2013 Back Roads Century - the second 50

Where did I leave off?  Oh yea, after changing out some clothes, we headed back out the road for the 2nd half of the Century.  This part took us over the same roads for about 4 miles then we headed in a southward direction.  The goal for getting through the 2nd 50 miles was to get from one aid station to the next.  The organizers of this ride had suggested this as a survival tactic in one of their many informative emails sent prior to the ride.

The first aid station on this section (3rd overall) was at mile 64.  It was my absolute favorite!  It was held at Burwell-Morgan Mill.  I love historic old buildings and as part of our entry fee, we got to go inside of the Mill.  It was so neat.  I took a lot of pictures here.  The other awesome part of this rest stop was they had boiled potatoes!  Sounds strange, but carbs and salt are marvelous!  I eat way too many potatoes so this was a perfect snack for me.  The people serving them were delightfully funny as well.  One odd thing I noticed at this rest stop was that they had signs up stating that due to health department regulations, they had to serve our food.  This didn't apply to the potatoes as they were wrapped in aluminum foil, and it didn't apply to bananas or oranges; but any sandwiches or cookies had to be given to you by the volunteers.  OK, I just went along with it and thanked them repeatedly for spending their time for us and now serving me food with a smile.  Can't say enough good things about how friendly everyone was!

Back on the bike and things started getting more difficult.  We were getting more hills (all things are relative - around here they wouldn't be a big deal) and I was getting fatigued.  I pressed on aiming for the next rest stop which would lead me to surpass my previous longest ride ever.  At mile 79.4, I finally rolled in where the treat was tomato, cucumber and mayo sandwiches.  Well I don't like tomatoes or mayonnaise, so I asked if I could have just cucumber, which I was given a handful.  YUMMMMMM.  I refilled my bottles here - borrowing a Nuun from my friend Lauren.  Sorry to say, I didn't care for it in the end.  YUK.  Anyway, I was getting slower and slower.  Andrew and Lauren seemed to have plenty of energy, so I encouraged them to go on and not to wait on me.  As we left this aid station in White Post, VA - we saw the literal white post in the middle of an intersection.  We laughed and wondered how many times the post had been hit.  A short while later a car passed us about the time we saw 5 young deer running towards the road.  One of them crossed rather close to the front of the car.  The other 4 slowed down and began meandering in the yard on the right side of the road.  The car stopped, the runner deer did as well and it began to look around as if to say, hey where did my friends go.  Eventually they all ran into the woods.

There was more challenging terrain between the White Post rest stop and the next.  I think had I had fresh legs the hills wouldn't have seemed brutal; but they were.  In this section, we rode right next to the Shenandoah River which was running fast and is a wide river.  I remember having to climb up this awful hill around mile 85 which for the first time I employed my granny gear because I was just tired.  I knew if I could keep going I could finish this thing in about an hour.

I finally rolled into the last aid station at mile 92.4 where Andrew and Lauren had been for a few minutes.  They had already dug into their Italian Ice which was the special treat here.  I spied a huge hunk of watermelon and had that instead.  It was yummy and sweet.  Just enough to get me to the end.  Again Lauren and Andrew went on and I followed as best I could.  Eventually I made my way to Main St. Berryville where the first headwind of the day greeted me.  Isn't that typical?  Dead tired, legs barely wanting to pedal and now I have to ride into the wind.  HAHAHA,  I sat behind these three people who didn't stop talking for several miles and saved my energy.  Eventually I passed them and rode to the finish line.  I had a blast and would do it again!

My total time including rest stops = 8 hours 35 minutes
My riding time = 6 hours 41 minutes

I'll add the Mill pictures soon.  :)

2013 Back Roads Century - the first 50

Having met Andrew and Lauren the night before, we exchanged texts early Sunday morning to arrange a meeting spot.  Soon we would be off on our journey.  Clothing was tricky.  It was cool, damp and the sun was barely peeking over the trees.  I started in shorts, jersey (duh), arm warmers, knee warmers and my jacket.  Wool socks and long finger gloves were my choice for the ride.  My digits don't like cool air especially the rebuilt one.  I chose my black sheep socks, after all I'm a mountain biker at heart!  As we rode down the first roads the morning dew glistened on the trees and grass, a few lights were on in the occasional house we passed.  There was little traffic to contend with on the narrow, two lane roads, I guess people were sleeping in.  The roads were smooth and had few pot holes.  We kept up a pretty good pace at first but were passed by many. I guess everyone had a different agenda.  We were all just trying to finish our first centuries.

We found ourselves in a group of about 10-12 people with two people in the front that were squirrelly and all over the road.  I was able to make a break and get around them when we came upon some road kill.   We rode away from that pack for a while.  Soon we would encounter the Ride for Helen squad.  Not sure who Helen is or why they were riding for her.  Unfortunately, one of their riders displayed very poor etiquette swinging out to pass a pack of riders and crossing the double yellow line.  A car nearly hit her.  Why people have to behave so poorly i will never understand. The organizers are the ones who end up fielding compalaints about people like this and their actions jeopardize the future of organized rides like this.

Anyway we meandered north and ended up in West Virginia at a park where the 25mile aide station was.  It was well stocked with food, fluids and the requisite potties.  While at the table getting a snack, I thanked a volunteer for being there.  He seemed completely stunned that someone said that.  Having been a volunteer in all sorts of roles at all sorts of event, I feel inclined to thank those giving their time up for me to enjoy a great event.  

We headed back out soon with the destination of the start line as the midpoint of the ride ass where we started.  We had crossed a few major roads during our trip. It was nice to see how other riders looked out for each other at these.  It was also very surprising when all 4 lanes of traffic stopped to let a large group of use across.  When we arrived back at thte start, I headed to my car to change out some clothing.  Off with the jacket, on with a vest.  Refilled by bottles, grabbed a sip of sweet tea.  The second half of this ride was going to be difficult. I had had too many good rides of late and I hadn't ridden a long ride in a while.  Also, the farthest I've ever ridden was 76.6 miles.  My goal was to get to 80 

The second half blog coming soon.   Sorry I've been busy.  

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2013 Back Roads Century - prelude

So back in May when I rode the Storming of Thunder Ridge, I decided to attempt a Century by the end of the year.  I did some research on line and found the Back Roads Century in Berryville, VA.  I had been through Berryville several times on my way to PA, but have never stopped.  After posting a note on Facebook about it, I got a message from my WDBJ pal Hank telling me that he grew up in the area and that I could anticipate fairly flat, rolling roads.  

My original plan was to drive up on Saturday, set up my tent (it was free to camp vs expensive motel rooms) then go explore on bike.  Well it decided to rain and rain and rain.  As the forecast began to look worse and worse I elected to scrap the tent plan and sleep in the car.  I've done this in the past and it worked out well then.  I left Roanoke at noon Saturday for the 3 hour drive to Berryville.  It started raining about a mile from my house and would continue to be intermittent for the entire trip.  By the time I got to Berryville it was pretty wet.  I found the Clark Co fairgrounds where I'd be sleeping then decided since it was raining I'd go back to Winchester and go to the mall.  I found some nice work clothes on sale so this turned out to be a good stroke of luck. The monsoon hit about the time I planned to go back to the fairground and cook my dinner.  Sigh!  I wound up getting in touch with the other folks from Roanoke and we met at Ruby Tuesday.  Enjoyed meeting them and staying dry.  

I headed back to Berryville around 8pm and figured I'd just go to bed.  I snuggled down on my Thermarest in the back of my Jeep and drifted off to sleep as the rain continued to fall.  I woke up around 930p and realized the rain had stopped.   I dashed off to the potty and returned to fall sound asleep until about 2am.  After this I dozed on and off until finally getting up at 5:15am. 

The sky was clear, the moon was bright and the stars were beautiful. I stood and gazed up at them for a few minutes.  The air was crisp and fresh, it was going to be a great day....

To be continued...

Saturday May 25th - Ride to Peaks of Otter

Parked here...

Onto the Parkway

Going here....

Thru here...

UP we go...

Quarry below...

Great Valley to see...

See?

This view never gets old.

Made it!!!

Timing...

Couldn't see this at all the week before...

Treated to a view...

Bobblett's Gap cemetary at the overlook..

Storming of Thunder Ridge - the photo summary

Approaching the first aid station... (Photo credit: Tim Dahl)

On the climb up the parkway to Thunder Ridge (Photo credit: Tim Carter)

Somewhere between Rt 43 and the end... (Photo credit: Tim Dahl)

Yes that says 76.2 miles and yes it rained all day... (Photo credt: me)

Dragon's Tale Scenic Route with a detour, oops.

I thought I'd give Dragon's Tale a try.  I decided that I was no match for the full 37-mile race, so I opted for the 20-mile Scenic trip.  For $20 donation to the local club (I suppose RIMBA), I was to get

"20 Miles - offers 5 miles of fun and challenging trail at a relaxing pace
20 Mile Scenic Tour $20 donation to benefit the local club
Ride guide with a cue sheet and on course support"

Well, if I was paying a $1/mile, I owe SMT $9.30.  You see I was to left to think they would have the course marked, well they did (I'll get to another thought on that later), but in my enjoyment of fording streams (ahem rivers), I found myself able to keep up with other females who were racing and even some guys, so when they turned right for the two, different colored arrows pointing right and up a road, I went right along with them.  I'd never been there, and little did I know that this would result in a 10.8 mile detour for me.  Ah well, at least I got to see my newly made friends at Aid Station 1 and discovered that I can ride up hill for a sustained effort.  According to Strava, my 5.4 mile side trip up hill only gained me 300ft elevation at 1% grade, and I rode it at an average speed of 9.6 mph.

So much to my dismay when I arrived at the Aid Station and was informed that I should have went straight at the bottom of the hill.  Well thanks a bunch  (actually I think I muttered unlady like things).  I swear both of those arrows pointed up hill and who the hell is going to pull out a cue sheet?  Well ok, now what.  I elected to go back down to where my mistake was made and ride out the rest of the "scenic" route.  So 5.4 miles of downhill there I was back at the T intersection where I had been informed to turn right.  I looked and yes both of those damned arrows were pointing to the right.  Was one supposed to be directing the "scenic" route to stay straight???  Who knows and really, I don't care I was only there to explore trails/roads I had never been on before.

I continued on quite the beautiful and peaceful fire road for I think about 5 more miles.  I had a lot of time to think about stuff - I concluded that the fireroads were going to be worth exploring again and this was likely going to help me be prepared for my upcoming 75-mile road ride.  Or at least that's what I kept telling myself.  I finally arrived at Aid Station 3 where two young gentlemen from East Coasters (Blacksburg?) added some air to my back tire, offered up food, HEED, water and other assorted goodies.  They were very nice, I finished off a quick snack then headed up what would turn out to be trail that was way out of my league. I eventually survived to see civilization, but not without more adventure...

Let me backtrack and hit a few highlights:

Stream Crossings - sure, if we hadn't had snow and a lot of rain, I'm sure they would be slow, meandering mountain streams; however we've had a ton of rain and even snow this winter and spring resulting in flowing, one-foot deep crossings.  In the first bit, I walked several with my bike over my shoulder, there was one or two shallow ones that I rode rather easily (made me proud).  Then there was the monster stream crossing, fuck that let's call a spade a spade - RIVER.  This damn thing was up to the bottom of my bike shorts and if you know me, I have long legs so that made that water about 3 feet deep and did I mention that water was cold - like really cold, water out of your refrigerator cold!!!  I'm glad I had the sense to wear wool socks - they worked perfectly for this.  Anyway yes so the water was flowing enough to make getting across a good resistance exercise.  Especially the 3 foot one.  I actually slipped in this one and had to put my hand down to keep from soaking my entire butt.  I kept the bike out except for a little front wheel dip on that one.  OH MY GOD it was cold and of course my left hand got soaked.  My glove eventually dried, but I think my socks are still wet now nearly 24 hours later.  They were fun though and I think I've conquered water crossings now.

Ferrier Trail - what the hell?  Am I a mountain goat?  At first I thought, oh ok I can try to ride some of this.  Even though I was about 23 miles into this ride I could try.  Well I think I made it a 1/4 mile before my legs said eff you, so I walked and walked, tried to ride intermittently, gave up walked some more.  Then I got to the rocks.  HUH?  Holy hell who rides that shit?  I'd like to stand by and watch the ridgetop be ridden.  There were places where your next step was 12 inches over the previous one.  Quite beautiful ridge though.  I tried riding some, but was honestly overwhelmed and intimidated by most of it.  I did ride as much of the downhill and what flat there was.  Still there were steps and switchbacks that I just didn't feel safe trying.  I knew no one was near me, and if I got hurt I was going to lay there a while.  So I went up and up and up and down then up and up and up some more.  Occassionally I wondered if I was on the right path, but I find it hard to judge distances on trails.  I eventually found a sign that said "Lick Branch Trail, 1.? miles" - there was a very messed up stream crossing here with cut-up logs in it.  I managed to climb over that and hiked up some more, still wondering where the hell I was.  I stopped and texted my Mom (emergency contact) that I was fine and that this was a very hard trail.  I didn't want her to worry since I had planned to be done by now (remember my 10-mile, unplanned side trip had cost me an hour).

I continued on, wondering what the trail ahead would be like.  I rode for what seemed like forever before I stopped and pondered if I had missed something at that "Lick Branch" sign.  I really didn't want to climb back up or backtrack; so I whipped out my iPhone again and pulled up the map.  It looked like I was headed straight for Craigs Creek Road. I knew that was an inhabited area, so if I was truly lost someone would give me directions back to town or use that routing tool on the map app (am I the only one who thinks like a geek in the woods?).  I was scared that I was lost as I hadn't seen any trail markings for the race in a long time.  I even wondered what it would be like to be on the news, "Stupid, solo mountainbiker lost in Craig Co forest."  I texted again to wonder if I was lost and decided to go with my instinct of the stream is flowing downhill and road being in front of me somewhere.  I know enough about search and rescue to save myself and get out of a tight spots!  I bet I didn't ride another 1/4 mile before finally seeing arrows marking the course, the terrain leveled out and became more rideable - soon I found the road and was headed towards the finish line.  YAY.

My route should have been the loop only - my detour is bottom, left.

The shaded green to the left is my detour.

29.3 miles; 3 hours 43 miles, avg speed 8.4 mph

Would I go back?  To the fireroads, yes.  To Ferrier Trail, no.  To the area solo, no.

 Would I go help with this event, sure would - Chris with SMT took the time to apologize for my extra adventure and that wasn't necessary - my own fault for getting caught up in a good ride.  Anyway as I told him, I was there to explore anyway.  Good times. 

Let me get you caught up...

Since my last post, I made another trip to Tennessee, painted my office, still have a dog that's got issues; but I have gotten back on the bike more.  Now if it would stop raining or snowing every frickin Sunday, that would be awesome!!!  I can't believe I'm sitting here on March 24th watching it snow.  Figures.

Well since I decided that I won't be racing a huge number of races this year due to $$$ and stupid entry fee/licensing rules, I'm looking for all sorts of new and different places to ride.  Road or trail, it doesn't matter really as long as I'm out on the bike.  A couple of weekends ago, I went out to the forest service road behind Camp Bethel and discovered a new paradise.  I rode up the middle road which as I later learned is named "Blackhorse Gap" - this is a steady, 2.2 mile-ish climb that comes out on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Once on the parkway I had a short, cold & windy ride down the road where I found Spec Mines Trail (after over shooting it - no one ever mentions it's slightly above the road.)  This trail was nothing short of spectacular.  Mostly downhill with a short bit of climbing.  Smooth dirt, leafy with few tree roots.  There was one section that wasn't so much fun because it was littered with loose rocks and is steep.  I just took my time.  Once down the trail, I was back on FS roads which are pretty awesome in themselves because they are packed gravel and flowy.  I so can't wait to go back!  I was going to yesterday, but a friend wanted me to ride on the road with her. 

There are so many places to go and ride.  I pretty much can go anytime on the weekends as long as the weather cooperates which right now isn't happening.  Anyway, just letting you know I'm still alive and kicking! 

The Middle Road

A little rocky in places

Going up!

Tree with no branches on one side???

If you look carefully, you can see the road I had just ridden.

UP

The Parkway is just on the other side of the gate.

Looking back to where you come out.

It was a beautiful day - could see for miles - I could even see the radar ball on Thunder Ridge.

See Spec Mines trail head, up and left from the road.

Wimpy!!!

I could kick myself for being a fair-weather person lately. I haven't ridden much at all outdoors lately. I hate riding wet trails - it's not good for them or for my bike. The thing is Mill Mtn would be a great place to ride right now because it drains so well. I'm just fickle! I guess I've also been busy with work then having a sick dog on/off since Christmas hasn't helped matters. Plus there have been two trips to Tennessee. There that's enough excuses right? Well tomorrow is the first mountaincross race in Bedford, so I'll go suffer for my 50 some minutes then ride a bit after. I really need to be more diligent about getting out and riding. I keep saying February is a good time to start. In the meanwhile, I also painted my diningroom which after 11.5 years of living here desperately needed a redo. It looks great! Now I also have to paint my "office" and livingroom before the warmer, ride friendly weather gets here. Let me see if I can find some pictures to share in this blog post since it's been so long since I wrote anything.... I'll write more tomorrow evening while the rest of the world watches the Super Bowl. HA!

My Bike Guru and one of my best friends ever - Bob Dunn - stopped to see him and his wife Pam on the way to TN in December!  Love them so much!!!

Pat Summitt sits near me at the Lady Vols games!!!

New wall paint.  Pardon the claw marks on the door - blame the dog.

Sleepy boy has been sick! Much better now and on a grain-free diet.

Hollins Trail

Hollins University teamed up with Roanoke Valley Greenways to build a trail from Plantation Road to Carvins Cove.  The result is quite nice.  It literally is 4 miles from my front yard, so I've spent a lot of time on it already.  I've ridden it many times and have hiked it several times.  It's so nice to be able to get to a trail without driving then to be able to enjoy a quiet, scenic ride on singletrack then enjoy the fireroad at the Cove.  Most people will probably say that it's not really mountainbiking unless you're on trails; but I can get a pretty good cardio workout on the fireroad because of its undulating terrain.  I've been trying to do this trail at least once a week.  The longest ride I've done using the trail and no car for transport was 23 miles, so that's 11.5 out and 11.5 back.  This included the 4 miles from home, Hollins Trail, the boatdock parking lot and fireroad to the trailhead of Schoolhouse nearest Bennett Springs.  I hope to be able too add Arrowhead in there soon which will put me farther towards Bennett Springs and will also add Little Bell.  I think Arrowhead is about ~5 miles from the boatdock, so that will make the ride from home and back nearly 30 miles total I think.

If I can consistently do this on the weekends and stick some rides in the during the week over the winter, I should be able to maintain some decent endurance for spring riding.  I'd like to make a huge loop out of this trail eventually.  Perhaps leave home, ride out to Timberview, take Trough up to the top (or figure out where this Virginia Deer Trail is near Hanging Rock).  Anyway, get to the top take one of many ways down (Buck to H-d-H to 4G to Tuckaway... or Brushy Mtn Fireroad to 4G to Tuck...) - the options are endlesss.  I can't wait!!!

Anyway, here's a video of the Hollins Trail from the top back to the parking lot on Planation Road.
and this is video heading down into the Cove

To the Cove via Hollins (descent only) from Jen Divers on Vimeo.

Statistics

Before switching jobs and switching to 2nd shift:  340 miles

After switching jobs and shifts:  ~1504 miles

Biking = HAPPY JEN

June    265 miles
July     351 miles
Aug     326 miles
Sept     418 miles
Oct (so far)  143 miles

I LOVE MY BIKES!!!

RotoR Meltdown - done!!!

~30 miles in 4 hours 13 minutes - full report coming soon (I hope)

Rojo!!!

New Gunnar Rockhound 29er....  Rojo!!!  I'll post more pictures soon!!!

Recent rides and RIP Punkin

I've ridden a bunch lately - including a race in Montvale and most of the Rotor Meltdown course.  I will post more about this soon.  Today is a sad day in a way - I took Punkin' to be tuned up on Monday.  Found out Wednesday that there was frame damage that put the bike at risk of breaking.  The manufacturer cautioned against continuing to ride the bike and of course wanted to be absolved of responsibility should I ride and get hurt if it broke etc....  There were a few options - borrow my mechanic's bike for Rotor Meltdown or risk riding Punkin' at Rotor Meltdown while waiting for a new frame to be built and painted orange ala Punkin'.  The other option was to take the frame that Bikes Unlimited had in stock (same size, different color) and build it up with my parts and be done with the replacement.  I chose to take the in stock frame....  thankfully Waterford/Gunnar is standing by their product and discounting the cost of the frame.  I'm disappointed to not have my orange Punkin', but will be excited to have my new yet to be named or revealed bike.  I have a name or two in mind, but will wait and see. 

I want to go farther and farther.

I rode 16 miles at the Cove on Saturday.  It was difficult at times, and I had an opportunity to turn right head up the mountain and end the ride a bit sooner than I did, but what did I do?  Went straight and added more elevation.  I really am enjoying myself and the time I get to spend on my bikes, but I want to ride longer distances now.  I know the race in October is 31 miles (~50km), but if I do that successfully, what's next 50 miles?  Yea sure why not.  There's just something neat about saying that I can do that.  What's cooler is riding on a trail through this beautiful area.  I can't think of a better way to spend my time. 

As for road riding, I've accomplished two 40 mile road rides recently, I do think it's time to go for 50 miles on the road, and I'll look for an opportunity to do that soon.  I have a calendar written out with what I want to ride on what day.  I have a race on 9/15 so that's taking some planning.  Of course, work is ever present so I'm limited to ~20-25 miles of road during the week.  I'm hoping to slide in some MTB miles during the weeks coming up because of the R*t*R Meltdown. 

Hopefully all of this riding isn't for naught.  I hope to stay healthy (you know no colds, etc), and I hope I've planned this right.  We'll see.

Meanwhile, I'm bored!!!

Six Hours of O'Shiner's Revenge

They should have renamed this race Mother's Nature's Hissy Fit today.  Good grief.  I had spotted this race way back and thought it would be a nice training ride for the Rotor Meltdown in October plus a good way to support and ride a new trail system.

So evidently I totally checked out when it came to the weather forecast today.  I thought they said it was going to be 70's, cool and sunny.  WTF happened?  Did I misunderstand?  Did they get it completely wrong?  Just checked the iFlow gauges - Woolwine (the hometown of IC Dehart park where the race was) got 1.48 inches of rain in the past 24 hours.  I think most of it fell during the first lap and the only complete lap of my race.  I swear if I ever pick a new career, I'm going into weather forecasting because despite all the computers in the world, Splinty can do better than them!  And you definitely don't have to do a good job, hell you don't even have to be right!

Anyway enough bitching about the weather - what it created was a big mess.  I don't know what the ground is normally like in that part of Patrick County, but I do know that when you add a bunch of rain to it it becomes the consistency of peanut butter.  My poor bike was so filthy I had to strip it and wash it when I got home.  The Kenda Small Block 8's I run were no match for the Elmer's Glue, Peanut Butter trails.  They caked up quick and didn't not shed any mud.  I found myself pedaling, spinning the back tire and going nowhere fast.  The crap collected on my bottom bracket eventually preventing me from shifting from granny to any other gear.  Along with this came the fact that my chain would get sucked between the chainring and the frame and seized up the entire operation.  I could backpedal it out, but it would get sucked right back in.  The back tire would get caked up to the point where there was no gap between the tire and the frame.  DISGUSTING!!!!  Of course, as soon as that happened it was like riding on a slip and slide.  I feared for my safety.

There is a nifty section of downhill switchbacks that was nearly impossible for me today given the combination of above plus the fact my front brakes basically were non-existent the first lap.  I ended up sliding down one of them like I was sliding into homeplate all the while still clipped in.  At another point with no front brakes, I basically rode right through a turn barely dodging a tree.  For some stupid reason I started the second lap after deflating my tires in hopes that this might provide some extra traction - FAIL.  And as I was going down the paved sidewalk I discovered that yes I did have a major brake issue.  Squeeze the handle and the fork shook worse than a car with a bad alignment - again WTH?  I started wondering if I had some how lost a brake pad during that mucked up first lap.  I stopped at the aid station to discover that it was in fact present, but not functioning very well.  I adjusted the knobs to give myself a glimmer of stopping power.  This gave me a false sense of security as I would soon have the chain suck into the frame again, decided to walk and nearly fell off of a slightly. off camber bridge.  The bike did go over the slide, but I was walking and grabbed a tree quickly. 

Oh and mind you with our shoes every step I took in the peanut butter caked my cleats up so I barely was clipped in during most of this adventure.  My second lap turned into a trail run with my bike for the most part.  I tried riding, but would get frustrated repeatedly.  I made up my mind that the 2nd lap would be my final lap.  I didn't even make it back around - I got near the ballfield that bordered the staging area and bailed out right behind my friend Kenny.  It was too much for me today - my bike felt like it gained 20 pounds each lap by the time the tires caked up.  I couldn't pedal.  I could barely clip in.  I could barely stay upright.  It truly reminded me of riding in the snow.

So did I accomplish anything today?  Other than trashing my bike, I did brush up on my bike handling.  I think that I could have done 3 or 4 laps at this park.  The trails seemed like they would be fun and fast when dry.  I will definitely have to go back down there and explore.  There are some neat trail features that are definitely unique.  It's a nice park and the people are super nice.  They deserve a lot of praise for putting this event on and getting a good turnout!!!  I'm happy for them and will hopefully be able to support them again in the future!

Meanwhile, it's back to focusing on Rotor Meltdown - need to get Punkin' repaired and tuned up and get on out to the Cove to get reacquainted!  But I'm still looking to buy that road bike! 

And by the way, the green jersey you see in the profile pic - it's getting retired for a while - I think it's bad luck!


****I see my blog friend, Anita is calling out the weathermen!  So I'm not crazy!

Dirty Dawg

I decided to try my hand at another race.  I entered the Dirty Dawg mountain bike race at Mountain Lake with a week to spare.  I had never ridden there, in fact I think this would only be the second time in my life that I've ever been up to Mountain Lake.  For those who aren't familiar with this place, it is the "resort" that is featured in the ultimate chick flick "Dirty Dancing."  So it was off to Kellerman's Sunday morning.  I was hoping that since Mountain Lake is indeed on a mountain that it might be cooler than the humid, sweltering heat of the Roanoke Valley.  I was rewarded with temperatures in the upper 70's, but still humid.  Oh well at least it wasn't 100.

So leading up to the race, I checked BikeReg to see if any other women would sign up for Sport class.  All too often I find myself racing against no one, so it's really hard to judge you abilities.  I tend to try to beat at least one guy if all else fails.  I couldn't set any sort of time goal for this race because of the unfamiliar terrain etc.  As it turns out there were two others preregistered, so then I began to wonder how I would measure up against these women who I don't know.  The drive from Roanoke took a bit over an hour - I tend to drive slow anymore.  I failed to read the directions to the parking area so I disregarded the paperplate sign displaying MTB with an arrow.  I thought this was a course marking in all honesty.  Well once I completed a nifty tour of the forest service roads that border the property, I found myself in the correct spot.  SIGH - hopefully this would not be a sign of things to come.

After arriving, I noticed that another young lady was present who typically beats me.  I figured I'd at least finish behind her as she is good for 16 years of age.  Oh well, I reminded myself this was going to be a fun way to see a new (to me) trail system.  So I registered, then changed and went to preride the part of the course to see what I was getting into.  I was worried right off the bat because there was a lot and I mean a lot of loose shale-like flat rocks.  Oh please let my tires stay inflated.  On top of that there were rock gardens and tree roots galore, would I have enough confidence to handle it?  When I prerode I was timid and anxious and only rode a short distance down to a downed tree which I managed to hop over.  I decided to turn around and go back to the parking area since I was unsure of how to get back if time ran short.  I pre-rode another short section of the course which seemed easy compared to the first section. 

For the start of this race, they crammed all of us on a gravel road that led up to the start/finish line.  This would be a mass start meaning all classes go at once and it quickly turned into a clump of riders as soon as people hit the singletrack and the aforementioned flat rocks.  Once we all stopped then started then stopped again, we were able to get rolling down the flowy part of the trail.  I was following the quick 16 year old and she was picking good lines, so that was fine with me.  We watched a guy endo over the log, but both of us managed to stay upright and passed him.  Once at the bottom of the rocky, rooty hill, you hit this short, steep muddy hill that goes onto a wooden bridge then quickly up to a gravel road.  The muddy section was a bit squirrelly, but I managed to stay upright.  Gravel roads are ok as long as they are packed down, but this one was packed to the point where the mud was sucking you in and when it wasn't it was slick and would kick your backwheel out from under you.  Next up was a slight left onto singletrack again.  Some faster people came barreling by on the left never saying a word, so I was shouting to the people in front of me because this was the stupidest place to pull that kind of move.  One of them slipped and nearly fell - deservedly so, I passed him, never asking if he was ok or anything.  Jackass.  Once of the hill, people started footing out and walking.  Forget that, this is a bike race, I just geared down and kept spinning. I passed two or three people including the girl on this hill.  It seemed like this hill went on for a long time, but I just kept turning the pedals.  A guy was behind me and struck up a conversation which was great because it took away the monotony of the climb.  Eventually this trail goes left onto a double track to another gravel/mud road.  I got passed by another woman at this point and figured I'd let her go and see what I could do about it.  She got away a bit on the gravel road, but once on the next singletrack downhill, I caught back up with her.  This singletrack was a fun downhill leading to another access road (I think).  It all runs together.  After that road you turned onto gravel again for about a half mile.  The woman got away again, but I would soon find her walking up a climb that was riddled with rocks and roots.  I passed four people including her on this climb.  I'm not sure where the skill came from to manage this feat, but I was proud of it.

Soon I would zoom though the start/finish line and start my second lap.  The initial downhill section was a lot more fun without people in front of me.  I had to put a foot down before the bridge, but soon found myself climbing back the hills again.  I had to walk a bit on the first section near a big trailside rock, but then found a rhythm to continue on.  I kept expecting the other woman to come by me at any point, but the only person near me was the DireWolf racer, Erik then an expert guy who rode behind for the longest time.  The second lap was easier to negotiate, but my legs grew a bit tired.  The mud on the fire roads was worse than riding in grass.  It seemed to sap my strength.  I ended up having to walk a few steps at the top of the rocky/tech climb.  The the last uphill that I had walked on the first lap, I rode a good ways up the second before my legs said forget it.

As I came out of the woods to head the finish line, I had even dropped the DireWolf guy.  I rode as fast as I could through the finish line.  I truly expected that someone had finished ahead of me, but as it turns out I was the winner of the Sport Women category!!!!  After the results were posted online, I discovered that I beat the 2nd place person by nearly 4 minutes.  WHAT?  As I've said it has been a long time since I won anything, and I don't think I've ever won by that wide of a margin.  It still makes me wonder how much I've progressed since I don't know the other person to know her abilities.  Anyway, I was/am very excited at how this race turned out.  I think the course was just right for me with the long,steady uphills and the mixture of gravel roads and trails.  It just all worked out great!  =)

Fat 5 INFERNO Enduro

Well instead of boring you with tons of information about the windstorm from hell, I'll summarize by saying, my lights got knocked out Friday night when it rolled through and didn't come back until July 4th; so 4.5 days without power. You know all that you need to know by now about what happened and I'll share some funny stories and insights about my experience towards the end of this long post.  Since this is a bike blog, I'll focus on the bike race.

Of course the power got knocked out the night before I was to be in a 5 hour mountain bike race.  I had been hydrating all week since the forecasted temperatures kept climbing and climbing without any respite in sight (had to rhyme sorry).  I slept horribly without AC and my mind was on a dozen other things.  I woke up at 545 after probably falling asleep around 1am.  I decided that since Kenny Palmer is almost certifiably insane when it comes to his races that the show must go on.  I turned on my phone which by now was down to minimal battery and found on facebook that indeed the race would go on as scheduled with a possible delayed start due to many fallen trees on the 7.5 mile race course.

So I decided to pack up my stuff and head down to Bedford.  This was an adventure in itself as I had to move sticks and debris from my stairs before I could even get my bike and coolers out of my basement.  Then along the drive there were a few trees that had fallen on the road and of course VDOT had not bothered to set out any warnings or even attempt to move them.  Well made it to Bedford, set up "camp" near the bottom of the hill - any amount of shade was the goal with the temperature now forecasted to be 100°F.  Prior to the race, we all shared stories of wind damage, power outages etc; but all decided we were going to have a fun day!  As we were getting ready, Kenny and his band of merry men were out on course clearing trees and other debris.  I think he said they moved around 20 trees with 10" or larger trunks on the first 5 miles alone.  Now that is a dedicated race promoter!  The show must go on!!!

I think the race started about 20 minutes later that originally planned.  I had a goal of completing 3 laps or ride for 3 hours (of 5 total) then I could quit. Falling Creek Park and I have a tendency to not get along in the summer.  Recall two weeks ago I crashed, last year was a horrible race; so it was bound to be my turn, right?  So when the race started, the fast guys went off like they had 5 minutes to get done while I decided just to take it easy and get into a comfortable pace.  It was already hot.  What was I thinking?

The good thing about Falling Creek Park is that I've been there enough to know the trails.  I know where I can go and where I need to take time to pick a good line.  I still can't ride one particular right hand switchback - it's aggravating!!!  I didn't wipe out at the bottom of the first down hill for the left hand turn before the Strava climb.  In fact, I climbed the hill behind the nursing home every time without walking and actually passed people on it.  There is this one uphill that goes over a tree root, immediately followed by a flat, left hand turn over another root then down.  I rode it the first lap and encountered someone stopped on the flat, so I managed to foot out and get around them.  On one of my other laps I flew up and over it all the while a guy stood there watching and asked how do you ride that?  I said it's taken me 5 years to figure it out and laughed.  The other memorable section of the race course was the "beginner downhill run" at the end of the bike park.  Kenny routed us through the bike park where obstacles were optional - the only one I messed with was the rock garden each lap.  The downhill run is a flowy, singletrack downhill with berms and jumps.  An absolute blast!  I enjoyed jumping the jumps each time especially the last two.  I did play on the berms a couple of times, but as I got more and more fatigued I just skipped them. 

In the end, I was so happy with my effort - I did 4 laps (got talked into the 4th one as I was going to quit).  I rode for about 4 hours and 45 minutes which was about 29 miles.  I finished 5th out of 7 women (last of those doing 4 laps), but I climbed really well at times.  I did walk some, but not much.  I managed to ride across the slick rock, but had to foot out on the far side of it.  It was a tremendously fun day.  There was more than enough water, gatorade and places to cool off.  The misting tent at the finish line was so awesome.  During the race, I did two laps before I stopped for a break.  When I went back out for the 3rd lap I put ice in my jersey pockets then pulled some out and put in the top of my helmet.  There were ice towels at the finish line and the water stop which were an shocking way to cool off.  I have no idea how much fluid I drank during the race, but I never felt dehydrated nor did I get a headache after the race which usually happens.

This was a great day - I decided to enter another 6 hour race in Patrick County in August.  I am hoping that I continue to have time to prepare for that type of race - I may drum up a partner for it since I've never ridden there and supposedly it is a harder course.  The big goal for me this year is the Rotor Meltdown in October which will be approximately 33 miles at Carvins Cove.  Meanwhile, today is rest day since it's raining and I need to head to Kroger for food!

I'll write up another post about living powerless for 4.5 days!  Stay cool, have fun!

Lights are back on, finally! Only 108 hours later....

Going to write a book about the past 5 or 6 days - Meanwhile, here's a link to Strava to share the bike race data from Saturday.

Challenges - bring em on.

My friend Warren posted this on his blog this morning - Bicyclesoup.  I want to talk about challenges.  I am going to do the same race he is talking about.  Yes it's going to be 98 degrees (weren't they a boy band?), yes the race is 5 hours long and yes I've tried this before. 

Two years ago I attempted the endurance race in Bedford, it was hot and I wasn't quite prepared.  I managed to get in 3 miserable laps - I think there's a post about here somewhere.  I know I felt pretty much like crap during the race (factors other than just racing and poor prep).  This year as the forecasted temperature has climbed and climbed, I'm looking more and more forward to seeing what I can do.  I'm not out to win in terms of beating the other women who are entered.  I'm not out to beat anyone in fact.  I'm going with the frame of mind that as long as I can get three laps in, maybe four then it was a successful day. 

I face all sorts of challenges heading into this - my longest ride to this point this year is probably right at 20 miles and timing wise the longest was probably a little more than 2 hours.  Time isn't always on my side in terms of prep.  Recall I wanted to ride all winter to build my endurance up, but Splinty came into my life in December and I spent 3 months off of the bike instead of enjoying the mild, ride friendly weather.  I've had my share of mental anxiety due to personal and work related stuff.  Things took a good turn when I switched shifts and jobs, I'm enjoying working 330-1130, my new coworkers are fun and my job is interesting again and sometimes even fun.  School is over so I have more free time than I've known in years. 

I've been riding more than in the past years.  According to my Garmin, I've ridden 576 miles this year and my first ride wasn't until January 31st and even then the first two months of the year I was limited because of those two nifty metal pins that were holding my finger together.  Recently I've been battling flat tires (this crap started the last ride before Splinty was born believe it or not).  I hopefully have that solved for now by using tubes again.  I'm not even going to think about tubeless tires for a couple of months. 

The other challenges this week have been hydration and nutrition.  I'm a picky eater so I have just kept on with my normal diet; but I've certainly added more water - tonight I will try to get in an extra 60oz plus some gatorade.  Tomorrow the plan will be the same.  Gonna have some pasta in a bit to hopefully add some energy stores.  Then tomorrow I will spend most of my day prepping food etc for Saturday as I won't get home from work until around midnight Friday.  Then I will have about 6 hours to sleep before I have to get up, throw everything in the Jeep and head to the race. 

It's going to be hard, it's going to be hot; but I'm going to make the best out of it.  At least if I can ride for 3 laps or 3 hours total, I can say that I did well.  It's just a training ride for me.  The goal remains the ~33 mile Rotor Meltdown in October. 

Frustration @ Fat Tire Frenzy

I'm frustrated with my race today - I felt good at the start. Got into a good rhythm, was handling the trail and its obstacles pretty well. Managed to ride up and over a few things I've not done in the past (weird uphill tree root, log stack, some uphill switchbacks) then blamm! caught my right pedal/foot on something and was thrown to the ground hard. Immediately after I got up, my right big toe was hurting and the left side of my low back, but the worst was is inside of my right thigh. I am left to wonder if I caught my right leg on the stem/handlebars when I was thrown forward off of the bike and I think my bike hit me in the back; so I can account for my bruises. I got back up, but my confidence was shaken and of course the adrenaline spike wiped me out for a bit. I was able to ride up another hill, but every bump hit my leg and every time I stood up to ride, the saddle would hit my leg...OW! I debated on quitting at the finish line, but felt decent enough after climbing the deer trail to keep going. As I went through the line to start my 2nd lap, Kenny said my time, I mumbled something about being due a wreck. I acknowledged him that yes I had crashed, but was fine for now. I felt like I could push through my second lap and would just walk any difficult parts.

Well 2 miles later, I quit because my back tire got two more punctures, puked out a bunch of Stans. I wasted a CO2 on it (I had given my pump to another guy who reported when he passed me back that he had lost it.) The tire didn't hold the air very long and by time I crossed over one of the bridges, bottoming the rim on bridge the front tire threw a hissy fit, I got that stopped with Stans, but I decided to quit before I wrecked again. Honestly, I was pissed as I felt ready for this race and was going to try to beat a couple of the sport guys since there were no other women in my category. I was out ahead of two of them by a good bit when I wrecked and close to a third.

Oh well as it turned out, it was probably best that I DNF'd as my best biking pal, Paula had fallen trying to cross the slick rock and dislocated her left shoulder. Long story short, I ended up literally running back to my car from the finish line area and driving over to where my pal was tearfully waiting for assistance with some other racers (the frame pump guy who had found it by the way) and some volunteers. About the time I was helping Paula to the car, her husband arrived. We proceeded to drive her to the hospital - Warren driving (w/o a license) and me in the back seat holding Paula's arm in the best immobile position I could manage. Poor thing!!! She was in severe pain and very upset. I would have been too!!! In the end, the ER doc and staff was awesome, got her drugged up with Morphine and Zofran and successfully popped her shoulder back into place. Looks like she'll be off her bike for a few weeks, but hopefully she'll recover well enough to ride again soon. I miss her already because of my job change and haven't ridden with her in a few weeks. =( I'll forge ahead with my plans to get stronger and ride longer and keep focusing on Conquer the Cove oops Rotor Meltdown in October. I've entered the 5 hour race in Bedford in two weeks. It may be that I wind up teaming up with Warren since he and Paula were registered already as well - that remains to be seen. Either way, I'm still going and I'm going to just do the best I can. I enjoy the people I'm around while I'm racing, so that's reason enough to go back!

Meanwhile, I'm anxiously await UPS to bring me some tires that will hold air. I hope this works. I just want to ride and not worry about flats!!!