are top priorities of the day. I will be eagerly looking at WORS results before I go to bed tonite. I'm like a sad puppy that was left home alone all day. Pitty party for one, please.

Good luck to all those racing at Iola.

Where I've been for the last few months.

2011-02-15T22:57:00.002-06:00

A warm October trip to Levis. Plenty of great weather, riding and cocktails around the campfire. Watch out for this guy to rock the Citizen class for 2011.

A few cross races, but not as many as desired. The misdiagnosed saddle sore from hell cut the season short.

Day 1.

Day 90.

Spinning circles was put on hiatus for 90 days. Don't be fooled, it's all about the diet.

A new approach to riding in 20 degrees. Thanks Amelia.

And a new winter bike.

Plenty of backyard canine action. Pepper Bach!

7 collective hours of shoveling for our household. I'll admit that I only did 2.

I'm a super nerd so I've been digging on this thing. I just might be a touch faster this year....

And That Makes 3 In a Row.

2010-09-21T20:48:00.001-05:00

At the Reforestation Ramble and Alterra Coffee Bean classic I found myself sitting in 4th, chasing down 3rd and finishing up 5th. This deja vu moment left me wondering when my luck was going to run out.

Jen and I at Alterra before the race - Photo by Superfly

Alterra - The Plunge.

Lake Geneva is a fairly technical course that always gets me worked up until the minute Don yells GO. Fortunately I was able to keep that good luck rolling right into Treadfest and managed to keep all my teeth while descending a large unnatural pile of rocks multiple times. Once again, I was 5th on the day, but there was no sitting in 4th or chasing down 3rd this time around. 4th place had me by almost 7 minutes and 1st place had me by 15. Needless-to-say this winter will be dedicated to closing that gap.

Yup, pretending to not have pre-race, knock your teeth out on large rock jitters.

Photo by Danny Marchewka

Photo by Niki Frazier

Thanks to everyone for taking such awesome pictures. When I'm 80 years old sitting in my wheelchair, all these photos that chronicle the adventures of my life will be priceless to me.

Oh The Places I Have Been

2010-08-28T22:19:00.004-05:00

In July I made the drive to the Chippewa Firecracker. Cracking my arm on a tree 10 minutes into the race wasn't what I had in mind. But those fast race starts seem to leave me red lined and cross eyed. The pain and swelling got worse every lap and lasted about two weeks after that. There were no podiums that day but I had a lot of fun shredding singletrack.

Photo by MTB Girl

Photo by Velogrrl

Next was the Levis-Trow race. I spent far more hours working at the race than riding or racing, but I managed to squeeze in the 25 mile solo and my second WEMS win of the year.

In August, I skipped the Border Battle and headed north in search of debauchery. When California Brooke rolls into town, it's time to get your party on.

Last weekend was the WORS Green Bay Marathon race. I elected to skip the pre-ride and headed there on race day. Something very strange happened and I threw down the race of my life. I started strong, kept a decent pace and motored through the course. At the last mile or two, Michelle, Holly and myself found ourselves in a fight for 3rd place. As we approached the finish, Michelle started her sprint early. In retrospect, I should have jumped on her wheel. I didn't because I thought her pace would blow me up. So I sat on Holly's wheel; just as I was starting to sprint, we entered the taped off finish area. The finish came up quicker than I realized, making it too dangerous to throw the pedals down. I crossed the line 5th overall and earned my first elite overall payout.

Tomorrow is Alterra. I'm usually pretty terrible on that course. All the narrow, tight, twisty singletrack is not my forte. I decided to remove the tree hookers (bar ends) from my bike tonight.

Hopefully you won't find me laying on the ground because I ran into a tree or find me delirious from heat exhaustion as I have been in the past. See you at the finish.

June and Everything After

2010-07-08T23:42:00.007-05:00

At usual the summer has been flying by. In June, I hit up the Sunburst race. Originally I was going to skip it, but I thought that it would be a perfect venue for the BachnessMonster to launch his mountain bike career. He entered the first timer category and was able to rock a lap without stopping. He even had a crash that resulted in a nasty ass bruise. Welcome to racing Jeff.

Yup, there he is rocking the cotton T-shirt and clipless pedals. He has since been upgraded to a black and orange jersey that has a skull on it.

My race was a little rough. 3 pre-ride laps the day before left my legs tired and flat. Why 3 laps you ask? Lap 1 for Jeff. Lap 2 for Renee and Lap 3 for Jeff again because he wanted to learn the course before he decided if he was comfortable racing or not. I can't complain though....an age group podium should never be taken for granted.

Photo by Velogrrl

As a tune up for the Subaru Cup, I entered the WEMS race at Muir. Unfortunately there weren't any fast ladies to throw down with so I chased a bunch of dudes around the course for a few hours. 3 laps later I was the first lady across the line. My pocket was promptly lined with 30 dollars cash and an extra large t-shirt that three of me could fit in. Beggars can't be choosers.

The Subaru Cup was a fantastic event. I had a great XC race and rode the technical shit like a champ. Not only did I manage to finish the race this year (last year heat exhaustion got the best of me), but I took another age group podium with a 12th overall. While I did miss my lofty goal of 10th overall, I was chasing lady #10 and lady #11 down on the last lap. I couldn't quite close the gap. Oh well. It was a pretty impressive field.

XC. I managed to not eat my handlebars on this one.

My short track race wasn't the most stellar. Nothing like giving 110% in 80 degree heat while dry heaving over my handlebars just to get pulled at the end. Super D wasn't much better. There were two crashes in front of me that caused me to slow. So I just soft pedaled it in. But it was still a great time.

Super D - Photo by MTB Girl

Short Track. Oh the ugly faces we make while suffering.

See you at the Firecracker.

Wausau

2010-05-31T23:31:00.001-05:00

I had a really great race on Sunday and dug pretty deep for 3 laps with no major mistakes.

Lots of back and forth with Planet Bike Patti on the first lap. She was pretty fast on the flats so I had to let her blow by me. In the middle of the last lap I saw Andrea and Patti just 15 seconds ahead of me, but I couldn't make the gap. I settled on 12th for the day and my teammate Jen took 13th. A solid Chain Smoker showing.

Yup, the gun show is that way people.

A little WORS cash is a nice thing to have. Everyone in the picture looks so happy and I just look delirious. Not puking on your peers is a serious racing bonus.

Retro Blogging - Crystal Lake

2010-05-31T23:04:00.001-05:00

I don't have much to report for Crystal Lake. I felt semi-shitty and thought I semi-sucked; I felt fatigued and powerless. And the lead out just about killed me.

There are too many variables to figure out - I had been sick, I had put in lots of training, I didn't put in the correct type of training to succeed on the brutal Crystal Lake course. People blew past me and my legs wouldn't respond.

At least I had a good time suffering and managed a rare simile while racing.

So Yummy.

2010-05-31T22:57:00.000-05:00

The Making of CYCLEPASSION 2011 - DVD Teaser from CYCLEFILM on Vimeo.

Retro Blogging - Iola

2010-05-31T22:27:00.008-05:00

WORS 2010 is well underway so it's time to catch up.

This year marked my 7th straight visit to WORS Iola. It was nice to get the first race under my belt and actually have a decent start to my WORS season.

Pictures courtesy of Velogrrl

The start was strangely slow; I got trapped in the middle of the pack on the initial climb. Subsequently I was unlucky enough to get knocked down in the sand pit at the top of the climb. As I layed on the ground, the rest of the field rode around me. I spent the whole first lap burning up my matches, trying to regain my position. I was able to drop a good amount of women including Patti from Planet Bike. I rode Laps 2 ,3 and 4 by myself - there was no one in sight ahead or behind me.

On the last stretch of double track on Lap 4, Patti blew past me like a bat out of hell. Crap. I chased like mad and was on her ass though the last part of single track. We exited the single track and it was a short sprint to the finish line. The inevitable result was Patti 13th and me 14th on the day. It's tough to win a sprint at Iola when you are wheel # 2, there is not just not enough real estate there to be successful. Regardless, it was a good lesson taught to me - I need to pull my head out of my ass and pay attention to the race behind me.

A Crack in the Relationship - No Love For My Mountain Bike

2010-04-24T09:57:00.003-05:00

I'm not quite sure how I let April slip away without really having played in the dirt. I have a grand total of 23.5 miles on my mountain bike. It's just so wrong. I promise to show my mountain bike more love next month.

My first journey out was the Spring Fling put on by the WorsWomen. While Lapham Peak doesn't really qualify as singletrack, it was fun to get out and socialize with everyone. I'm not a runner so I pleased with the chill pace that was set on the run (more like jogging actually). I was dicking around in the transition area because there was no hurry to get on the bike. After all, the vibe of this event was totally relaxed. Then a handful of faster ladies jumped on their bikes and left me behind holding my knee warmers. Mountain bikes just bring out the competitive beast in many of us. I jumped on my bike and chased everyone around as best as I could. It was nice to have a little bit of a moderate bike effort to go with my socialization. All in all, a very fun day that cost zero dinero. I'm sure I'll hit it up again next year.

Photos by Velogrrl and Superfly

That's a wrap.

2010-04-05T22:23:00.008-05:00

I'm wrapping up my final week of base training. I don't recall ever being this far into "training" at the beginning of April. I think my shoulder injury that resulted in me not racing cross last fall, put me on the early track.

I'm been working hard on my sciatica problem. The PT seems to think I have the hip strength of an infant on my left side and abs that don't reflect months worth of Pilates classes that I've been attending. It's both sad and embarrassing, really. She actually performed the hip strength test twice.....because she thought I wasn't trying the first time. Planks, Side Leg Lifts (or I like to call them Jane Fonda's) and Cowboy Walks have become a nightly ritual. I definitely perform these exercises in the privacy of my own home as they are much too silly to tackle at the gym. The people on treadmills don't need the show.

I'm sure most of my friends played in the dirt yesterday. Being that I'm always a day late and a dollar short, I brought my bike into the shop last Wednesday to have a bunch of work done. I'll apparently get it back in 3-5 business days. I have yet to hear back. I know, I'm lazy. I should probably do all the work myself. But with the 16 hour training week that I put in, plus work, plus weighing/prepping all my meals and finalizing sponsors for our team, I haven't even had time to properly sleep let alone fix any bikes (or even clean them for that matter). I'll never say that riding on the road is better than mountain biking, but my western Dane county adventure yesterday was pretty fucking awesome.

I'm not sure how much climbing I did, but it felt like an excessive amount for 61.5 windy miles. Once my Garmin Edge 500 arrives, I can track meaningless statistics like elevation gain and be able to numerically quantifying things instead of using terms like shit-ton and crap-load.

My maiden dirt voyage for 2010 is roughly scheduled for Sunday at the Kettle, weather permitting. Hit me up through the proper email, twitter or facebook channels if you want to ride.

March is for Building Character

2010-03-28T21:59:00.003-05:00

The last few weeks of my life have been crazy - work, workout, work, sleep a little, work, hit a few appointments and go to work some more. I've somehow managed to get a decent block of training in for the month of March. Even though I've been short on sleep and time, I took a much needed night off of training this week to see a show. Jeff and I went to the High Noon Saloon for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Awesome.

I've been hitting up a group ride or two, but mostly going it solo. Yesterday I made my way to Belleville and back. I found a few hills there and also found myself lost a few times over. A word of caution - the Bombay Rides book isn't always correct. Today I rode to Poynette and back. This is typically one of my favorite long rides to do, but unfortunately I battled a headwind for over two and a half hours. And while today's ride was extremely miserable, I'll chalk it up to a character building experience.

When I stepped on the scale today, it read 114.0 lbs. It's probably been over ten years since I've seen that small of a number. And let me tell you, it is no accident that I've come to weigh this little. So I rode my miserable 60 miles and celebrated with a butter burger. The last time one of those things passed by my lips was October. Character building.

Stick a Fork In Me Cause I'm Done and Other Randomness.

2010-03-07T17:44:00.014-06:00

Went on the first major group ride of the year. 6 dudes and 2 chicks with most people sporting road bikes. I wish I would have taken the time to put some 23mm road tires on the CX bike. 3.75 hours later and my legs are shredded from the treaded 32mm Cross Wolf tires that I rolled. Or perhaps I'm shredded from the caloric defict that I've been creating. Either way...I'm glad I got to dangle off the back for a few hours and feel a little pain.

Life has been fairly good. Lots of ups and a few downs. Unfortunately Jeff lost his job in January so money is a wee bit tight. No new bikes or other cycling related toys for me. And no coach to do my training plan. I've been fighting a nasty case of sciatica and will see the PT in a few weeks. Many of my specific cycling workouts have been dumbed down to easier rides. Stupid ass pain. I'll probably have endurance in May, just not the speed. Iola is going to hurt. Other than that, I've been turning the pedals outside and dropping weight like a bad habbit (more on this topic to come).

I saw the list of mandatory move ups on the WORS news page, which includes the Comp field. I love it; this is as it should be. There will also be a very strong and diverse woman's field this year. Exciting. I'm already feeling WORS 2010.

In Memory...

2010-02-18T19:32:00.001-06:00

Kipp, Garrett
MADISON

Garett Kipp, age 36, was lost to non-small cell lung cancer on Feb. 16, 2010. Garett was born on May 10, 1973, in Eau Claire. He graduated from Mondovi High School. He was a guard for the 1990 Mondovi Buffaloes Football Team, which competed at the WIAA State Tournament. Garett was married to Vicki Way on April 10, 1999, at St. John's Lutheran Church in Oregon, Wis. Garett, a devoted husband and father, was happiest when doing activities with his sons. He enjoyed photography, and especially liked to take pictures of his sons while they were having adventures with him. Garett graduated from UW-Platteville, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Building Construction Management. After college, Garett worked as a draftsperson and materials estimator at Cleary Building Corporation and later at Brunsell Lumber and Millwork. Garett was a member of the Capitol Off-Road Pathfinders and the Dane County Chapter of the Wisconsin Off-Road Bicycle Association. He coordinated the '12-Hours of Blue Mound' mountain bike race during the past few years. Garett belonged to the Chain Smokers Mountain Bike Team of Madison, and competed in the Wisconsin Off-Road Series of mountain bike distance races. He also enjoyed competing in Cyclocross races and going rock climbing at Devil's Lake. In addition, Garett completed three Birkebeiner Cross-County Ski Races. Garett rode in the MS-150 ride for five years with the Patti's Peddlers team, raising funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. As a volunteer, Garett Kipp helped build bike trails at Blue Mounds State Park, Cam Rock County Park, and at Quarry Ridge in Fitchburg. Garett was a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. He completed his service in the U.S. Army Reserve in 2000. Although he personified "clean living" and never smoked, Garett was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer at age 35. After skiing 37 miles in the Birkebeiner Race last winter, he developed a cough and was diagnosed with metastasized lung cancer. Each year, 17,000 people who have never smoked are newly diagnosed with lung cancer. 174,000 Americans are diagnosed with lung cancer annually, and 15% are never-smokers. Garett is survived by his wife, Vicki; sons, Griffin and Westin; mother, Susan (John) Schultz; father, Greg (Deb) Kipp, mother-in-law, Lynn, (Troy) McDonald; father-in-law, Mike (Judi) Way; brother, Joe (Shawn) Kipp; brother-in-law, Randy Way; brother-in-law, Rick (Heather Ann Smith) Way; niece, Riley Kipp; and nephew, Tighearnan Way, other relatives and many friends. A funeral service will be held at GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH, 5701 Raymond Road, on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010, at 11 a.m. with Pastor Sheryl Erickson presiding. A visitation will be held at JOYCE-RYAN FUNERAL HOME, 5701 Odana Road, on Friday, Feb. 19, 2010, from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. and then again at church on Saturday from 10 a.m. until the time of service. The family would like to thank Dr. Anne Traynor and Dr. Michael Jones at the UW Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center for their excellent care, and the Jodi Lou Lung Cancer Foundation, the friends who put on GarettFest, and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church for their kindness to our family.
Joyce-Ryan Funeral Home and Cremation Services 5701 Odana Road (608) 274-1000 www.ryanfuneralservice.com

Cancer is Bullshit.

2010-02-17T17:26:00.006-06:00

Garett Kipp was a husband, a father, a mountain bike racer, a ski racer, a fellow ChainSmoker and an all around great guy. He will be missed.

Retro blogging - Levis Trow WEMS race.

2009-11-08T21:12:00.018-06:00

I generally don't participate in WEMS races as it's really not my style of racing; I'm not into being on a mountain bike for 6 or 12 hours at a time (not yet, anyway). But I headed up to Levis Trow in July to help out with the race that the Chain Smokers were putting on. I only slept a few hours on that Friday night and was up at 5am to serve racers breakfast, then I spent a number of hours working timing. After a nine hour "work" day, I suited up for the 25 mile solo.

Race Director Jason

Peter and me

Running in a mountain bike race is hot garbage.

Kent caught me on the second lap and smoked me.....even with a bum knee.

Kelson and Jen

Kelson on the mic. He also announced Day two of the USGP cross race. Maybe it's time for a career change?

The usual look of panic and pain on my face.

Smiling? This is a rare event; I must have been finishing.

1st place. Nothing like being a big fish in a small pond for a minute or two. Getting a bi-monthly smackdown in WORS races teaches you to appreciate small moments like these.

The best part of that weekend was not the race, but it was the Sunday Chain Smoker course tear down ride. We cleaned the course and ripped some of the most fantastic singletrack that I've ever ridden. The sidewinder trail has to be one of the most intimidating trails around. I would easily put Levis on par with riding in Colorado.

Can you believe that these views are in WI?

Todd, Jen and myself posing by a large rock......giddy as hell......even though there wasn't enough chamois cream in all of Wisconsin that could have helped the chaffing that racing and riding at Levis gave us. The Sunday ride was worth every bit of chafe and I would easily label it my most epic ride of 2009.

Halloween.

2009-11-08T21:03:00.002-06:00

I didn't get to rock my costume at the Washington Park CX race, but I did get to rock it at various parties in the Mad City.

A Wisco Summer in November.

2009-11-08T17:38:00.008-06:00

A good weekend of giving a co-worker a proper Pedro's margarita send off into a new job in a new city, road riding, team party with prizes won, bonfire lit, cycling stories told, and some short-sleeved singletrack riding at the Kettle. I even managed to drop a few hung over dudes.....they must have been more hung over than myself. Time to reel it back in.

Race Across The Sky

2009-11-01T22:49:00.004-06:00

I saw the movie Race Across the Sky. It really helps you understand what a special event the Leadville 100 is. And well it is very easy to get swept up in the emotion of that movie, I don't think I'll be applying anytime soon. One thing I know about myself is how bad I suck at altitude and this race is held at over 10,000 feet. Plus I think an Ironman might be an easier event. I would categorize Leadville as one of those things that maybe I'll do before I'm 40.....or maybe not.

Check out Chris P.'s and Rebecca C's (Oct 23 entry) Leadville 100 experiences. If you think you are tough enough, think again.

Plotting, planning and scheming for 2010

2009-11-01T21:34:00.024-06:00

I'm the opposite of most people. Every August I seem to get depressed and irritated with every aspect of my life. The days get darker earlier and the end of summer is nearing. As winter and spring roll around, I snap out of it and get really excited for the cycling year that is ahead of me. I blame this nonsense on living in Wisconsin. One would think that after 33 years, I should have adjusted by now. Planning the next year helps turn my sadness around.

It's time to start using my gym membership that sits idle from May to October each year. This week I'll begin weight lifting and attending Pilates class. I need to really work on my back problem which stems from the soft tissue damage in my quad that I received from Treadfest 2007. Getting old sucks.

The diet down is on. Weighing and measuring food really sucks, but it's the only way to accurately track what is going into your body. And I like getting the weight drop done in a quick amount of time during base training.

As usual there will be plenty of trainer riding going on. But I tend to burn out fast - especially if the rides are more than 1.5 hours long.

Lights and high top boots have been my top purchases this fall. My pansy-ass is going to have to suck it up because I need to do some outside riding to maintain my sanity.

And of course, I'll have to change it up with some winter sports action.

Another ski trip out to Alpine Meadows in Tahoe would be nice.

WORS 2010. Game on people.

USGP Cyclocross

2009-11-01T21:25:00.004-06:00

I hit up the USGP CX event. Unfortunately I couldn't race since the doctor called my season over. Here a few pictures.

Full gallery here.

My Chequamagon - Part II

2009-09-23T20:31:00.011-05:00

Photo by skinnyski - second row on the right.

Sub three hour tour and 35th female on the day (other years a sub three hour might have placed you 20-30th....but not this year). Days later I found out that I rolled 40 miles on a mildly separated shoulder (1.5 months later and it still hurts.) Two times the daily dose of Vitamin I saw me though. I missed my top 25 goal, but hit my better than 3 hour goal. Considering the bloody mess that I made of my body, I was pretty happy with my race. It's not all that bad when you can take down a beer at the finish line after ripping 40 miles of fire roads.

Photo by skinnyski

And I actually got to pedal up fire tower hill. A few years ago I can honestly say I wasn't fit enough to make it up. I'm already stoked for next year.

My Chequamagon 40 - Part I

2009-09-20T19:50:00.035-05:00

2009 marks my 4th trip to Hayward, WI to race in one of the largest and craziest events that we have in the Midwest. I did the "40" in 2005 and 2006. I was denied in 2007 which actually worked out very well for me. Due to my injuries last year, I raced the "Short and Fat" and secured my entry into this year's race.

If you have never had the Chequamagon experience check out this video from last year's race.

Thursday night I drove up to Spooner, WI, checked into my hotel room and immediately got acquainted with the 24 hour hot tub and pool. I topped off the night with a few adult beverages and some HBO. A little alone time was nice after the last two insane weeks I've had at work. Friday afternoon I met up with Peter, a fellow ChainSmoker, at the Telemark Resort in Cable, WI to ride the Ojibwa trail.

Photo credit

Now riding this trail the day before the 40 is NOT the wisest thing to do; I'll admit that. But you can't drive 5 hours to a place like Cable, WI and not ride the fantastic singletrack that is part of the CAMBA Trail System. It's seems so wrong. So that is exactly what we did.

Things were going well and we were cruising though the singletrack. Peter and I pre-ride at the same speed (or he is nice enough to slow down for me). After following Peter through the Ojibwa trail for about an hour, I took the lead. We hit some fast downhill doubletrack and I was flying. At the end of the doubletrack there was a huge berm/lip followed by a small drop. I didn't see it right away, but when I realized what it was, I thought "I'm FUCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!". And I was.

It was too late to lay on the brakes because I was going over the handlebars if I did. So I tried to scrub a little speed off as I went over the sharp lip. There I went flying through the air, higher than I'd ever been in my life. In that split second, I started to contemplate a few important things. 1. Wheelchairs are not for me. 2. If I get out of this alive, I might just give up mountain biking. Many people sit on the couch while watching tv and eating potato chips. I can do it too. 3. Please let my bike be ok for the race tomorrow.

I proceeded to fly over my bike and smash into the ground harder than ever could be imagined. My knees were completely bloody. I landed on my shoulder and chest. My head bounced off of the ground. And my elbow impaled my stomach. Then I realized that I couldn't breath. I tried to get up. Peter pushed me down and told me not to move. He was sure I broke bones - maybe my collarbone. I started to panic. Why couldn't I fucking breath? Did I collapse my lung? Shit, we are in Cable fucking Wisconsin, there is probably not a hospital here (sorry, I have a potty mouth, I know). How the hell am I going to get out of the trail system? I'm going to die here. After about a minute of irrational contemplations, I started to calm down, realizing that I had just knocked the wind out of myself. Duh. Years of playing competitive soccer should have taught me this. But I guess in all the years of getting the wind knocked out of me, I've never had a blow this hard. (Even the time I collided head on with a goalie. I knocked her out, broke both her shins and scored a goal all at the same time. I momentarily was knocked out and had the wind knocked out of me. I still blame her. She was the aggressor and came at me with all her might. I was 110 lbs of goal scoring bad-assness back then.)

I got up, started to walk it off and assess the damage. The bike was ok. The rider had two blood knees, a stomach that hurt from being jabbed with her own flying elbow and a swelling arm/shoulder. It appeared that I'd live to ride another day, just maybe not in the 40. Peter and I started making our way back to the Telemark. We tried to take a short cut and ended up lost (of course). Finally after almost a 2 hour "pre-ride" we made it back to home base where I tended to my wounds, picked up my packet and headed back to my hotel to re-figure my Cheq 40 strategy. If crashing my brains out wasn't enough excitement for the day, a deer jumped out in front of me on HYW 63. My Dodge Dakota came within inches of hitting this terrified female deer. I may have even hit its back leg. My heart ended up somwhere in my throat as I veered completely off the road while driving 60mph, then righted myself back onto the HYW. Do you ever think the Universe is trying to tell you something?

Here is my knee, partially cleaned up for your viewing pleasure.

Treadfest.

2009-09-17T10:46:00.029-05:00

The last few weeks of life have had me mostly living at work, sleeping very little and eating like total shit or not eating at all. With motivation and expectations at an all time low and back pain at an all time high, I really wasn't that excited to head to Lake Geneva, one of the more technical races in the WORS series.

There were about 20 women at the start line which is a hearty number for the 1:30 race. Don said GOOOOOOOOO and we were off. I climbed up the hot, exposed ski hill, made my way through the dusty, sandy singletrack and found myself thinking about the rock garden that was to come.

The legendary rock garden is Lake Geneva's spectator centerpiece. It is lined with people yelling, screaming and taking photos....all waiting for the inevitable carnage to ensue. Now, the rock garden is really not that difficult of a piece to ride. You need to set your nerves aside, take some momentum into it and roll right down the middle, then try not to break your neck on the descent. Sounds easy enough, doesn't it? Unfortunately the consequences for not riding it perfectly are substantial - falling in the rock garden could mean serious damage to your bike and body, everyone you know will have witnessed your crash and will have posted the photos come Monday morning and you will most likely be run over by others behind you, trying to ride the rock garden.

With all these thoughts dancing around my head, I sat on the wheel of Brenda ZT as we made our way on Lap 1 up to the rock garden. About this time the Comp men started to catch us. As we passed the "CAUTION" sign, there was dude who wanted to pass us on the drop. I told him to wait. These are not words you will usually hear out of my mouth (those that know me, know I'm super easy to pass - just let me know you're there, don't cut me off, or crash me and we're all good....call me crazy but it is generally not good idea to ask for a pass in a section that requires a CAUTION sign). Brenda ZT hit the rock garden and slowed, which cause me to slow a little and sure enough, the dude made a super sketchy pass as I entered the the garden of many large, bruise worthy rocks. I was off the bike, pissed as hell and maybe even uttering a few unkind words (sorry spectators). Making your way down that hill on foot is awful and dangerous with non stop traffic barreling down a "room for one only" descent.

During that episode a few elite women had passed me, so I spent the rest of Lap 1 expending all my energy trying to regain my position and trying to let go of my anger. I am very happy to report that on Laps 2, 3 and 4 I rode the rock garden cleanly and managed to avoid any permanent physical, emotional or psychological damage that one receives from having a mishap there.

Photo by Velogrrl

I have a history with heat exhaustion - one episode at Alterra last year and one at Subaru Cup this year. It happens on exposed ski hill climbs on super hot days. I know this about myself. Knowledge is power. So when I started climbing the exposed ski hill on Lap 2, I could feel it coming on. It was just a stones throw away - the chills, the intestinal upset and yucky feelings. The result? I slowed way down, dropped it into the granny gear, started drinking more and hung on as best as I could. I did this for Laps 2, 3 and 4 and finished the race in 2 hours and 36 minutes for 11th on the day. I'll take it.

Photo by Velogrrl

Thanks to everyone for all the cheers and encouragement. I had a great time at the race and was super excited just to cross the finish line.

Photo by Gary

Well, I'm off to the Chequamagon 40 today. A top 25 finish is the goal but perhaps it's too lofty or assuming. There are many unknowns and things that will be out of my control. For instance, am I going to get run over by 1700 people because I have preferred start and got tangled up one of the many crashes that traditionally happen? And will I have the mental patience to avoid crashes for the first 25-30 miles. If my memory serves me right, it's mass chaos for the majority of that race.

For those of you going, I'll see you at the finish line at the Telemark Resort. We'll be dusty, sweaty, sore, happy and hopefully in one piece. Come have a beer with me.

Stump Farm

2009-08-31T21:58:00.019-05:00

Photos by Velogrrl.

After a little deliberation, I headed to the WORS race in GB instead of the Palos Meltdown. Ripping 35 or so miles a few weeks out from the Cheq 40 seemed like the right thing to do. I was also excited for what is essentially a road race on the mountain bike with some single track to boot.

The start was the typcial frenetic pace for the holeshot to the singletrack. I felt decent, but I didn't put the hammer down hard enough (unfortunately it seems like I've lost a little on the flats compared to earlier in the season.) and someone who is much slower in singletrack slipped in ahead of me. That is all it took to create a gap...once we went from leadout to singletrack back to double track, the top 8 women were gone. The remaining 6 of us were left in the dust.....left to duke out the remaining 30 plus miles. In retrospect that is where the biggest mistake was made....I should have at all costs threw it down harder on the lead out. Losing the drafting train on this course pretty much equals game over.

So I spent the next few miles blowing myself up trying to be the "front of the back". Once I accomplished that mission, Regina showed up and we were off. At a certain point in the first lap she was ahead of me and tearing my legs off. But I made myself stick on her wheel at all costs. My legs were on fire and my back was in some serious pain. I debated packing it in, but my seatpost had slipped as the race continued which eased the pressure on my back. The comp men started to pass us about half way into lap 1. The King of WORS made his way past me and then took down Regina just in front of me. I picked my jaw up off my top tube, thought "Holy Shit!" and cruised around the carnage. Luckily everyone was ok.

Regina caught back up with me and we rode lap 2 and most of lap 3 together. The back and forth was a total ass beater.....I kept trying to rip the singletrack as fast as possible, but there was no shaking her. On the home stretch in the third lap, Regina disappeared. A comp rider informed me that she had dropped her chain. What a total bummer and not the way I wanted it to end. A sprint finish after 35 miles would have been super sweet. So I just threw it down with everything I had and rolled in 9th for the day. Definitely a decent finish, but also a little disappointing as I can't seem to turn the pedals any faster to move my way up the Elite womens' food chain. I fully realize that Rome wasn't built in a day, but a podium finish would be really, really nice. On a positive note, I did ride the singletrack well. It's not the most technical, but you gotta take the small victories when they come your way.

Also mad props to Lori S. Winning the overall and beating Rebecca C. on her home trails is a huge freaking accomplishment.

Border Battle.

2009-08-21T21:06:00.019-05:00

All photos by Velogrrl

The my race can be summed up in one word - "blah".

A few of the low lights were:

1. Blowing myself up on lap one trying to hang with a stronger rider on the flats.

2. Almost getting pushed off the first bridge on lap one. Someone had fallen off and was remounting at the bridge exit point while I was riding it.

3. Eating it myself at the bridge on lap two for really no good reason.

4. Riding laps two, three and four with pain in my hip/ass from biting in on the bridge and subsequently feeling disheveled and pissed at myself for the rest of the race.

5. Feeling super sick on lap two (maybe the enduralites?).

6. Having the top elite men catch me on lap 3 in the freaking tightest spot on the course. I just pulled over....when I started pedaling again, a few more top elite men came out of nowhere and whizzed right by me. This caused me to suddenly shift my weight in an attempt to once again get out of the way. I ended up tipping over while clipped in and laying in the bushes. It wasn't pretty. And while I know I'm not gunning for a top spot, I do hope all the elite men appreciate the courtesies that are given to them. And I hope they at least had a good laugh while I kicked it in the bushes.

7. Too much braking.

8. Driving solo for 3.5 hours back to Madison while in a pissed off mood. At least I didn't get a speeding ticket.

9. Skipping 4 hours of scheduled training this week cause my hip/ass hurt.

The highlights? There were a few:

1. I held back a lot on the climbs. I think I can let loose a little more because I'm fitter than I think.

2. I felt slightly less unraveled on lap 4, pulled my head out of my ass and kicked it in the ass.

3. I had a decent pre-ride on Saturday and had a good time riding my bike.

4. While sifting through pictures this week I noticed that a few Comp men had also fallen off the first bridge. This somehow lessens the blow to my ego and all the ass pain I've been having.

I think the look on my face says it all.

Next up: Part of me would like to do the Palos meltdown, but I'll be heading to WORS GB. It should be a good test of my fitness and will be a good race leading up to the Cheq 40.

2009 Race Season in Photos

2009-08-08T13:36:00.057-05:00

All photos by Velogrrl, Rusty, Superfly, Gary and Holly.

IOLA

A slow start....nerves danced around in my stomach...GOOOOO!!!!! and the pedal was missed.

Looking good on first quarter of the lap.....until I crunched my left hand between my bike and a tree. Writhing on the ground as all the Elite ladies passed me is not the way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Writhed a few more times on the ground that day.

Smokin Spoke

Drafting on the lead out. Had a decent race but my back was shredded by the second half and rode the singletrack slower than desired. Navagating the singletrack with the Comp men was tough....cut off and forced off my bike a few times.

Jumping on the Comp train. Thanks for the pull fellas.

Wausau

Fucking miserable - muddy, rainy, windy and cold. 40 degrees in June in Wisco. WTF. Back still shredded from Smokin Spoke and from churning 9 mile mud; pulled off to stretch the back and to DNF but got talked into finishing the race. Thanks Michelle.

Subaru Cup

Nothing like going from 40 degree temps to 85+. Heat exhaustion in the XC race. Took it easy in the Super D and had a respectable finish behind Lisa in the Short Track.

Getting the race done early in day has it benefits - kicking it friends.

Women's Dirt Retreat

Got to be an instructor at the Dirt camp.

And got instruction from the likes of Alison Dunlop. We will be seeing her shortly at the Wisco USGP races.

The Firecracker

Had a good ride...until I didn't. Took a spill the beginning of lap numero dos and had hydraulic brake fluid all over my left hand. Life as a chemist has taught me that brake fluid is not miscible in sports drink....but in the thick of it, that is how my hand got rinsed. Yard saled it two more times. Lost a handful of confidence and spots in the overall. Additionally a select few of the Comp and Junior X men created moderately frustrating situations.

These rocks can Suck It Trebek. It was this chica's last race as a Wisco resident. And I had good company for three hour ride home.

Levis Trow

More on this later. It's so beautiful there that it deserves its own post.

Alterra

Here you can see a Comp man who hit my wheel, pushed me off of my line which nearly forced me off my bike.... not the way you want to start this heart busting climb. Comp dude (whoever you are) I forgive you cause shit happens during racing.

I'm a pretty chill chick and try to be as smooth and gracious in the singletrack as I can be. I certainly forgive many of the stupidities that happen because I'm far from perfect also. And the majority of you are great guys who are generally skilled, safe and super polite. But if you happen to be the 25th Comp dude that day who bumped into me because you don't know how to pass, knocked me off my bike because you are riding outside your ability, shoved me off my line because you think you have the right to the best part of the singletrack or almost crashed me because you didn't think to call your pass....I may lose it and explode at your ass. So I apologize in advance for any unkind words that might fly out of my mouth during the rest of the summer.

Racing in singletrack is getting better as the summer progresses even when dehydrated and hungover. WORS 2009 to be continued.....

Two weeks of debauchery.

2009-08-04T22:49:00.010-05:00

Riding and bike racing took a back seat for the last few weeks as I had a friend in town from California. We partied like rock stars, lived on junk food, got way too much sun and slept very little. After her better than two week stay in Sconnie, thankfully Brooke headed home last Friday.....cause my liver couldn't take anymore.

Alterra

2009-08-04T22:13:00.009-05:00

Picture by Velogrrl

I can't seem to get my shit together this year with bikes, life or blogging. Somehow half a WORS season has passed me by and I have failed to get excited enough to blog about it. Maybe because the last few months of racing have consisted of mediocre results, face plants, crashes, hitting trees, smashing fingers, sore backs, poison oak and heat exhaustion.

My race at Alterra just was what it was. It began with an embarrassing start as my foot missed the pedal and I almost ate grass. You would have thought it was my first race ever. Lap one was spent expending my energy trying to make up for my slow start. Rode with the Comp men for the second and third laps. Nothing too exciting, but I was pleased that I was smooth in the singletrack for laps two and three. Not to mention that I stayed upright for the entire race. Mediocre result. Blah. That's what I get for partying for the last two weeks with my California pal, Brooke.

Picture by Velogrrl
Climbing never gets easier. You just go faster up the hill.

Thanks to the Alterra team for putting on a great race and also for lengthening the lap. My legs were very happy to only climb up that damn hill three times. Last year I remember climbing it four times. My head almost exploded, my legs hurt, I got the chills and realized I had my first case of heat exhaustion.

Easter Sunday and the Resurrection.....of my Blog.

2009-04-12T21:38:00.013-05:00

It's time to wake this thing up!

My training officially started at the end of February (late, I know) but the miles have been piling on. This weekend was no exception. Friday night was a quick ride though Waunakee. Saturday I rolled from my home on Madison's northside to Poynette and back. This ride can be found in the Bombay Bicycle Club Routes and it's fantastic. The Pros - not too many hills, very little traffic, lots of farm animals/wildlife (including llamas), beautiful countryside and there is a gas station at the half way point for Ritz Bits and the restroom. Cons - lots of loose dogs who think cyclists are really snausages dressed in spandex.

Today I found myself heading to the kettles to ride 27 miles of Muir to Emma goodness with a few partners in crime. I'm certainly not where I want to be fitness wise, but I'm ahead of the curve compared to last year (with my first mountain bike ride of the year being the Expert Race in Iola....yikes.) The traffic in the parking lot was low due to the holiday but we still saw a few familiar faces. Unfortunately there were no pictures taken but it's always best to leave the camera in the car on the first mountain bike ride of the year...as the rider is a little sketchy.

27 miles of pure magic.

My off season in photos.

2009-02-08T22:39:00.012-06:00

Clean bikes packed away for winter.

Uh Huh Her in Chicago with Amelia

New Toys

Riding in place.

X-mas at the folks.

My photogenic hubby; x-mas at the in-laws.

A little bit of this, but not too much.

Ryan's 30th Birthday Bash.

Wors finale.....SheVegas!

2008-10-21T22:15:00.031-05:00

Sheboygan has always been a special course for me. A few years ago I gave up multi-sport at the doctor's urging (running was bad for my feet) and took up mountain biking. I wasn't sure I liked it very much at first. I wasn't good at it compared to my friends who had been mountain biking for years - my legs were always full of scrapes and bruises from falling. After trying a few races in 2003 & 2004, I attempted my first full WORS season in 2005. The highlight of that year was when I took the overall win at Sheboygan, one of the more technical courses on the WORS circuit. This victory was especially sweet because earlier in the summer, the doctors thought I had MS...which had derailed my training in July and August that year. After winning that race, I was hooked. I wanted to move up in class, I wanted to train, I wanted to rock the single track, I wanted to kick ass. More importantly, I was in love with this sport. Winning that race was a big deal to me. I'll never forget how it made me feel and how it motivated me over the winter to train for the next season.

Sheboygan 2005. That's me in the red and white jersey and red helmet with the tiny legs.

Fast forward to Sheboygan 2008. I warmed up with this girl and rolled to the start line just minutes before the race began. The nerves were dancing around in my stomach more than usual, even though I had a great pre-ride the day before. My technical riding hasn't been so hot and I don't think I'm alone in worrying about when and where the first Comp men are going to start passing me. Don said GO!!!! and the sprint for the hole shot was on. My start was better than normal and I was sitting right in the middle of the pack when we entered the single track. I rode my first lap smooth and fast, it was almost shocking and too good to be true....and it was... because on my second lap, I began to fall apart. Lap 2, I started off by sitting on April's wheel in the single track, almost feeling like I should pass her as she was a touch slower than me. Before I could act, we would hit the open sections and she would blow me freaking up (almost like it was the first time I had ever ridden a bike). That girl has a big motor on the flats and knows how to use it. I ate dirt a few times and subsequently watched April ride away. Patti and Christine passed me as I floundered. I was left to finish the lap by myself. My Sheboygan was slowly heading down the poop tube.

Picture courtesy of mountaingoat

On lap 3 I hunkered down and focused, which is hard to do when you have no carrot to chase. Ride it cleanly and keep pressing, I told myself. They have to be just up ahead. I obsessively eyeballed my heart rate monitor and made sure that my body was being pushed to its fullest. I ran up that bitch of a hill that SheVegans call the Equalizer for the 3rd time. (I have never attempted to ride the Equalizer during a race. In fact, it's just as fast for me to run it, if not faster. Though, it probably juices my legs more as I am not a runner). Shortly after I re-mounted my bike, I saw Christine in the quarry just ahead of me. In the past my approach would be to hammer up to her and try to immediately pass her. But my summer of getting schooled by road racers who were weaker than me has taught me to settle down and use my head. So I followed her at a bit of a distance. I needed to recover from running the Equalizer. I moved closer and was just a few feet behind her for the remainder of the lap. Lucky for me, Christine never looked back....she too was drinking her bottle and recovering in the single track. As we headed onto the service road for the beginning of lap 4, Christine turned and looked at me. Then I fucking punched it with all I had (the song "drop it like it's hot" kept running through my head as I told myself to "pedal RB, pedal".....at least I entertain myself during these excruciating physical activities or perhaps it's just the dehydration talking). I wanted a nice gap before I got into the single track and I thought it might deflate her a bit. The last lap was pretty uneventful other than I felt great and rode great which is very unfamiliar territory for me. My little tactic worked as Christine never passed me. I kept seeing Patti ahead of me, but I was too tapped out to catch her. So I rolled to 12th out of 18 starters. While not fantastic finish for some, it's a solid result for me.

Picture Courtesy of Velogrrl. The Equalizer run-up. Except my legs are less tiny these days.

At the end of another mountain bike season, I have to remind myself not to stress over how I finished. It's not always about what place you took or didn't take....or who you passed or couldn't pass....sometimes it's just about the journey.

Retro Blogging. UCI CX and Shawano Wors.

2008-10-21T21:49:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago I decided to race Day 1 of the UCI Planet Bike CX Cup on Saturday followed by the Shawano WORS race on Sunday. I learned some very interesting things at my first official UCI race....like there are no feed zones. So say it's 90 degrees outside and you don't have a water bottle cage on your bike, you'll just have to suck it up and pretend that you're a camel. Of course all this information was relayed to me as I was sitting at the start line, so suck it up was all I could do. In fact, I sucked it up all the way to 5th place out of 16 starters in the Women's Cat 3 race. WooHoo! Price to enter the race - 30 dollars. Prize money won - 31 dollars. Net gain - one dollar. Sweet.

With a dollar in my pocket and white dehyration spittle crusted on my lips, I headed to my parents home in Green Bay for a some dinner and a good night of sleep before the WORS race. While I didn't have high hopes for Shawano, I didn't realize how smoked out I was going to feel after racing CX. The race started and I was motoring with everyone on the lead out, then the singletrack, and through the tunnel. When I hit the flat horse pasture I watched almost everyone in the field ride away from me and I had no answer. And to top it off I rode singletrack like a beginner. Result - DFL....and actually, I believe this was my first DFL in a mountain bike race ever. So I left Shawano with a mildly bruised ego, a nasty cold that would cost me a few training days, a realization that I suck on flats and no confidence heading into Sheboygan. At least I had a dollar in my pocket.

Prizes and awards are pretty cool.

2008-09-18T07:08:00.006-05:00

The last 16 months have been extremely challenging period of my life. I found myself sitting on the sideline with some pretty major injuries. Between my wrist injury, soft tissue damage in my quad and chronic foot problems there really wasn't much in the way of exercise that I could do. All the medical professionals (PT's, OT's, doctors and surgeons) told me I need to rest my body and let it heal. So I did. I let myself go both physically and mentally. In addition to the cycling, many things in other areas of my life were tanking. I ate burritos, drank lots of wine, became depressed and gained 20 lbs.

I've spend the last 7 months trying to pull myself out of this black hole that I created. Its been a struggle. Work, training, doctors appointments....keep the nose to the grindstone. This summer has found me with shitty road racing results, shitty WORS results and a wrist that feels shitty all the time... a few weeks ago the surgeon tells me that the tendon in my wrist may be permanently damaged. He says finish your WORS season, rest your wrist (again) this fall and winter and we'll see where we are at in spring.

Last Friday I made the 4.5 hour trip to Cable, WI wondering why the fuck am I even bothering with racing. It's a long time to be in a car by yourself when you are in a funky emotional state....even with a fully loaded ipod. Friday night I talked to a lot of familiar faces, took care of administrative issues, rode the beginning 4 miles of the Short and Fat course and went to bed not feeling great about my position in life or cycling.

Saturday morning I couldn't seem to get my shit together. I'll blame it on Perkins in Hayward. They had one hostess and one waitress on staff; the wait for food was ridiculous. After consuming crappy eggs and salty hash browns, I headed over to Cable for the start of the race. I couldn't seem to get dressed or get my bike ready in a timely manner. Procrastination. I intended to get a 45 minute warm up in, but it somehow turned into 15 minutes. Then it was a 15 minute wait for the damn bathroom.

I stepped into the preferred start area. A little nervous banter, the playing of the national anthem, GO...and we were off. In a WORS race you know who everyone is, you know how fast they are and you know who your competition is. In a race like the Short and Fat, I really didn't recognize many people. It's hard to know which ladies to keep your eye on. Riding in the lead group was a little nerve racking. The guys at the front were pulling like mad and people swerving all over the place. I looked down at my computer and it said 31 mph. I wasn't doing that much work and I was being sucked along in the vortex. Cool.

After a while the vortex slowed down and I thought it might be a good time to do some passing. Before I even could act, a tandem hit the ground and ~20 people went down directly in front of me. My heart immediately jumped into my throat as I jammed on my brakes, skidded out, unclipped and gently hit the person laying on the ground ahead of me with my front tire. Everyone around me was on the ground; some bloody and a few screaming in pain or terror.....but I was standing upright. Thank you, thank you thank you! Then I heard 800 people behind me jam on their brakes and scream. I was pretty sure I was done. Would it be a broken collar bone, leg or arm? By some crazy act of god or nature, everyone behind me stopped in time and I remained in one piece. Crisis averted.

About that time I ran into my Chain smoker teammate Dirk. I asked him to give me a pull up to the lady in the Trek jersey and he kindly obliged. By my calculations I was the 3rd overall woman. I tried to sit on her wheel for a while, but once we entered the double track ski trail, she started to blow me up. I backed off a bit and let her get away. I rode the next few miles of the race pretty steadily. Not too much action, not too many men passing me and there were no women in sight behind me. I was sitting pretty....that is until some young girl blows past me half way through the race. WTF. Panic sets in....there goes my podium spot.

The last four miles of the race were a dog fight. I have never dug so emotionally deep into myself during a mountain bike race before. Many crazy things were running though my head. I thought about Tara Llanes and what she wouldn't give to pedal her bike again. I though about all the shitty things that have happened to me during my lifetime. I though about how hard I've worked the last few months to pull myself out of the well. I though about how much I hate being mediocre. I made myself angry. I thought I'm just not going to lay down and let this chick take my podium spot from me. While some people might consider this to be psychotic or perhaps male-like behavior, I'm an ex-competitive soccer player. This is just what you do. You never, ever let anyone take anything from you. And if they get in your way, you better show them the door. (Abby Wambach of the Women's national soccer team will stay locked in her hotel room two days leading up to a game....kind of like a caged animal...then she unleashes all her pent up frustration on the other team come game time).

So I battled with this girl. We went back and forth, back and forth. She easily dropped me on the climbs and I easily out descended her. We were pretty even on the flats. As we flew past a volunteer station, they informed us that we were the 3rd and 4th females. With just under two miles left to go in the race, I decided to try and drop her. I thought maybe it would deflate this girl as I would NOT be able to out climb her on the last climb before the finish. I dropped her for a little while but she would just not let me out of her sight. As predicted, she out climbed me on the last hill and punched it for the finish. I had no answer. My legs were quivering. My heart rate had been an average of 190 for just over an hour of racing (for a two hour WORS race it would typically be around 180). So I rolled into the finish for what I thought was 4th place.

At the finish line, the first thing I did was go shake this girl's hand and tell her how awesome I thought she was. I later found out that Zoe is from Minnesota and is only 15 years old. All I have to say is that Abby and Holly better watch out for this kid. If she sticks with mountain biking, she is going to be fantastic. My 4th place finish somehow turned into a 5th place. In the confusion of the crash on the lead out, one of the women must have slipped away unnoticed and the volunteers must have miscounted. I'm actually more ok with a 5th place finish than a 4th. To do all that work, go through all that emotional stress and be one place outside of the podium almost had me in tears. Warped logic, I know.

With a 5th overall placing and an age class win, I can finally say I had a decent race. Thanks to everyone who cheered me on. I've gotten lots of congratulations in person and though email. Thanks to Chain smoker Dirk for all the "pulls" and for reminding me to put it in the big ring and pedal faster. And thanks to Dave and Renee for picking up all my cool prizes. The best prize of all being my automatic entry into next years race.

My 2008 Chequamagon.

2008-09-14T22:04:00.001-05:00

Race report to follow.

Solo Saturday Picture Blog

2008-08-30T21:03:00.015-05:00

A beautiful day

at some of my favorite trails

~ 26 miles of Muir and Emma.

"Fine dining" at my favorite east side eatery.

How the spicy meat kisses your lips.......

Kickin' it with da pooch.

Nothing like a little box wine in front of the idiot box....I know....I'm a classy chick.

Border Battle

2008-08-25T21:53:00.005-05:00

Picture courtesy of Mountaingoat.

It was a long drive to River Falls, but the single track was well worth the trip. I'm very happy to report that I didn't end up laying on the ground, dehydrated, writhing in agony like I did at Alterra. Unfortunately I didn't ride my bike very well through the single track...so once again I'm managed to bring up the caboose in the women's field. I meet with the surgeon on Friday so he can evaluate my MRI and EMG tests. If I put in as many hours on the bike as I do the doctor's office, I'd probably have my pro license by now.

At least my coach had a pretty good racing weekend. There is really nothing like a SSWC tattoo to top off your race.

Natasha Kai, I'm your biggest fan...

2008-08-18T00:48:00.006-05:00

5 reasons why I'm in love with Natasha Kai

TK is just one of those charismatic people who brings a lot of flavor to the Women's National Soccer team. It makes me miss all the years that I played soccer - the crazy fantastic people that I met, the friendships that I made and the great memories that I will take to my grave. I might be a cyclist, but I do appreciate team sports.

US Women's National Soccer Team.

2008-08-17T23:34:00.014-05:00

I absolutely love soccer. I started playing soccer when I was six years old.....until I hit my mid-twenties then changed over to cycling. I played on recreational teams when I was younger and competitive traveling teams as I got older. I was a decent player and athlete....I had lots of heart and lots of speed.....I just didn't have the kind of skill set that it took to be on a high quality Division 1 team like UW-Madison, where I went to college.

I've been getting back into soccer again now that the Olympics are in full tilt and all I have to say is that I've become a huge Natasha Kai fan.

What's not to love about the Flyin' Hawaiian.

It is truly amazing that anyone from Hawaii could make the national team. Hundreds of women are trying for 20 or so spots. You can't let off the throttle for even a minute because someone else will take your job. It's simply beyond competitive, its cutthroat. Hawaii doesn't have the the level of competition or the Olympic Developmental Programs (ODP) that most soccer driven states do. So props to Natasha Kai and her fantastic OT header in the quarterfinals against Canada. We're two games away from the gold.

What is even more interesting is that in my google search for all things Natasha Kai, I ran across an interesting picture.Here is a picture of Natasha Kai, Marci Miller Jobson and Carli Lloyd. Marci Miller was a friend of mine from college. She played at UW-Madison for two years then transferred out to SMU to finish her collegiate career. I've been so self involved the last few years with all my cycling endeavors that I hadn't realized that Marci had been playing for the Women's US national team. Marci stepped down from the Women's national team last year to coach women's soccer full time at Baylor University. Congratulations Marci on all your successes as a soccer player and coach. It couldn't have happened to a nicer person.

Alterra and everything else.

2008-08-17T23:06:00.001-05:00

I have been a bad summer blogger. Life has gotten way too busy and it's hard to find time to do anything else other than go to work, ride the bike and go to all my stupid doctor's appointments. So I guess a short recap of my summer is in order.

In June and July I tried to pass myself off as a cat 4 road racer. I've been putting quite a bit of training in since the spring, but unfortunately I still don't understand the fine details of racing on the road. So my results weren't exactly reflecting the shape that I've come to be in.

I tried my hand at the last two Wors races and my attempts were pretty unsuccessful. Leading up to the Alterra race, I'd been very sick. I ran out of water on my third lap and had to soft pedal my fourth lap sans anything to drink. I figured I drank over 70 ounces of fluid during that race and when I finished I really needed an IV. I'm probably not recovered from that episode.

Last week I showed up to Sunburst which has to be one of the most boring courses on the WORS circuit....which is super fine with me because I've only been able to mountain bike a handful of times in the last calendar year (stupid swollen wrist) and my technical riding skills have diminished to that of a citizen rider. After two laps, I pulled myself out of the race. My hydration was fine, my heart rate was fine, but my body was so exhausted I just couldn't continue. I've never experienced anything like that before. Plus I had a terrible stomach ache that wouldn't quit. As much as I love Muddy Cup coffee, I think that it is best consumed after a race and not before.

I finally had my appointment with the wrist surgeon from UW-Hospital. He is a sports medicine orthopedist and is also an avid cyclist. He ran me through a bunch of physical tests, looked at my x-rays, ordered an MRI and a nerve test. The MRI was actually pretty painful. I was in a super-contorted position for 45 motionless minutes. When the MRI was over I was numb wrist to shoulder....well, at least I'm not claustrophobic because that little tube they stick you in is pretty damn tiny. My nerve conduction is set for Tuesday. I'm a little concerned as I understand that this is an exceptionally painful test involving needles and electrodes. Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger, or something like that.

What all these annoying tests boil down to is that either my wrist is irritated or it's damaged....the surgeon is not sure which it is. So that means either complete rest or perhaps surgery followed by complete rest. The doctor said my "version" of rest isn't the same "version" of rest that is need to rest a ulnar nerve. At least he is a cyclist and understands how obsessive we can be.

Changes...let the therapy begin.

2008-07-21T15:10:00.004-05:00

before

after

My stomach was in knots all morning thinking about my hair appointment. It really seems kind of stupid that caramel highlights and layers would do that to a person. But I put faith in my hairstylist and just let her do her thing with very little input. Hair and make up will always be baffling subjects for me. I must have missed that day in school.

Blog Tag

2008-07-14T21:08:00.007-05:00

I've been tagged by Amelia. Here are six things about me that you may or may not know.

1. It's official, my legs don't fit in jeans anymore. I have been to every single store in the greater Madison area and there are only two types of jeans that fit me. Old Navy Sweetheart Straight Legs and Gap Low-Rise Curvy - both size 6 with a belt to keep them from falling down my ass. WTF. Does anyone else have this problem? Apparently they don't make jeans for athletes.

2. I think I'm having an early mid-life crisis and I don't know why. I've felt this way for the last decade of my life which is sad because I'm only 32. I'm considering a gym membership and a personal trainer so that I can (one day) see the return of my abdominal muscles. I somehow lost in them in the last year and a half of my depression. Once I get my body back, I might add a few well-placed custom tattoos.

3. I've always wanted to be on American Gladiators since I was a wee young girl. Unfortunately I'm probably too small and certainly not photogenic enough to make the casting cut. Then again, maybe a little time in the gym could help that along....

http://www.nbc.com/American_Gladiators/casting/index.shtml

4. I've played the guitar for better than a decade. I also played drums for ~8 years way back in the day. I love music; it's such a huge part of my life. Since my wrist injury, I haven't been able to play my guitar and that makes me sad.

5. I've broken bones, gotten tons of stitches and have broken my nose no less than 10 times. I've been in the ER more times that I care to remember. But I'd rather break a bone than have another cortisone shot in my foot again. My foot doctor says I have the feet of an old lady and I'll probably need surgery to clean up the joint space. Thus I've long since given up multi-sport and running.

6. I'm terrified of getting my hair done in some kind of style and color. As part of my therapy to treat my midlife crisis, I made an appointment for next week and told my hairdresser that she is going to make some drastic changes. My only stipulations are no bangs and no super short hair. My stomach is in knots just thinking about it and I'll try not to chicken out.

Most people have already been tagged, so I'll refrain.

www.nbc.com/American_Gladiators/photos/#cat=622

Madison by moonlight.

2008-05-28T22:08:00.008-05:00

Riding from day...

Into the night...

The last two nights I arrived home at 9:45 pm from my training rides. There is really nothing like getting reacquainted with your bike like doing intervals at night.

Holiday Weekend.

2008-05-26T00:02:00.005-05:00

Memorial day weekend has been a pretty low key event this year. Ryan and Wendy headed to the WEMS race. I decided to stay in Madison to chill out and bring my stress level down. Saturday I helped a non-cycling friend fix her bike then I took her on ride around Lake Mendota. Sunday I rode over to the Madison Marathon. A few of my friends were running the half and I thought it would be nice to cheer them on. Unfortunately there were so many people that I couldn't even find them at the finish line.

It's been a long time since I hung out at a running event; I forgot how skinny runners are. Many of the top marathoners literally have sticks for legs. Another thing I noticed is that there was a large portion of people limping after the race. There were way too many racers sporting knee braces and ice packs post event. Honestly I think the best thing a marathoner or ultra runner can do is to pick their parents well. Some people just are not able to put in the miles to do that kind distance and stay injury free. And I'm one of them.

I had a pretty interesting ride this evening. I rode my bike downtown, past The Terrace, down to the Lakeshore dorms, then back home. For reasons unknown to me, my emotions were extremely stirred up and I had a total sensory overload. Maybe I've been so numb to the world lately that this ride was a much needed release or maybe it's the anti-depressants messing with me. All the memories from college started to flood back into my mind. The places I hung out at, the relationships I had, the apartments I lived in, the friendships that I made, all the experiences that made me who I am. Between all my college flashbacks, the streets around me were buzzing with activity. Warner beach full with people picnicking and fishing, a fishing boat that was tagged with the words "muff diver down here", the governor's mansion, the smell of Lake Mendota on a summer evening, frat row/Langdon street full of people drinking and playing frisbee, a couple making out on the terrace, a 13 year old boy trying to race me on the Lakeshore path (and as the Pilgrim would say - he got "girl'd"), picnic point, the Open Pantry where I used to fill up the moped and buy booze underage, someone pumping "Rhiannon" in a white Toyota Prius on the corner of State St. and Johnson, the man with the unicycle at Tenney Locks. I'll never live anywhere else.

Time to hit the road.

2008-05-21T21:33:00.014-05:00

I've been popping vitamins, anti-inflammatories and anti-depressants like they are candy. My physiotherapy starts in June and I've given up on icing my wrist. My online research has told me that treating RSD with RICE (rest,ice,compression,elevation) is probably not a good idea. No more taping either. I'm going to resume training on the road this Friday and take life one day at a time.

I received a little post card from the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival today. This small piece of paper was conformation documentation for my entrance into the Short and Fat race. It also stated that I've been awarded a preferred start. This was thoroughly surprising to me considering that my race resume is far from impressive and has been mostly non-existent for the last 12 months. A few years ago I tried to get a preferred start into the 40 and was pretty much denied. I'm guessing that they hand out preferred starts for the Short and Fat without much selectivity. That's okay, I'll take it.

The month of June should prove to be very interesting. While I'm waiting for my medical situation to improve, I'll probably do a crit or two. Maybe even a road race. I know very little about racing on the road. Aside from all the duathlons and triathlons that I used to do, my "roadie" career has consisted of three criteriums.

One year I entered the Badger State Games criterium on a whim. The course was pretty cool as it was on Madison's Capital Square. Unfortunately no other women turned out to race so they asked me if I wanted to roll with the Masters 50+ men. I said sure, why not. I thought to myself, how fast can they be? Minutes later a few 50+ year old dudes roll up on 4000 dollar carbon bikes. Shit, this might be interesting. Go.....and we were off. I hung on for about a half of lap and I was dropped on the small uphill on Carroll St. Even though I knew I couldn't catch these guys, I pedaled the shit out of my bike because I have too much pride to give up. A little while later those old guys came around to lap me so I tried to hang on again. I started to notice that there was a large amount of people congregating on Carroll St. UW students, out-of-towners, street people and whoever else started cheering for me in a disproportionately loud fashion. It was nuts. Every lap I went around they were clapping, chanting and screaming for me to keep up with these old men. You would have thought it was the Superbowl. I had an ear to ear smile that day because I was pleasantly amused at the ruckus which my "race" created. I think I was lapped at least twice for the 20 or 25 laps that we did. What I didn't want to tell my over-exuberant fans is that I could have pulled over at any given time, called it a day and picked up my first place medal....because those guys weren't technically my competition.

I also did the Great Dane crits last year and got popped off the pack in both of them. I felt like I was certainly one of the stronger riders, but unfortunately I didn't really have a strategy or know what I was doing. Maybe next month will teach me something.

Lake Geneva from the sidelines.

2008-05-18T20:38:00.010-05:00

I headed to Lake Geneva this weekend with Wendy and Ryan. None of us raced due to a variety of circumstances but we certainly had a decent time camping, socializing and riding. Wendy and I took a easy lap on the citizen course so she could practice her singletrack skills. Ryan did a few laps of his own and managed to catch the wheel of an Alterra superstar. Camping was a little trying with the annoying rain showers. Sitting around the campfire with good company and hot beverages was a great way to combat the cold.

Race day was a little chilly, but at least the rain stayed away. After all, most people did not want a repeat of last year. It is extremely difficult to sit on the sidelines and watch others participate in the sport you love. So I did a lot of cheering and picture taking to keep from dwelling on my current doctor ordered, non-mountain biking status. The subsequent inflammation that followed my 5 mile pre-ride lap on Saturday has convinced me to listen to the doctor; I'll be hanging up the mountain bike for a few weeks and crossing my fingers that my supposedly "incurable" condition will magically go into remission. If that is what is even wrong with me.

I snapped a ton of pictures of ChainSmokers, MadForcs, and women racers in general. Feel free to grab photos from my gallery.

Cooking it up.

2008-05-11T22:44:00.002-05:00

Since I don't get to see him very much in everyday life, at least I can see him on tv. My husband, Chef Jeff.

What did I do today?

2008-05-11T20:55:00.005-05:00

Not much.

I started taking the anti-depressant that my doctor prescribed for my possible RSD diagnosis. Supposedly OT, ice, ibuprofen and nortripyline are the answers. RSD sounds like one of those catch all ailments when doctors don't know what's wrong with you. The only side effect that I've noticed from this drug is that my mouth is dry.

Today was such a lazy day. A little cleaning, a little grocery shopping, too much time spent fooling around online and no cycling. I had to take the dog for a walk because I refuse to take her in the backyard until the neighbor puts his fence up. The heated exchange that I had with my neighbor yesterday obviously didn't sink in. I had to chase one of his unsupervised dogs out of my yard around dinner time. His wife ran out of the house and started yelling at her dog. Bad dog, bad dog is all she kept saying. Like her dog knows what he flipping did wrong. Those people didn't put even the most basic training into their dogs let alone advanced boundary training. You can't just let your dog out into the backyard and expect that he'll magically stay there. Irritating.

I think I'll hit the gym tomorrow. I know I'm supposed to rest the wrist, but I think I need to pump some iron and ride the stationary bike to purge the anger that I've build up over the past few days. Maybe I'll hit the Forcs group ride on Tuesday if they have one. I hear they have a few girls who like to turn the pedals fast.

I hate people...

2008-05-10T19:27:00.020-05:00

Well, not all people. Just a select few.

My neighbor is putting up a privacy fence between our houses. Unfortunately he took down his chain link fence, but has not yet been able to fully finish the 6 foot wooden fence. Normally this wouldn't be a huge deal except for the fact that they have 3 dogs. The dogs are typically unsupervised and run the fence line while barking at us non-stop. Now that the fence is temporarily gone, the dogs are running into my yard and craping all over the place....unsupervised of course.

I too have a dog. She is a high-strung, high-anxiety, super sweet little gal that I adopted from Angel's Wish about five years ago. I've done a lot of training to help with her problems (I should mention that besides my mediocre cycling escapades and working as a research assistant in a pharmaceutical laboratory, I also help teach family dog training classes in the evenings at one of the quality local science-based, positive reinforcement based training facilities). Pepper was seriously bitten by another dog a few months ago. It was so serious that she almost lost her eye. Pep is very scared around other dogs and really wants nothing to do with them now.....and understandably so.

I awoke this morning to my dog panting and pacing around the house. I looked out my patio door to see another dog looking in.....and two other dogs crapping on my lawn. WTF. So I spent part of the morning cleaning up all the dog shit in my backyard. A few hours later I was outside with my dog when all hell broke loose. My neighbor's wife let the dogs out of the house and they totally bum rushed my dog. Once we got the dogs untangled I asked her to keep her dogs in their yard. I also mentioned that they were in my yard earlier in the day and I didn't want her dogs greeting my dog because she had recently been attacked. Her dogs were also left unsupervised the night before. I had to rush my dog out to the bathroom before they saw us and then rush back inside my house. She said she was sorry, that the fence would be put up soon and that her dogs were nice. I said that's great, but I don't want them in my yard greeting my dog.

Minutes later her husband came out and verbally attacked me. He told me not to talk to his wife that fucking way and that we have to be fucking neighbors, so act like one. Needless to say we got in a pretty heated argument where many f-bombs were dropped (by both sides). The argument ended up with him walking away from me mid-sentence. (Mind you that this is the same neighbor who weeks before told us that he was putting up a fence and that we wouldn't have to move our fence. Days later, without telling us, he unhitched our fence at the corner post and left it wide open for anything to come into our yard. Call me crazy, but having a hole in my fence is something I'd like to know about before I step outside at midnight my dog. We live right next to the marsh and it is not uncommon to have dogs, cats, coyotes, raccoons, deer etc. roaming around our neighborhood. Not to mention the fact that you can't detach a fence from the corner post. It could have buckled the whole damn thing. My husband was very cool about it and explained this to him.)

People baffle me. Common sense and courtesy are a thing of the past apparently. It doesn't matter if I'm outside with a social dog, an anxious dog, a two year old child or grandparents. I have the right to not have three strange dogs run repeatedly onto my property to interact with us. I've absolutely had it with piss poor dogs owners and shitty neighbors. If my intolerance to this rudeness makes me a bad neighbor, then count me in. Next time this happens I'll just call animal control. The going rate for "dogs running at large" is $200 per dog. Each pile of crap will run you about $100.

Ok. Rant over.

I went to the doctor this week and it's not looking good for me. My wrist is swollen and they don't know why. This isn't normal. I have to take a week off from cycling and mountain biking is currently on the back burner. I've had an x-ray taken and a battery of tests but no answers. My doctor is treating me for RSD and I'll shortly be heading to a OT wrist specialist. If this doesn't get better in the next few weeks, then I'll be seeing a specialist. Wrist surgery is something to avoid, but that might be the direction I'm heading.

Iola thoughts.

2008-05-04T21:59:00.017-05:00

Picture courtesy of Rusty

While my results were certainly nothing to write home about (I posted a faster time last year), I'm glad that I decided to start racing in May. As I write this, I'm sitting here sipping on a glass of wine. If I can consume alcohol after a race, then I usually know that I'm doing well. The wrist is pretty swollen so I'll be icing and popping pills for the next few days. I guess that means most of my training is going to happen on the road. Oh well, life could be worse.

My time off from mountain biking really made me forget how tough racing is. During my first lap, I wasn't sure what was going to explode first - lungs, legs or mental toughness. On the first climb, I mis shifted and dropped my chain. Running up a hill with your bike is not the way to start a mountain bike season. Once I hit the singletrack, it all came back to me. It was awesome....while it lasted. Lap two I felt extremely sick. I have to apologize to anyone who saw me dry heaving on that lap; it was disgusting. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, the lack of fitness or something I ate at the wedding. I'm not sure. The 3rd lap had me cramping because the sickness on the second lap made me stop drinking. By the 4th lap a strange, peaceful feeling came over me and I felt ok with how bad I felt (if that makes sense). As I rolled to the finish, my HR monitor said 182 (average). That might explain some of my issues....

All in all, it was nice getting this race under my belt. I give my fitness a grade of D and my singletrack skills a C+ (I fucked up here and there.) Today was a good starting point and hopefully I can only go up from here. It was really great to see a lot of familiar faces again. It's good to be back.

Dialed.

2008-05-02T00:51:00.006-05:00

Sort of. The bike is ready to go; as ready as it's going to be. The dual poploc is still giving me trouble and the Sram Video didn't really help with the particular problem I'm having. But I'm sick of screwing with it and so I'll have to take it into the shop next week. The Fuel 9 just might have a little too much suspension for Iola, oh well. I don't think my wrist will mind.

Doing all this work myself has been stressful. This week I spent just as much time wrenching as riding. Maybe next year I won't wait until the week of the race to get it together. At least the weather is looking better for Iola.

Procrastination.

2008-04-28T22:09:00.004-05:00

So the instructions say to torque steel compression nuts to 70 inch pounds and alloy compression nuts to 47 inch pounds. How the hell am I supposed to know if my compression nut is either steel or alloy? I'm a girl and don't know this type of shit. Shouldn't the manual tell me?

Nervous ramblings.

2008-04-28T11:47:00.018-05:00

I haven't updated in a while. Sometimes that pesky full time job gets in the way of my life. Vacation the other week was great. I ended it with a 50 mile road ride with this chica. No Rock Cut for me as I had mountain bike issues that needed to be addressed. When I tried to remove my old Hayes rotors, I rounded out some of the bolts. The bike shop who assembled that bike did not use the proper T-25 torx bolts (initially I thought they used 4mm allen bolts, but upon further investigation my brother figured that they used some English bolts as one of his English allens fit perfectly in the hole....bastards), did not grease the bolts and over tightened the bolts. It was quite obvious that they did not use a torque wrench. That is the last time that I buy a bike or any major part from that shop. I took my wheels to another shop and they totally took care of the rotor removal situation for less than 25 dollars. Cronometro is the bomb! I can't thank them enough for fixing that problem.

Last week was a recovery week; only 6.5 hour of training. My leg has been doing well, but my wrist has been in agony and is keeping me up at night. My knee has been bothering me as well, but I think 20+ years of soccer has done a number on some of my body parts.

The countdown to WORS begins. I'm a little concerned as my Trek Fuel is not ready to go. I have to clean out the tires and add Stan's. The Avid 7's need to be cut and bled. My coach has scheduled a 12 hour cycling week. Work is super hectic and is totally flipping me out. We have my sister-in-law's wedding for which she has sent us an itinerary for Friday and Saturday and we must be active participants for all events. I haven't been on my mountain bike since June 2007 and I don't know that I'm going to get to ride it before Sunday. There will be little sleep on Saturday night and certainly no Iola pre-ride. Rain is predicted for Friday thru Sunday in WI. Blah,blah blah...it's all just nerves, stress and excuses talking. But don't be fooled, I'll be towing the line at Iola on Sunday rain or shine. I just might be nervously puking my lunch up beforehand.

New bike, first miles.

2008-04-18T16:30:00.026-05:00

Which bike should I ride today?

The new singlespeed it is. Good thing I was heading out for an easy spin as the 34/18 - 175 crank was quite under geared for road riding. It might work pretty well for a Wednesday night ChainSmoker STXC race at Blackhawk though.

Knowing full well that it would probably start raining during my ride, I decided to leave my rain coat and fenders at home. My year off from cycling has softened me and it's time to toughen up a bit. I headed out on the Governor's Mansion-Tenney Park-Memorial Union route; it's a nice ride along Lake Mendota that I do when it needs to stay mellow.

I took this picture a good distance away from the Governor's Mansion. There were many people hanging around there today and I didn't want them to think I was a crazy picture snapping psycho biker chick. That's all I need is some secret service agent taking me out with a tazer gun.

Next, I rolled past Tenney Park. On the way I passed a guy riding a unicycle with his dog in tow. Unfortunately I couldn't get the camera out of my pocket in time for that one.

Onto the Memorial Union, then State Street. I would have stopped for a beer on the Terrace but it started to rain so I headed back home.

All in all, it's not a bad little bike but I'm truly amazed that my arse found the narrow WTB saddle comfortable.

I should have brought the rain coat...

Heavy shit...

2008-04-17T15:54:00.002-05:00

Check out Tara's Video.

Life is good.

2008-04-17T10:30:00.005-05:00

If you have a herding breed or other type of super active dog, you really have to love it when you see this (above).

It has been a total week of indulgence. Sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. Well, maybe not so much...but there has been plenty of eating, sleeping and cycling going on. Vacation is fantastic. Chores have been getting done around the house, the dog has been getting massive exercise, bike maintenance has been happening and tons of riding has been taking place. Monday was an easy one hour spin. Tuesday I somehow managed to miss my group ride, but ended up riding with Wendy. Wednesday I rode with Amelia. Today is a rest day and I'm getting a massage. Life really doesn't get much better. Not to mention that I'm still using unused vacation from 2007. After this week, I'll have 25 days of vacation left for 2008 and it's almost May. Damn that's sweet.

Is Rock Cut going to happen? I've been hearing conflicting reports. It's supposed to rain the next two days so I really hope they push it back a week. I don't need my first race of the year to be a demoralizing mud fest.

I'm having conflicting feelings about Iola. My sister-in-law's wedding is the night before the race. So that means little sleep, rushing around, and no pre-riding. This May will mark my 5th Iola and one could argue that a pre-ride won't be necessary. But man, that pre-ride sure settles the nerves... It won't be optimal, but I think I just need to balls out do it.

I'm waiting on my Tara Llanes road to recovery T-shirt. I meant to order one a long time ago, but finally got around to it now. As I sit here complaining about my permanent ulnar nerve damage, I need to remember that there are people out there who have larger problems than my own. Tara Llanes is a pro mountain bike racer who had a horrible crash during a race in Beaver Creek, CO which left her in a wheelchair. She seems to be a very strong person and is someone to be admired. I'm sure Tara will pop into my mind when I'm racing this year...

Flippin' Wisconsin

2008-04-14T00:49:00.019-05:00

Why do I live in this god forsaken state? I ask myself this question every winter. But when summer rolls around, I soon forget about all the cold, shitty weather that I spent months enduring. It's like I somehow have a bout of amnesia. Summertime in Madison, WI has that effect on a people. It makes you forget about all the below zero wind chills, all the $300 MG&E bills and all the cycling hours that were logged indoors. On Saturday I found myself on the trainer for two hours, waiting for my bout of amnesia to come, pissing and moaning with every pedal stroke, cursing the city I live in. It's almost enough to kill my love of racing....but not quite.

Sunday was a little better. I wondered over to the Research Park crits. Seeing as my high end fitness hasn't been worked on yet, I decided to spectate instead of race. The Women's 4's had a pretty small showing due to the cold weather. I could only take about an hour of watching races before I was frozen solid. Next I headed over to my brother's house to defrost a little and address some of the issues that my race bike was having. I literally had to clean the cobwebs off the mountain bike - that's how long its been. Ryan helped me dial in the shifting, which is something I can never seem to properly do on my own. After tinkering around for a few hours, I headed back to my side of town and got ready for a three hour burner. Leaving for a ride after 4pm on a cold day is not the smartest (a.k.a. warmest) decision that has ever been made but I had a decent time (frozen feet not withstanding). I battled the cold and windy conditions in the rolling hills of Waunakee on my trusty cyclocross bike. The wind was an ass-beater and had me cranking up those hills at a whopping 7 mph. Suffer now or suffer later I guess...

I'm officially on vacation now. It should be a fun week of cycling, tinkering, exercising the dog, eating and drinking wine daily. Some of the best vacations are the ones where you just stay home.

Time is flying.

2008-04-08T21:59:00.019-05:00

The month of March has been a busy one. Wendy and I participated in a charity spin class at Supreme Fitness and the proceeds went to Multiple Sclerosis. The morning of the class I rolled out of bed, didn't comb my hair and threw on my glasses. We hit up an hour of pilates before we dove into spin class. The spin class was pretty fun and full of energy. About 1.5 hours into spin, the cameras showed up. What I hadn't realized is that NBC 15 was covering this event for the local news. Boy did I look like shit. The camera man shot the class from a few different angles. For some strange reason he parked himself in front of me, zoomed in, and shot film of me for what seemed like hours (it must have been my bright yellow Chain Smoker jersey that attracted the camera). Sure enough, my ugly mug made the news. The next week at work I had multiple people come up to me to say they had seen my stellar cycling performance on Channel 15. Of course this included finger pointing and laughing.....which is a small price to pay for a great cause.

The MS issue hits home with me. In 2005 I had a MS scare. I was experiencing some very strange symptoms that were making me extremely sick. To make a very long story short, after multiple blood tests for various diseases, a trip to the ER for an EKG for my panic attack and a MRI of my brain to check for MS lesions, it was determined that I did not have MS. 10 days worth of super strong antibiotics "cured" me as I might have acquired a tick-borne illness that was similar to MS. We'll never know. But for that 2 month period, those MS-like symptoms turned my world upside down. I certainly feel for people who are affected by this disease.

Base training has been going well but has mostly been on the trainer. I haven't been impressed with the WI weather so far. Last March I remember doing a 60 mile ride in shorts and a jersey with Ryan. This year has me freezing my limbs in my winter cycling attire. I've been piling on the miles as my coach has been scheduling the hours. This week it's 10 hours, next week it's 11. My fitness has slowly been coming around but I'm certainly not in the shape that I was before my injuries.

Iola is around the corner and it makes me so nervous that I want to puke. I haven't had too many high end workouts yet, I haven't ridden on my mountain bike in almost a year, I'm still 10-15 lbs overweight and my usacycling license says Expert. I think I might be in trouble. I'd like to do the Rock Cut Race to gauge my fitness before I embarrass myself at a WORS race, but the weather doesn't seem to be cooperating and my mountain bike isn't ready to go yet. On a more positive note, Chequamagon is a go. I opted for the Short and Fat this year as I wasn't sure I would be able to handle the 40. My 2008 racing year is going to be centered around the Cheq Short and Fat and perhaps Sheboygan WORS.

The single speed commuter is almost done. Now it will be time to turn my attention to my Trek Fuel EX 9. I'm scrapping the Hayes disc brakes for Avid 7's. I'm convinced that there is not an easy way to bleed Hayes brakes and the brakes are constantly making noise (no matter how they are adjusted). My life was so much easier before disc brakes, but damn do I love them.

What have I been up to lately?

2008-03-23T22:30:00.001-05:00

Building a pimpin' commuter. More to follow later this week.

Solo Saturday

2008-03-01T22:27:00.012-06:00

Today was the first official ChainSmoker ride of 2008. I opted out as I'm not yet ready to blow myself up by riding with a bunch of pumped up Comp and Expert guys who are sick of riding on their trainers. 14 ChainSmokers rode the capital city trail which was pretty much covered in ice. Apparently almost everyone crashed at least once during the outing and they stopped at a bar to kick back a few pitches of beer in the middle of the ride. I'm not sure if the crashing was attributed to the ice or beer though.....that's up for debate.

I wisely decided to head out to Gov. Nelson to do a little skiing. This was a solo adventure as Ryan and Wendy were up at Devil's Head/Lake for a little snowboarding and nordic skiing. I spent about two hours skiing around the park, checking out trails and jamming to tunes on my iPod while trying to keep my heart rate at a reasonable level (Zones 1-2). As I found out, keeping the heart rate in check is hard to accomplish when you are a cross country ski hack. After all, today officially kicks off the beginning of my training program. Since I have yet to spring for a power meter, my training program is entirely heart rate based.

It is also hard to stay in your training zones when a 45+ year-old, caravan-driving lady throws down the cross country ski gauntlet. She passed me, offered up a competitive smirk, and subsequently left me in the dust. I wanted so badly to throw down and put her in her place, but the alarm on my HR monitor reminded me that today was not going to be that day. How sad does your life have to be when you want to race a recreational skiing mom-type at a state park to feel good about yourself. I really need the WORS season to start.

I found a few cool trails in Gov. Nelson. This is one of the prettier lookout points; you can see a nice view of the capital.

Another nice view. You can see Westport and Madison's north side.

It looks like skiing might come to an abrupt end tomorrow - 40 degrees and rain in the afternoon. I might try to get one more round of skiing in at Cherokee Marsh in the morning. Then it's two easy hours on the trainer.

Happy base training!

-RB

Dinner for one, as usual.

2008-02-14T21:40:00.002-06:00

Another night, another dinner alone. The typical life of a chef's wife. People who watch the Food Network think being a chef is all glamor and excitement. The reality of the situation is it's stressful, it's often working sixty hours each week, it's working nights and weekends, it's not taking vacations because you have to work, it's not interacting with your spouse because you are too tired to deal, it's not celebrating holidays and other important days with family or friends (yes my husband is currently sitting in a bar de-stressing from his crappy day at work on valentines day....not that we celebrate it, but thats pretty typical of what happens in our house), it's giving up the work-life balance that most people strive for, and it's eating fast food because you don't cook at home or because you are sick of fine dining (yes, my husband eats at McDonald's). You get the point.

A little known secret outside of the Bach household is that I do most of the cooking. It is probably for the best because Jeff and I are of very different philosophies when it comes to the preparation of food. He believes that fat is flavor and food should be cooked in fattening ways. I believe that fatty food items should be rubbed directly on the thighs because that is where they end up when I eat them. Give me the low-fat or no-fat version and I'll eat it. Then again, if I were 140lbs and 6 feet tall, I'd be slathering my gravy all over my potatoes too.

Speaking of low-fat, my nutritional plan has been going well. Though as you can see from the picture above, I'm not totally rigid about this diet thing. I refuse to give up my wine entirely, so I try to keep it to one glass per night (I have been known to throw down a half or full bottle on my own every now and again). I'm currently down from 142lbs to 132lbs. Once my training takes off a little more, I'm sure the rest of the weight will drop right off.

Unfortunately my injuries are going to be a major issue for 2008. My doctor is concerned about my wrist/ulnar nerve injury. She said things like, "This isn't typical", "Some people have to get surgery, though we should try to avoid it", "This might be a chronic problem for you"," You might have to change sports". I told her "I figured it wasn't typical problem", "I agree, I won't be having surgery","If this is a chronic problem, I'll just ice and tape it","I won't be changing sports". It's a good thing she is a cyclist so she understands my lack of logic on the matter.

Besides the wrist thing, there is still a very large bump (or the more appropriate description might be - divot) on my quad from my accident at Lake Geneva. It hurts when I pedal my bike and when I pedal faster it hurts even more. It hurts when I get up in the morning and walk around the house. I guess I'll just have to endure all the hurting. Maybe in 2-15 years it might go away. We can't be too certain. It's a shitty hand of cards to be dealt, but I'll be playing them in 2008. I personally think it would "hurt" more to sit on the sideline again.

The final piece of my plan has fallen into place. I pulled the trigger and hired a coach.....Rachel.

I can't wait to get started.

Another Year Older.

2008-02-11T23:20:00.001-06:00

Today is my birthday and I've been feeling overwhelmingly sad. I'm really not sure why. Maybe it's working at a job that doesn't give me the satisfaction which I crave, maybe it's my semi-permanent injuries that I have to tolerate or maybe it's my current lack of fitness. Can you say Seasonal Affective Disorder? I'll put money on that...

Turning 32 has been quite uneventful. A boring day spent at work followed by a trip to Texas Roadhouse to eat a little prime rib with the hubby (but its back on the diet tomorrow). I thought I'd get outside and exercise the dog a bit. Unfortunately it is so damn cold that the Pepper didn't even want to go on a walk. She convincingly told me so by lifting her front legs off the ground like a prairie dog and shook like a leaf. Scrap that idea. Jeff had his bowling league tonite, so that meant I was spending my birthday alone. After eating a huge prime rib, I thought maybe a Pilates workout was in order. A hour-long Pilates class at Supreme Fitness last Saturday, followed by some cross country skiing with Ryan and Wendy sent my body into serious disarray. Every muscle in my body still hurts.....can you say two day recovery! Scrap the Pilates idea. I guess that leaves a little blogging and some vino! Happy birthday to me...

If you haven't heard.....

2008-02-07T22:34:00.000-06:00

Sheldon Brown passed away.

Chipotle Exile

2008-01-20T22:00:00.000-06:00

Picture Left: 2008 and 20lbs heavier.

After months of hibernation from cycling life and exercise in general, I've concluded that I'm at the fattest point of my life. Last month I tipped the scale at a whopping 142 lbs. Considering that my racing weight in 2006 was between 120-125 lbs (which is what it should be) and considering it is now January, I think I have a pretty major problem on my hands (in addition to the not so minor problem of not having any serious training under my belt since May 2007).

I'm not sure why I didn't notice this situation in the months leading up to the present. Too many enjoyable trips to Chipotle and daily imbibing of wine, coupled with zero physical activities are most likely to blame. Not to mention wallowing in my (still present) injuries really made it easy to not care about anything other than consuming tasty chicken burritos with a side of guacamole.

Picture Right: 2006 Phillips (thanks Amelia) was a skinnier time.....

This problem became a reality during Christmas. My mother casually mentioned to me that perhaps my jeans are a little tight. I thought to myself, are you kidding me? My jeans aren't that tight. Shit, are they? The female youth of today are perpetually packing themselves into jeans which are so tight that a shoe horn is necessary for removal. I guess I'm now a member of this not so exclusive club. Crap. I'm officially swearing off Chipotle.

Once a person has fallen so far down into the well, its hard to climb out of it. Last year I started this blog as a way to chronicle my first year of racing mountain bikes as an expert. I guess this blog has tuned into a diary about a fat girl who had to claw her way out of a 50 foot well. The question is: Will she drown or will she make it?

Picture Left: My best friend and worst enemy.

Knowing that my situation is very dire, I formulated a very exacting plan that would make my return to racing somewhat less embarrassing.

Step 1 - revamp the nutrition. I ponied up a small sum of money and purchased a sports nutrition pla n. Along with this plan, I acquired calorie counting software that would track my progress out of the world of the fat into the world of the thin. Bottom line - I don't get to eat anything that I want and I will be measuring/weighing out all my food. I hope this doesn't turn me into a bitch.

Step 2 - Spend a few weeks getting back into the swing of things. This means riding on the trainer, pilates and spin classes at Supreme Fitness and Zoned 4 Fitness, and some weight training at MATC Fitness Center (saying "fitness" three times in once sentence makes me feel stronger already). I have to work all the aches and pains out of my system and remind my body how to work.

Step 3 - Hire a cycling coach by mid-february and do what they say. Coach TBD.

This week's status: 4.5 hours of exercise including a trip to Zoned, no fatty foods and 136 lbs on the scale.

To be continued....

Vacation Friday.

2008-01-11T23:20:00.000-06:00

I woke up at 7:30 this morning, fully realizing that I didn't have to go work. Unfortunately I had fully realized the four glasses of wine I had pounded the night before, while watching Kitchen Nightmares, had left me with a sulfate headache. Even a hungover day away from work is a thousand times better that a sober day at work.

The dog and I headed to Oconomowoc for a visit with our holistic vet. After a few hours of driving, walking around the farm, meeting and greeting people, cats and horses, and a bit of acupuncture, we headed back home for a leisurely afternoon nap.

It's off to the bike swap tomorrow morning. I'm hoping to see a few familiar faces as it serves to pump me up for the 2008 WORS season. A trainer ride on Saturday and a trip to Zoned 4 Fitness on Sunday should make it a successful weekend.

It's Done.

2008-01-08T23:03:00.000-06:00

License #: 242850

Mountain Racer Active 12/31/2008
Categories
Endurance/XC Expert

Road Racer Active 12/31/2008
Categories
Road Cat 4

USAC Racer Active 12/31/2008
Categories
Cyclo-cross Cat 3

Let it begin.

Wors 2007....

2008-01-08T22:27:00.002-06:00

Didn't happen for me.

2007 was a shit year. I was seriously injured in both Wors Races #2 and #3. I had a compressed ulnar nerve in my left hand and some pretty serious soft tissue damage in my left leg. It is now 2008 and I'm still nursing these injuries. The doctor said it might take a long time to get over the leg injury (as in years). I'm really worried about the compressed ulnar nerve. It was doing well in October, but one cold night ride in November has set me back months. I'm 20lbs overweight (I don't recall ever being this fat in my entire life), I'm loosing muscle mass by the week and the only cardiovascular exercise I get is when I use the stairs at work. In addition I started a new job this year that causes me more stress that I would like, my husband lost his job, we had thousands of dollars worth of vet bills and car bills, and my dog was seriously attacked at the dog park. I recently admitted to myself that I've been depressed due to my lack of exercise and/or lack of motivation. 2008 can only be better.

My husband did get a great new job. Unfortunately it takes up all his time and I only see him a few hours every week. This should make it easy for me to start my base training, if I could only snap out of my funk. I have yet to renew my cycling license. Maybe if I spend the $90 on it, that will light the fire that I need in order to get prepared for Iola.

Maybe I'll do that tonite...