"That's a sexy leg" or my trip to Ray's MTB Indoor Park

About a week and a half ago I got an email heads up that Ray from Ray's MTB Indoor Park was looking for a few pro women to race the 2nd Annual Tri-Flow XC Indoor Invitational. Justin and I quickly changed up the training plans a bit and booked flights back east to head to Cleveland - in the middle of January!

I didn't really know what to expect. I'd heard of Ray's before, but had never been, and other than a few days at Whistler and Mammoth, had no dirt jump or bike "park" experience to speak of. Since we love riding our bikes, especially in new places, we took an extra day of vacation from work to head out and ride the park.

We were up way before sunrise on Thursday, and on the plane to meet the day. Didn't realize it'd be the last time I'd see the sun for 5 days!



Flying high over the Rockies



We got in to the Dawg Pound around 4, and headed for the hotel to build up my bike for some evening park time!



Seeing as how I am a geek to the max I made sure to strap up and use the Garmin. Didn't realize until day 2 that it actually got some satellite signal, even in the building!



In total Justin fashion, he managed to flat about 5 minutes into our first session!



After some laps on the course and practicing on the skill lines we went out to dinner with the owner and founder: Ray Petro



It's safe to say that the local Mexican joint was pretty close to what we have here in CA!

Since Thursday had been a late night and we had a long weekend, we opted to sleep in a bit and got to Ray's around noon on Friday for a lot more riding. By then US Olympian and World Cup Pro Adam Craig had arrived, along with fellow Pro female racer Lizzy English. Lizzy got her bike built up and we went out to preview the course.

After riding the XC TT loop and some of the skill lines it was time to hit the Red Bull Wall









After I crashed and burned on the wall in front of MBAction photographer John Ker, it was back to the skill lines for me!





I tried to get this table top down for 2 days



I finally cleaned it a few times Saturday morning, but never got close during the race.

I even hit the foam pit. On my Epic. Clipped in. In lycra. What an experience!





The trophies were SWEET



I got to pump the Ergon rollers



The Pro Women post-race (L-R: Lizzy English, me, Lindsey Bishop, Lindsey Prososki)



I got to meet Tyler Morland, which was sweet. Everyone's a comedian, eh!



Podium shots:



(L-R) Kyle Spisak, Adam Craig, Aaron Snyder, Tyler Morland, Justin Mann



A few of us went out post-race party and I can honestly say for the first time in my life I closed down not one bar, but two. I was sober, though! Long night, and we got up fairly early on Sunday to hit up Ray's for a few final rides and pack up for the flight home.

I wound up borrowing a 24" cruiser and Justin and I spent the morning playing on the pump track. It was a different experience riding the smaller hard tail with flat pedals, but I had a blast pumping the course once I figured it out. Then I got really sore and tired! Then it was time to pack up and head to the airport for the trip home.

Everyone agreed they were going to take their "legs" as carry-on luggage so they didn't get beat up. I was kind of nervous walking (ahaha!) this thing through security and the airport. We got some definitely shady looks as the security peeps checked our IDs against our plane tickets, but the actual people in security thought the legs were quite a hoot. No line at all, so they were just chilling. Let us on no problem. I was glad Adam was carrying his leg through at the same time, though. Made me stand out less like a sore foot, y'know?



We got some funny comments and a lot of strange looks, and until the last flight the leg was great in the overhead bins. Last flight, into ONT, the stewardess shoved it in there pretty good and I got a ding/knick on it. Ah well. It's still a sexy leg if you ask me!

I had a terrific weekend and was really happy that I got the chance to go race at Ray's. The vibe was great from the moment we arrived until we left. The local racers are awesome and super helpful and friendly, and people travel from all over the area to hit up Ray's on the weekend for some fun indoor park riding. It's a killer location to ride, so definitely check it out if you're anywhere in the area. They do rent a variety of bikes from little BMX to 26" dirt jumpers.

LATE EDIT: Here's a youtube vid Justin took with the Droid of me riding the pump track. Too bad I was really worn out at this point ;)

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"The rest is silence."

Well, today was my last race of 2009. It's been a pretty long season, and I think it's been a good one.

I am really glad to be done. Today was a difficult race. First of all, it was my first race in a long time that I had no competition. It's always difficult to push through pain and lingering sickness, but when you are out there alone it doesn't make it any easier to keep pushing! I had a few strong moments, but mostly I was just waiting for the finish line :)

As always, the singletrack was awesome, but pushing through the fire roads was tough at times.

I plan on taking about 7 days off the bike entirely. Justin is already balking. Me? I'm looking forward to the planned break. I need it mentally, physically, and emotionally. We've got some fun stuff planned, and then, I am sure, sooner than we know we'll be back to training.

For now, let's break it down. One last time.

Last week, I had a head cold. It started to come back on Saturday, which I wasn't really stoked about. A day of full rest, and I was back to my wacky insomnia.

Justin decided he wanted to spend the weekend camping up at the lake with his mom. So, we drove up Friday night. I stopped to get some ice and beer on the way up and had a super unfortunate event.

The remnants (keep reading...)








We got up there, got set up, and got to making dinner.

James and Ryan, these are for you!





"I think we're gonna need a bigger boat."




The rest of the remnants... I'm still really sad about this.



I had packed our coffee mugs, and just driving across the street to the grocery store the bag must've gotten all up-ended and out fell my coffee mug when I opened the door.

The view from camp on Saturday



Justin and I left from camp and pre-rode the last half of the course -ish. It was good times. My HR was a bit higher than my RPE, but the legs felt good. My head cold wasn't feeling so hot, though.



We finished up with just about an hour thirty, stopped by Bear Valley and talked to Derek and Steve, and headed back to camp to eat and "ice bathe".





I took a short nap, then we registered. Then it was time for dinnah!!!



I was so hungry I didn't even get a shot of the finished product.

I actually woke up super nervous today. Even after I got Joy's email that she was out due to illness, I expected Natasha, or Heather, or some un-expected Euro-Pro to show up. I stood there by the Pro Women 11:01 sign and no one showed up. Except Larry Longo. He wanted to race Pro Women. Lucky for me he stayed in his own category!

I struggled a bit between feeling sick, feeling tired, my legs just not showing up at all, and wanting to still make a good showing, despite being the only Pro female out there!!

My time was respectable, but not great. I soft pedaled a few descents, and basically just got through it.

I was thoroughly trashed in many ways post-race.





Oops, deleted my victory dinner picture. Yogurt, granola, blueberries, whey protein, and red wine. By myself. Oh ya.

2009 - thanks for the memories.



PS - 20 points to whoever can name the quote in the title.

Take… "2"?

After the massive effort last Sunday at Fontana I took Monday off (as usual - it's my "errand" day) and decided since it was mid-cycle to do a bit longer of a ride on Tuesday, but with less intense efforts. I felt KILLER out on the bike. I hadn't had a training day like that in a long time. Wasn't pushing hard at all, but just really enjoying pedaling. Unfortunately Justin did not feel so great. We wound up a tad shy of 2 hours, with some easy efforts.

I was going to take Wednesday as it came, just get out on the bike at lunch and see how I felt... Well, I put in an effort and didn't feel horrible; did a 3min effort and then backed off a tad. So, I kept it going with efforts and recoveries the entire way. Solid hour! Still feeling pretty good.

Thursday we planned on heading out to our local easy mountain bike loop. I was planning on taking it easy, but Justin was out for redemption after a week of feeling the race efforts, the crash recovery, and tons of poison oak. He and Luke sped off, and I spun slowly behind, far far out of sight. It was pretty cold.



I took a right where I thought the boys may have gone, but I wasn't sure. Wasn't up for a steep climb, so I just stood around listening to the silence to see if I could hear them coming the other way…eventually I heard some tire skids and around the bend they came.



I chased Luke and Justin down with Ben from Troupe hot on my wheels. He asked if this was our "slow" pace! I was like, "I'm working like crazy!" I fell way off after that since my legs were feeling it and not happy. No reason to put myself in a hole! I was out for a cruise. Made the boys wait for me a bit, but that's okay. HR was ridiculously low every time I stopped pedaling uphill.

Friday was a short regen spin in the morning. Good thing, too, cause right after work it was off for a family/friend dinner and we didn't get home until almost 10. Spent the next 2 hours or so packing up for our first race weekend away from home! I had been up just after 5 on Friday morning, so by midnight I was a zombie. It's a wonder I didn't forget anything imperative.

Saturday we slept in til about 7 and I got to work making us some delish oatmeal. We got on the road shortly after, and before 11 were down at the venue for Sagebrush Safari.



We met up with Steph and Dan, and it had been a LONG time. We did a ride with them around New Year's, but they had been our prime riding buddies last year, and it was a much needed reunion!





We hung out on the flats chilling, but once I hit a higher HR I decided to just go for some sweet spot riding up the hill. The course was marked, so I just kept following the pavement up and up. I looked back and didn't see anyone for awhile.



Justin was putting in the chase

Mt. Pinos in the distance. We gotta climb up THAT??



The group catching up



Techy



Look fast - unsuccessful



Hike-a-bike!



I'm just glad that I spent so much time hiking LAST weekend that my calves and shins were fully ready for the task! :)

I was fully enjoying the course. The descents were SO fun! I wasn't sure how it would play out on race day, but I was having a blast on the pre-ride.

I hit the hills again once we got down off the fire road and put in another easy effort back up to Four Corners.

I knew I wouldn't like this on race day!



I set off up Pinos in a solo attempt and got in some hard efforts on the steeper sections. I was thoroughly enjoying the climb and the views were spectactular. Got up to the top and took a short break to eat what little calories I had (definitely under packed on liquid and food!)



Shortly after the pack rolled up!



We rode with a few other guys, and finally met Adam from the Gary Fisher 29er crew! We chatted a bit on the way back up to Four Corners (again?!) about Joy's adventures in Costa Rica!

Once back together we made a run down the final singletrack. It was nice and sandy and dusty! Still a blast.

We hammered out the pavement and made it back to the venue in time for some lunch on the rocks before heading to the in-law's for dinner and bed.

I didn't feel like I was really recovering as well as I could've been (tons of walking and standing, and hydrating), but we had a killer dinner of grilled salmon and ahi, salad, and brown rice. It was SO good. There was hardly anything left over! We all destroyed the food.

I sat with my feet elevated for a bit, and off to bed we went.

I'd crashed UPHILL on Saturday, so my somewhat "twisted" ankle bugged me all night, and my legs definitely felt the efforts from the previous day on Sunday morning. I made some extra oatmeal goodies, we packed up and headed south for the race site. It was packed already and we got there before 8:30!

I tried to stay out of the wind and seated, but did a bit of walking around. Everyone was pretty spread out, but chatted with a few people and hung out in the truck to keep dust-free and warm.

We got suited up pretty early and cruised around a little, and headed out for a warm-up. We made it about halfway up to Four Corners and Justin needed to do some adjustments, and my legs just weren't feeling like any further efforts were going to help.

Got everything suited up and off we headed to the line!

The Pro men took off in a cloud of dust, and we took off shortly after.

I had no idea what to expect when we hit the tarmac. I thought maybe the group would stay in a nice peloton so we could work together on the flats in the wind. Pua had other ideas! She sped off like a freight train and the rest of us wound up strung out behind her single file. I don't know about anyone else, but it was all I could do to just hang on to Krista's wheel in front of me. I thought I'd be blown by the time we hit the ascent. Pua attacked off the front as soon as the road turned up, and I went around a few people and was sitting in 2nd. Pua had already made a gap too big to close. There were men in front of me, and people behind, but no one going a similar speed, so I climbed into the wind up to Four Corners solo. I had a small gap on Amanda, Kathy, Natasha, and Zephanie, but they weren't letting the gap grow at all! I hoped to make up some time on the singletrack, but when I hit the slickrock climb they were right there!

I continued to put in efforts on the super fun descent that followed, and generally forgot I was racing I was having so much fun. A train of men rolled through, but I had no chance of hanging on! They were smoking. I don't think I touched the brakes on the fire road descent, but shortly after we hit a false flat and the hike a bike loomed in front of me. I saw Pua picking her way through the men's field ahead, so I knew the women behind me would see me also! Continued moving at all times and putting in efforts where I could.

I got to the top and solo'd that. Once I got to the turn to go downhill I was faced with a massive headwind! Going downhill is not usually so slow and laborious! Put in a lot of time solo, and eventually down on the false flat looked back and saw a big group of guys coming my way. I had no hopes of latching on to the first few, but tried to draft wherever I could!

The climb up to Four Corners was fairly painful. Lots of wind and no relief. I grabbed a fresh bottle (though my initial one was less than half empty!) from Business Darter who is a highly coveted pit man and definitely stands atop the pit guy podium at every event he is at! Not only did he hand me my bottle mid-climb, but he also was snapping shots whilest mid-hand off. That takes skill!

I wasn't much looking forward to climbing up to Mt. Pinos, but made the best of it. I looked back on the big switchback and saw a LOT of riders. I saw a few red jerseys in there as well and knew the Pro women were chasing me down! Pua was out of sight! I put in a few efforts thinking the top was much closer than it actually was, and suffered all the way to the top! It was sweet relief with we turned on to the fire road descent. I was hoping to recover a bit in order to have some energy for the last ascent up to Four Corners.

There was a LOT more traffic this time around with the other categories out on their shorter loop. Lots of traffic on the final descent, but I had a good time just trying to hang on.

I spent the final flat back to the finish line begging my legs to hold on to 2nd place. I hit the dirt and heard "just one more mile!" I hoped he was kidding, but when I saw the motorhomes in the distance I knew I had a LONG way to go!

Pushed it the entire way and was stoked to finish 2nd behind Pua! 3-6 came in not too much later! It was all really close! The Pro women definitely pushed my limits a ton this past weekend, and I was ecstatic to place where I did.

I was a bit out sorts after crossing the line, so half spun around in a daze, waiting for Justin. I cheered on a few people, wandered around, and Sarah was awesome for letting me know Justin was fine, but he'd stopped to help out an injured rider.

We took our time getting dressed and stayed for about 98% of podiums to cheer on Vu and Matt









After that I was done with the wind and the sun and we took off. We snacked on some Clif/Luna bars and then Justin had the brilliant idea to stop at Rita's in El Cajon. What! I was full already!

We split a burrito anyway (3rd meal since the finish!)



The ride home



No post-race beers or candy for me this time!

Killer weekend overall. No complaints. Sho-Air is putting on a killer race series for us here in CA and I can't wait to head up to Sea Otter in a few weeks!

It's not May, but I've got about a "month" of mayhem coming up pretty soon! 3 race weekends in a row. I decided already I'm taking the day after Idyllwild off! Course, I will have to do some cheering for the Super D!

Until next time...