Phew, it's been a busy few weeks for me! Lots of racing, lots of training and of course, a lot of graduate homework. The weather has taken a turn for the better up here in Victor, ID in the last week and it's been nice to be home to enjoy the green landscape, time with my husband and walks with my dog.So, what have I been up to in the past month? I returned home from my latest trip to sunny California (for the Kenda Cup West Santa Ynez Classic) to sleet/rain/snow and temps in the 40s. Ick. I quickly decided to escape the nasty Idaho weather to visit my sister in Colorado and to train on a real moving bicycle (rather than the trainer). When I got there, I heard about a great race, the the Battle of the Bear, that was happening that weekend in Lakewood, CO. For some reason, I decided the night before the race that I was going to race the 50-mile option, the Front Range 50. You can click to my personal blog for the full report for that race. It was a great day on the bike for me-really hard, really fast and a great day of training for sure. I ended up in 1st place overall with a time of 3hr 32 min. The Tomac Type-X was the ideal bike for that race (as it is for most races!) as the course was smooth, full of tight, twisty singletrack and had a lot of short, punchy climbs.
After a few great rides around my sister's place, it was onto a few days of riding the world's best singletrack. I camped out in Fruita, CO for a few days to enjoy the warm weather, dry dirt and pure joy that Fruita dishes out to mountain bikers of all abilities. Then, it was onto Heber City, UT for the next round of the Intermountain Cup. Soldier Hollow is a really fun, yet brutal course. Kathy and Chris Sherwin put me up for the evening even though Kathy wasn't racing she was kind enough to come to the race and do feeds for both me and for Heather. Thanks, Kathy!
I had woken up the previous few days with a sore throat, so I wasn't too keen about the monumental effort this race was going to require of me. Luckily, I had good enough energy on race day and ended up taking 1st. You can read a full write-up of the race on MTB Race News. I ran my trusty Karmas, which proved to be the ideal tire for the mix of loose, dusty turns and hardpack. Heather Holmes raced as well. From the way she was hammering on the first lap, I was sure that I was going to blow by trying to hold her wheel. However, she is still recovering from wrist surgery and cannot yet let loose on the downhills, so I was able to gap her on the descent and increase my lead from there. So, watch out world: Holmes will be on the warpath as soon as she heals that hand!
As for now, I am back at home catching up on life and looking forward to my next race, the Teva Mountain Games. Most of the Kenda Team will be at that one, so be sure to check back here for our team's updates. Thanks for reading!
After a few great rides around my sister's place, it was onto a few days of riding the world's best singletrack. I camped out in Fruita, CO for a few days to enjoy the warm weather, dry dirt and pure joy that Fruita dishes out to mountain bikers of all abilities. Then, it was onto Heber City, UT for the next round of the Intermountain Cup. Soldier Hollow is a really fun, yet brutal course. Kathy and Chris Sherwin put me up for the evening even though Kathy wasn't racing she was kind enough to come to the race and do feeds for both me and for Heather. Thanks, Kathy!
I had woken up the previous few days with a sore throat, so I wasn't too keen about the monumental effort this race was going to require of me. Luckily, I had good enough energy on race day and ended up taking 1st. You can read a full write-up of the race on MTB Race News. I ran my trusty Karmas, which proved to be the ideal tire for the mix of loose, dusty turns and hardpack. Heather Holmes raced as well. From the way she was hammering on the first lap, I was sure that I was going to blow by trying to hold her wheel. However, she is still recovering from wrist surgery and cannot yet let loose on the downhills, so I was able to gap her on the descent and increase my lead from there. So, watch out world: Holmes will be on the warpath as soon as she heals that hand!
As for now, I am back at home catching up on life and looking forward to my next race, the Teva Mountain Games. Most of the Kenda Team will be at that one, so be sure to check back here for our team's updates. Thanks for reading!
