Face Plant!

My bro face planted in the mud during his cross race -- check it out!

He was the crowd favorite for sure!! And still got top 5!

Cross Racing...

(zoom... photo credit to Jon Suzuki)

This weekend was a double cross weekend near home. Both courses were not typical cross courses... a lot more single track and rocks and dirt than I'm used to, but still a lot of fun. Both days were also a reminder of how you need a little luck on your side to win a bike race. Saturday, I had a bit of bad luck wiping out on a steep little kicker to lose the lead... which I was never able to regain. Still ended up in second to a strong opponent. We raced again the next day and I had a flat (a slow leak which was not a problem due to my super duper bike change -- thanks aspen!) and then decided to eat it on a run up of rocks (sorry knees). But my opponent had even more bad luck than me... 2 major flats (with no super duper pit help) plus a minor wipeout on the runup. She had a good gap on me, but after a major flat we were back together for the final lap...

(down to the last lap... I am looking kinda tired and bloody (photo credit: jon suzuki))

She was probably stronger on the day and more deserving of a win, but in the end the race came down to a sprint on the final straight and I had a lot of air in my tires to help with the sprint... and ultimately a W. It's always a bummer to lose a race and wonder what if and it's not quite as fun winning knowing that your opponent had a lot of bad luck, but that's cross racing. Gotto love it no matter the outcome!

You can tell by the funny faces below that my teammate and I are loving it!! :)

(funny face #1... maybe a tired face (photo credit: Dale Tapley))

(funny face #2... ok, maybe this is a game face (photo: Jon Suzuki)

Oh boy Oh Boy!!!!

My ride just lost weight - 2 pounds lighter and very pretty! Thanks Bike Station!

Hill Repeats

(photo credit: Steve Anderson -- he takes some awesome race pics)

I finally had a weekend at home which was nice after a busy month of travelling, racing, and festivities. After a lazy Saturday, Aspen and I loaded up the car for a local bike race on Sunday (I can't be lazy allll weekend). Last year, I felt a little lonely at the local races because I didn't really know anybody. It is fun to have a great group to race with this year and to start to know some of the awesome people that show up and race. The community is a part of cyclocross that I love!

The race was a brutal one which started with a hill climb, headed back down on a single track roller coaster, weaved through some sand, grass, and dirt... and then back to climbing a wall! It really was like hill repeats with some added 'cross fun in between. Add some dry air and heat, and it was a tough race. I made it up the first climb in second position and then took the lead at the bottom. I had chasers hot on my heels keeping the pressure on, but by the end of the first lap I managed to open a little gap. The gap grew a bit over the next lap, but the chasers were never out of sight and made me work hard for my first W of the cross season! My teammate, who probably wasted a bit of energy cheering me on as we criss-crossed paths during the race had a strong finish to take the last podium spot. We both went away with some delicious giant StrawMmmmBerries.

Afterwards we tempted racers with cookie handups (we are poor and don't have a lot of dollars ;). I don't blame most people for turning down a cookie during the middle of a brutal, hot cross race. But we did have some enthusiastic takers!! Maybe we should try popsicles next time... hmmm....

(Courtney cranking across the finish line)

Krosstoberfest!

(very muddy after a not-so-muddy race)

Headed down to San Dimas with my Bike Station teamie, Courtney. We had a fun adventure on the way down... drove through the middle of an airshow, saw a plane being followed by two helicopters, and we only got lost twice due to navigational neglect (we don't need to mention who was navigating).

We arrived a bit later than planned but kept with our agenda to check out the race course before going to our host house. The only problem was that the cross park was dark and the gates were closed. However, after a bit of searching for a parking spot and with a couple of flashlights in hand, we set out to scope the course -- nighttime cross!!! The course was very tricky in the dark and there were some added obstacles with all the critters running around. The bunnies didn't bother us so much, but when we encountered a skunk with it's tail up we decided to call it a night. We made our way over to our host house to be greeted by 3 seeing eye dog failures (super nice dogs... they just didn't make the cut) and two very nice hosts who set us up in their villa out back.

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out at Krosstoberfest -- riding the course, cheering on family and friends, and racing! Both courses wound around on power sapping grass, with some twists and turns through the trees, and a stair step run-up. Saturday also had some gratuitous mud... just a pit of slop that made a mess but it wasn't really a muddy cross race. Both days were similar as far as the races went. Somehow I got the hole shot which was nice after having terrible starts at the USGP. I ended up leading most of the first lap but eventually ended up in second slot with a gap ahead and a gap behind. Two podiums and lots of UCI points! yay! Courtney also had a redundant weekend with two 7th place finishes (but oh so close to 6th on day 2) -- her first UCI points!! nice! My dad-n-law had the best weekend with two top podiums in the masters and C rocked the juniors and then had a nice showing in the 123's on day 2 despite some bike woes. All in all, a fun weekend of racing. It's nice that there is a promoter on the west coast who is willing to put on a UCI weekend. I know it is a lot of extra hassle and expense, but it brings out good competition and gives the west coast racers a chance to earn some points for a good starting spot at nationals. Thanks Dot!

(big rainbow)

The drive home was another adventure -- with rainbows, beautiful skies, crazy NC drivers, and a bit of panic... The gas was getting low as we hit the CA valley, but we decided to wait until the light turned on to minimize our stops... so we pass exit after exit. Meanwhile the light turns on, but the navigator is unaware of this turn of events so makes no mention of the big gas exit coming up. As we pass the turnoff with no gas for miles and miles ahead, it becomes clear that we made a big mistake! However, after a little detour, some drafting off semis, and a lot of panic (as the gas needle was below the lowest line) we made it! The rest of the drive home was smooth sailing with good tunes!

(pretty skies)

Mad Cross

(Super Fan Hill)

The first round of the USGP series took place in Madison, WI this weekend. I flew into Minneapolis to meet up with my brother and drive down for the race. We arrived to town Friday evening and had a chance to ride the course a bit before heading downtown for dinner. It was a fun and windy (both twisty and breezy) course. The twists are not my forte, but it was fun getting to practice them a bit and riding a well designed cross course is always a blast.

Saturday morning came fast and my brother's race was the first of the day. I let him use my bike as a pit bike, but made him promise not to crash on the first lap just so he could use it (my bike is a little nicer than his bike :). He got off to a great start and right as he was overtaking a guy for the lead, he was squished into the side posts and went down. he got back up and his handlebars were pointed sideways (not good). He was conveniently close to the pit and made a run for my bike (this almost seemed planned). I hurriedly fixed his bike and anxiously watched him race while hoping for no crashes. In the end, he lost a lot of spots with his crash so his plan to steal my bike did not work out so well for him, but he did gain quite a bit of ground back throughout the rest of the race!

My race came later in the day and I didn't have my best start or my best race, and I was kinda caught in no-man's land throughout most of the race. The Chicago and midwest fans were awesome and kept me motivated though -- I got a ton of support all around the race course! I think the crew on the U-turn hill was the best. They made me smile every time around. It was awesome!

Sunday brought similar race conditions, but a bit faster course which I liked. I ended up racing most of the race with phenom junior Katie A -- she is probably the tiniest racer out on the course while I am likely the tallest so it was a pretty funny matchup. Katie also has a big cheering section in the midwest so it drowned out some of my super support, but there was still great cheering all around the course... with some musical instruments too! We were riding back and forth most of the race until about 1.5 laps to go when i caught my handle bars on a post and went flying (the same place my bro crashed -- not good luck!). Then I was back in no-man's land to finish up the race. Missed out on the UCI points this weekend, but hoping to get some more next weekend when I head to San Dimas for Krosstoberfest! Fun Fun!

Want to throw out a big thanks to Becker Law Office for helping to fund my travel -- a great idea by the promoters and generous support from Becker Law to help get more women to the races. A lot of people focus on the prize money to attract bigger women's fields, but women also lack a lot of the travel and race support that men's teams provide, so it's really nice to see promoters helping out the women's field in a new and creative way! Thanks!

Cross is Here!

It's my absolutely all time favorite time of the year!

Cross always goes by quickly and then I spend months and months longing for it to start again and after waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting... it somehow sneaks up fast and woah -- it's cross season!!!

This year started off with a fun filled weekend up in Seattle for the Starcrossed and Rad Racing NATC races. The conditions were wet, muddy, and perfect for cyclocross! The weekend began with Starcrossed under the lights and surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd. I went into the race feeling a bit rusty and still a bit exhausted from the previous weeks (who knew weddings were so tiring?), but I was also very excited to be racing cross and energized to be back on the knobby tires. I was hoping to squeak into the top 10 and snag a UCI point or two and was shocked when I found myself racing for a top 5 spot. My body was a bit shocked too and by the last lap I faded into 6th, but I was happy with the finish in such a strong field of women.

The next day brought more mud, torrential downpours, and sand -- more cx fun! I got off to a much better start than the first race and was up in the top 5 from the very beginning. Even after a dive in the sand (this is not the ideal way to dismount) I was hanging in there near the front. I was also having a ton of fun getting muddy and being back on the cross bike! In the end I struggled to hang on in the last lap, but finished one place better in 5th! Overall a fun start to the cross season -- I can't wait for more!!

Next up, I'm headed to madison with my bro for the first USGP races -- Mad Cross always puts on a great race -- I can't wait!