CycloFemme is on a mission to get more women on bikes (check out their info at http://cyclofemme.com/) and they’re asking folks around the world to help by organizing women’s rides on May 12th. I think the world needs more women on bikes — lots more — and I set a goal early this year to lead more rides as motivation to actually get out and train. I’ll bet you can see where this is heading… seems like an obvious match, no?

So, in order to support a great organization and a great message, I’m going to commit to leading my very first ride of the year! Everything that’s been registered with CycloFemme in this area thus far are road rides… which makes me think that this event needs some representation on DIRT. Haven’t finalized a route/distance just yet, but I’m thinking ~9am at Montebello Preserve (considering an early start because it is Mother’s Day). No drop ride, beginner friendly, casual pace. Who wants to ride with me?!  I promise nothing terribly long — you’ll have fun! Drop me a line in the comments or on Facebook. I’ll set up an invite with more details soon!

Also, if you really don’t want to ride dirt, check out the CycloFemme road rides in our area! I know you ladies are already planning on riding… might as well join in on a good cause!

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The Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival is always fun. The event typically takes place the weekend before the much larger Sea Otter Classic, and has a great, relaxed vibe. Almost all the major mountain bike brands have representatives at the expo, but the place doesn’t get too crowded — so it’s easy to hop on a bike a demo just about anything on the nearby short track or pump track courses. Technically I think you can demo on the post office jumps too… but that one is still *way* about my level!

Besides a small host of bike vendors, SCMBF also includes a bunch of different races spread out over the two days. I had a ton of fun watching the events, especially the pro jumpers and the tiny pump-trackers. I’m mostly terrified of children… but was unreasonably impressed with the three year-olds tearing it up on that bumpy course! Don’t get me wrong, I was also excited about the big boys flying through the air onto ramps and whatnot — they just lack the adorable factor inherent in a knee-high kid riding a bike with a front suspension.

While the aforementioned pump track and jumps competitions were not in my wheelhouse (so to speak), I decided, almost at the last possible minute, that the short track race might just the right kind of thing for me. Twenty minutes of suffering on a relatively straightforward course… and then off to beer for rewards? Seems like a solid time investment! I registered as a walk-up about an hour before the event started, and then settled in to watch the junior’s contest to see what I could learn about the course.

In a bit of good news, watching the younglings race didn’t surface anything terrifying about the route. By the time the festival organizers let the women pre-ride, I was feeling confident that even if I didn’t win, I could put in a good effort. I took a couple practice runs and confirmed that the course was free of anything particularly distressing. After a quick start, I held on to second for the better part of the first lap before falling back a spot for the duration of the race.

While I didn’t win the race (or even come particularly close), I actually think that the even went pretty freakin’ well for me overall. My first lap was by far my best, but my times were otherwise consistent each round. The Broadaxe seemed to be tailor made for this type of course — tight turns, rollers and lots of spots for quick acceleration — and I felt more confident on the bike each lap. I didn’t fall and I wasn’t anywhere near being lapped, despite the fact that the lady who won normally races as a Cat-2. Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival puts all the amateurs into a single group for the short track race. With such a small field, I ended up with a podium spot and earned a sample box of Gu for my trouble!

Biggest takeaway? I need to get much better cornering at speed to be competitive in short track. While I can consistently climb and descend most switchbacks these days, I typically do so at a very slow speed. I could feel myself losing seconds through the corners, and most XCST races won’t have enough climbing for me to make up the difference. I really need to get better at throwing the bike through turns, especially off-camber loose madness. That’s the fun thing about mountain biking though — get decent at one thing, discover another to start working on!

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There’s been a lot of talk recently about sport marketing to women — who does it well and who fails utterly. Sadly, the list for the latter seems to be significantly longer… but there are a few folks who get it (and I hope more who will see their competition and start to do better). I’ve got a lot of love for the new #mygirls campaign from Adidas (especially the track racing option!).

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Floor pumps are one of those things that you have to have, but probably don’t think much about. I bought my first pump in 2007, along with my first bike — and proceeded to buy the exact same pump every time I needed a replacement over the next few years. Don’t get me wrong, the yellow JoeBlow pumps I bought served me well… they just didn’t last as long as I would hope. By the time I had to replace the third copy in two years (all of which died in unexpected, different, but equally annoying ways), I was ready to try anything else.

I ended up picking the Lezyne steel floor drive out at Sports Basement, after a quick glance through the “whelp, I’ve never tried this one before” options. The steel and wood aesthetics caught my eye, and, overall, the pump seemed a sturdier than the mostly-plastic item I was replacing. The price tag was on the high side for pumps, but close enough that I hoped I was making a “better quality” tradeoff. A full year of abuse later,  the Floor Drive is still functional and in great shape — so it seems like I made a good call.

Pros:

• Screw on hose generally feels more secure — no hose flying away mid-pump
• Speed chuck makes the pump compatible with the awkward straw action you get on fancy deep dish wheels (like my new 404s!)
• The pressure relief button on the hose is awesome! Let out all that built up air BEFORE you try and disconnect from your wheel
• Big gauge is super easy to read
• Steel housing and wood handles are pretty and functional

Cons:

• Screwing things on takes a bit more time (and has a tiny learning curve to find “how far” the first couple times)
• Tubeless valve cores can unscrew with your hose if you don’t have it well tightened down
• Darn speed chuck is easy to lose if you don’t put it back on the end of the hose all the time

Buy? At ~$60, the Lezyne steel floor drive is well worth the $10-20 extra bucks over your cheap pump.

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Last weekend, I knocked the first goal off my 2013 list and headed down to Fort Ord for the CCCX XC race. I’ve been meaning to check this series out …well, basically since I started mountain biking… but always talked myself out of it using some combination of my lack of technical skills, too little race experience and the drive time involved. Don’t get me wrong, all of those things are still true — my handling skills could be better, I’ve only done 2 other races in my life, and  Seaside is not close — but I finally decided that the only way to get better at racing will be to… you know, race. What better day than today, you know?

So I registered for my very own USA Cycling license, loaded up the fancy new mountain bike, and then woke up at an appropriately ungodly hour to make the trek south for a 9am start time. I nabbed a race number and, after a near-tragic accidental tire flattening at the car, hopped on the bike to warm up. Pre-riding the course seemed like overkill (we were only racing 2.5 laps), so I contented myself with a few sprints up and down the road, just to get the legs moving.

As seems pretty typical of mtb races, the CCCX organizers started the entire women’s beginner field together, last. I lined up somewhere near the middle of the pack (just behind the juniors) and had, what I thought was a pretty awesome start off the line. The group split in two almost immediately; I brought up the tail of the front group, but was keeping pace easily. By the time we hit dirt, I was passing people pretty consistently and feeling good (hooray for no early blowups!). By the first climb, I had caught the junior women and the folks I’d started with were nowhere to be seen.

I spent the first half-lap alternating my panicked thoughts between “omg they’re going to catch me!”, “omg how do I get around him?”, and ” ohshit, can I clear that?!” All SUPER helpful, FYI. Despite the noise in my head, I was still consistently picking folks off and my pace felt fast, but sustainable. Other than a couple over-corrections in corners (and a few strange, out-loud, “calm-the-fuck-down” pep talks), I was doing pretty good. The first full lap was basically a repeat of the half loop; I caught a couple people, no one caught me and I still felt great.

By the second full lap, I did get passed by a couple very fast boys… but then didn’t see another person still racing for the rest of my loop. While I still pushed myself hard (didn’t want to get caught from behind), I came to the conclusion that whatever place I was in was the place that I was going to get. I hadn’t seen anyone else on bike in so long that I couldn’t even fathom where the rest of my field was. My left calf started cramping towards the end, but I managed to keep it together and finished strong — no gimping back to the line for me!

Turns out, I came in 4th (aka last) for my age group… which had a much wider range than I expected. All those juniors at the front? Apparently some of them were in the 19-34 bracket, not the 18-unders that I had assumed. OOPS! My other races divvied you up into 4-year gap brackets, so I didn’t even think to pay attention to the younglings at the front of the line. So goes life. I did beat out all the women that I set out to… and my overall time seemed pretty competitive, so I’m hoping better awareness next time can only make me improve.

The course itself was awesome. The trails were in great shape — just the right amount of tacky, well maintained — and the route was the perfect amount of technical for my skill level. I rode absolutely everything, even the terrible sand pits (I have a severe dislike for the drunken-bike sensation you get riding in sand), and never felt out of control. The Broadaxe was perfect for this course — we flew up the climbs and swooped through the single-track with ease.

Overall, I can’t wait for the next race! I definitely have some tactical improvements to make:

• don’t assume you know your competition
• get better start position in big groups
• be more aggressive in passing, even on long stretches of single track
• hydrate early in the week!

but… well, hopefully practice makes perfect!

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Pretty sure that yearly commitments work best when set, well, early in the year. So, before the first month is completely gone, I’m laying out all the stuff I want to accomplish in the next 11.25 months.

2013 Goals:

• Compete in at least one CCCX XC race — more if they’re fun
• Ride either the Sea Otter MTB race or the fondo
• Cat-up for the Folsom MTB race
• Complete at least two organized road rides (65mi+)
• Climb new hills (and some old ones for better times) — Hamilton, Sierra, Mt. Diablo, Mt. Tam
• Take at least one bike vacation weekend
• Try a multi-day travel by bike trip
• Race a CX event

I haven’t picked my road events yet, but I’m thinking an April/Aug or April/Sept peak training schedule might work out best based on this list — will just have to figure out what options might fit. (I ride better in the not-super-hot weather anyways!)

Given how my work schedule turned out in 2012, the goals already feel a bit aggressive. That said, I think starting with big plans and building in  flexibility on specific events is going to work out *much* better than last year’s aimless wandering paired with a vague sense of “not doing enough”.  Isn’t half the battle with getting motivated committing to do something in the first place? I sure hope so! So now that it’s written down… bring it on 2013!

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Well, now that I’m two weeks too late to be considered trendy, I’ll go ahead and play.

2012 was a strange year for me. A lot of things went really well:

• A quick look at my Strava PRs indicates that I continued to improve in speed and rode lots of things faster than ever!
• I spent a ton more time on the mountain bike. I took a couple clinics, improved my technical skills and rode a ton of things I wouldn’t have even considered a year before.
• Overall, I felt more self sufficient. I planned my own routes, rode solo a good bit and never felt like I couldn’t handle anything that would come up.
• I bailed on fewer pre-registered rides (2012 goal, complete!). I registered early only when required and saved myself a good bit of cash.
• The Integrate group was lots of fun last year. I really enjoyed helping people learn skills and to push their limits.

Other things didn’t turn out the way I’d hoped:

• My milage went down. Some of this was due to riding more mountain than road (those miles count at least 2x!), and some was due to avoiding routes with a lot of “junk” miles — but I have to own that a decent part was just laziness.
• Why so lazy bones? For one, I didn’t set any goals. I’ve always been extremely goal-oriented, and riding is no exception. With no specific race or fondo targets last year, my training was effective… but not targeted. I knew when I could slack and by how much to stay in shape.
• No goals set and a 2012 resolution to “waste less on fees I won’t use” means that I registered for fewer events.
• Possibly the biggest laziness contributor: I lost my regular rides buddies. Turns out, while I ride harder when solo, I also ride shorter and less frequently. Friends moving away/giving up riding paired with a new, busier job for me meant a decrease in scheduled groups and, subsequently, less motivation to get out.

All in all, 2012 wasn’t a bad year on the bike, but I did end the season feeling a bit… dissatisfied. There’s something about accomplishing specific goals that “general improvement” just can’t match. And there’s a joy found in riding with others that’s easy to forget when chasing another PR solo-style. You don’t even have anyone to celebrate with on top of OLH if you go it alone!

I’m not big on setting New Year’s resolutions, but I am a firm believer in working to change things that make you unhappy. I don’t want to end another season with an ambiguous sense of “I wish I’d done more.” So this year, I’m committed to a couple (super simple) things to make sure I end 2013 in a better head-space (if not fitness-space too).

• Set some goals early. The earlier the better. Picking goals in April is too late!
• Hit ‘em. Or at least give it a damn good effort.
• Register early for events I like… but still only if I’m really going to go. Commit.
• Lead rides more; social is motivating. Don’t rely on others to always do the scheduling.

It’s not rocket science, but I think it’ll work. Looking forward to an awesome season!

Public “you can call me out for not doing these” commitment post is coming soon…

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When the weather service is issuing flash flood warnings in the Bay Area, you *know* that we’re having a wet December. I can’t tell you if we’re actually breaking records yet or not (I refuse to watch the news), but I can tell you that it feels like it’s been raining for weeks. And I can tell you for sure, that all this rain has really put a damper (almost-pun intended) on my weekend rides.

Unlike other places where snow cycling is the norm, almost every trail around here shuts down when there’s been more than an inch of rain over the previous three days. The trails just don’t drain well and the ground is too soft, so park services close access to basically anything fun until the chance of carving in permanent ruts is past. On the upside, this means our trails are fantastic most of the year… on the downside, my poor Broadaxe has mostly been all dressed up with nowhere to ride for the last month. Seriously! With a new saddle and pedals and everything!

So, of course, when I finally managed to catch a break in the weather two weekends ago, there was precious little open for fat tires. I searched every preserve website I could find, monitored MTBR for a couple hours, and finally decided that Kennedy loop was the only place likely to be open and rideable.

Now I’ve ridden Kennedy on my road bike a half dozen times or so, never realizing that there was a dirt trail that ascends another three miles(!) before looping back to the reservoir. (Check out the route I took here, if you’re interested.) Most mountain bikers I talked to avoid Kennedy like the plague — it’s a long, steep fire road climb with only two tricksy sections, so it doesn’t appeal to the downhill crowds — but I was desperate for dirt time and decided to commit to the slog.

And honestly, slog describes this one well! The climb goes on forever, and the terrain is pretty unvaried — although the views are fantastic. After nearly burning myself out on the road approach to the trailhead, I quickly shifted into survival mode and resolved to just finish the damn thing almost as soon as I was getting started. …justkeepspinningjustkeepspinning… 

At one point, a man and his dog were walking up the steep section exactly as fast as I was climbing… but it was kinda fun to break up the spinning monotony with some (intensely labored) conversation. I did pass them before the summit, and got just far enough ahead to give them a great view of my spin-out-topple-over on the penultimate super-steep pitch.  Le sigh… hopefully I was at least entertaining!

I had no real plan for what to do after hitting the top, but was lucky enough to meet someone else riding solo who let me tag along for the rest of his loop. We took the “more technical” route back down to the reservoir — full of slick rocks and gravel — which was a pretty interesting experience on a hardtail! I hit a few big rocks awkwardly, but managed to keep it upright and had a blast on the way down.

So, with a full 20 miles now under my belt, I can report back for sure that the Foundry Broadaxe was made to climb. The bike is incredibly light and responds well when I push “go”. This is my first 29er, but I think I finally get what people were talking about when they say that the big bikes “just want to keep rolling.” I’m not saying that I didn’t have to work to get uphill… but the power transfer was amazing and I never felt like I was fighting the bike (just the *very* tired motor!).

Descending on the hardtail was a new experience for me, but once I figured out to stay UP and loose, I rode the “most technical” sections without issue. Didn’t end up with the “teeth jittering out of my head” feeling either… so either I’m learning or this bike is magic. Or both. Now, if only the rain would stop, I could ride some of the fancier trails and report back on all the crazy technical bits! Sooooooon…

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Finally got my Foundry Broadaxe built up back from the mechanic just before Thanksgiving! I convinced the Charles to do a short ride at Arastradero to test out the new beast on familiar territory that same weekend. Unfortunately, I had to cut the trip super short — Charles reported back after the first lap that he forgot to put the chamois back into his MTB shorts and was tapping out to avoid… damage. Oops! 

I did get in a couple laps before packing everything up, though. Early returns? Definitely need to make a few fit adjustments, but this baby is *made* to climb! More ride reports soon… a few pictures in the meantime.

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is always n+1. SQUEE!

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