Mud

(Me trying to keep up with the speedy girls at the Meltdown start. Photo courtesy of the ever awesome Amy Dykema)

The past two races have shown me I need new tires. When it is slick, my Racing Ralphs have no traction.

The Imagination Glen race was a mud fest:

(Photo courtesy of the also ever awesome Betsy Silzer)

Imagination Glen would have been an awesome course for me but it poured during the first lap and I ended up sliding around. I rode very conservatively and was fine with my race.

I was able to do most of the Palos race course lap on Thursday evening, Friday morning and Friday evening. I went easy to not over do it but wanted to feel like I could rock the course, so to speak, since I don't ride out there as much as I could. I was psyched and excited. I felt really good on the bike and was riding the roots, rocks and ravines well. I was very nervous, however, that it would rain. As I was helping out on Saturday, it did rain and then rained again and then rained a little on race day. I was bummed knowing my tires would suck. For my warm up, I rode over to the first parking lot and did bad ass hill and most of the prologue part of the lap. I felt good but knew I would have issues on Turf. I lined up and was going good until I slid out on Turf. I got up and hopped back on the bike but, obviously, lost time. I had issues on parts of Turf each lap and on a root on, what I believe is, One Day but otherwise it was good. I knew Regina and Kristina Young, who had missed the start, were both behind me which definitely caused me to go harder. I ended up fourth out of sixth. I would have loved a dry course but I'm still, overall, pleased with my race. I was not that far behind the speedy girls.

So, tires with better traction in slippery condition will definitely be on my wish list but will have to wait for now as finances are still tight.

Christopher came with for the race as Tom ended up having to work. He had a great time playing with some kids and they spent a lot of time climbing a tree. My dad picked him up around noon, allowing me to change and warm-up. Christopher is always spoiled at my parents' house so he was in a great mood. I chilled for a bit and then got all of his stuff in the car. I came back in for him and saw him bugging my mom's dog, Jake. It was one of those things that I was thinking I had to intervene before he really pissed Jake off and then...oh crap. Jake was barking and then Christopher was crying and holding the back of his head. I take him with me and sit on a chair, holding him and bouncing him and trying to check out how bad it is. My mom started getting ice and I'm asking my dad to get Christopher's blanket out of the backpack which I had, of course, just put in the car. Then, blood is dripping down his head and neck. Crap.

I wiped off the blood with a Kleenex, get some ice on there, get the blanket from my mom, bring him to the couch and turn on cartoons. I'm able to see that it's more a scratch from Jake's tooth and start to breathe normally again. My mom went and picked up some chewable kids' meds for me and Christopher and I each ate a vegan frozen fudge bar thing. He's totally fine but, man, what a crappy end to the day.

I'm excited for Kickapoo and riding my mountain bike as well as for the start of CX season. I'm signed up already for the Half Acre CX clinic and the USGP Sun Prairie. I can't wait for my Specialized Crux to come in. And, thanks to Kim buying my Trek XO frame and some race winnings from last fall and this year, I can cover the cost of the frame. = )

Birthday Parties & Racing/Training

Saturday was Christopher's fifth birthday. He ended up having almost a birthday week. He saw his first movie at a movie theater (Cars 2) on Wednesday. Friday was his birthday party for his friends at the Jump Zone. He had an awesome time, as you can imagine. Saturday he opened his gifts from us, then had his family birthday party at a park and then he got to see the Wiggles, as I had won free tickets. His birthday ended with our neighbors having movie night. On Sunday, we went to the CIMBA race -- Christopher got to do the kids race and play with the other kids so he had a ball.

I went looking at it as a training race. It was four laps of less than five miles of multi-track. As training, it went well. I had my fastest speed on the first lap, as you would expect. But, my fourth/last lap actually had the second fastest speed and I was starting to pick off sport guys. So, the race was a definite success. As a bonus, I won $30 which is going into my new CX frame fund. = )

Macomb & other races

(photos courtesy of Kalib Jackson)

This past weekend I did the Illinois series race in Macomb. It was brutally hot, even in the morning. I pre-rode most of the course before the beginner race, missing one of the turn-offs to the sport/expert loop. It was a fun course. There were log piles, some bridges, etc. However, there was also quite a bit of double-track, which sucked in that I'm usually much better at technical aspects than speed and the double-track was getting a lot more sun.

Christopher did the kids' race on his bike, with newly added brakes. It was almost all grass, which is of course harder to pedal on, but he beat some kids and got a cool water bottle with a chocolate chip granola bar and other items inside.

I finished my warm-up and got to the line with only minutes to spare, which seems to be a trend for me lately. We started and I felt okay and was right on Betsy's wheel. Then, I forgot to downshift for one of the ravine-like sections and had to briefly hop off the bike and run up. At the end of the first lap, I was about six minutes back, which is pretty respectable for me.

Then, I ran out of water. I started with less than I should have and then had some leak out in the fridge. There was an unmanned water station which I really should have been utilizing. I figured I could finish the lap and then totally dabbed on a log pile and realized I was not doing well. I came across a water bottle with a sports top on the trail. I was pretty sure it was one that spectators/volunteers were using to squirt racers in the first lap. Regardless, I stopped and grabbed it. I drank some, poured some on my head, drank some, poured some on my neck & back, etc. I wasted a lot of time but I was able to finish; and, I was able to finish without walking up any of the hills. I should have been smarter (regarding water) and more competitive (not stopping so long) but there were only three of us and I knew that, unless I encountered Bev or Betsy unconscious on the side of the trail, that I'd be third.

I've heard a lot of grumbling about lack of women road racers this year and it is definitely an issue with the Illinois mountain bike races as well. There were only three of us in the expert race and no sport women.

Without a post in more than two months, I've obviously been slacking in the blogging department. I've been really busy with working and trying to watch Christopher so Tom could study for an exam he needed to take for work. That has not left a lot of time for blogging and it has also meant not having a lot of time for training. I've been getting out a couple of times a week, on average, to ride but that's it. I should be doing intervals, etc. for those rides. But, when I know it is likely going to be the only time I can get a ride in all week, I just want to ride singletrack. It's good for my sanity but not good for racing.

Black Partridge Open should have been a great race for me, considering the awesome trails, but it sucked -- I felt off almost the whole race. Jubilee went a little better than that but I still didn't feel like I had my "A" game, like at Mathiessen. Now that Tom has passed the first exam (he needs to take three or four more), I'm hoping things will get a little less hectic for us and I can ride more and start training again. The Meltdown is right around the corner as well as CX.

Woo hoo!

(Thanks to Eric Eiseman for the great photo!)

I decided to race Matthiessen on Sunday. I was a little apprehensive as life has still been pretty hectic and I have not really been training -- riding, yes; but, not really training. There ended up being only three expert girls. Myself, Betsy, who is incredibly fast, and Liz, who I went back and forth with quite a bit last year. The course was technical enough that I thought I could keep ahead of Liz and figured there was no way I'd keep any where near Betsy. We started and I actually was ahead of both of them into the trail. It was a short grass route around trees before the trail but, Liz a good starter and Besty is fast, so I was kind of proud of myself to be the first girl into the singletrack. I gunned it as much as I could and figured Besty would soon pass me. But, holy crap! We were at the end of the second (of four) laps before she passed me on the horrible climb. I actually led the race -- in front of Besty -- for almost half the race. And, I finished less than two minutes behind her. Less than two minutes!!! Full disclosure -- she is on antibiotics after finding out she has had Lyme disease for several years but I'll still take it as a victory. = )

The course was super fun and I really felt like I was riding well for most of it. (I still have a tendancy to dab when someone is right behind me.) My quads are not used to hills like the one at the end of the lap and I'm sure preriding that morning did not help. Several times my quads started cramping up and I did have to walk parts of the hill every time but the first lap. But, I walked only the small muddy section on the last lap and rode the rest.

The course, like I said before, was extremely fun to ride and had rocks, roots, small logs, swoopy turns, etc. They gave everyone socks and I won a cool glass and $60 for taking second place. Very cool.

We made a little trip out of it and camped the RV at Starved Rock on Saturday. Christopher liked playing at the campground's park and at the race with the other kids. He loves trips and thought the worst part about this one was that the trip was too short, since we left home on Saturday afternoon and were home by early Sunday evening. Tom, on the other hand, was miserable the entire time and just in a foul mood -- even though he had just gotten his first pay check from the new job shortly before we left. It's entirely possible Christopher & I may take the next trip with just the two of us. That will be for the Black Partridge race, which we will likely leave for after Christopher's graduation from preschool on that Saturday morning. I can't believe my little guy is turning into such a big boy.

Wilderness Wake Up Mountain Bike race/trip

(Christopher riding his bike Saturday evening)

We decided to take the first RV trip of the year and do the Wilderness Wake Up Mountain Bike race near Peoria this past weekend. The race is a fundraiser for Wildlife Prairie State Park, which has cool critters that have been rescued and could not be re-released into the wild and we got to visit the park for free -- big draw since money's been tight. We drove part of the way on Friday and got there by 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Christopher loved seeing the critters in the afternoon and loved the huge slide the most. After checking out the park, I prerode the course. There are only about four miles of trail but they are great. Turns, rocks, logs -- I was so happy to be on singletrack. It was the first real ride on the rigid fork and I have to say that I really liked it. My arms/shoulders were sore but I felt like I had better control, particularly with cornering.

After I rode, Tom went out and I got Christopher on his bike. He decided he wanted to ride the same trails I did and Tom were on but then I convinced him we should go find Betsy and say hi -- which lead to his first downhill ride. = ) I asked him if he remembered how to brake, which he did, and he made it down the hill pretty much all by himself. I did grab him at one point when he took his feet off the pedals.

Sunday was race day for Christopher and I. His course was all grass. Much harder to ride in and he was not particularly pleased. But, he absolutely loved the little swag bag he got. My race ended up being just me and Bev. I probably should have gone harder but wasn't sure how my body would handle that long on the rigid and, really, there is no way I'm ever beating Bev. So, I enjoyed being on my bike and being on single track -- albeit less since the freeze/thaw made them have to take out part of the course on Sunday.

We got more swag from a raffle and my taking second place and then Christopher and I headed back to the park. There are a total of three playgrounds that we played at and we saw more critters. As we were heading back to the huge slide, we even got to see the bear who wasn't out the day before. Christopher was excited. We still have another portion of the park that we didn't check out yet and plan to the weekend of the Jubilee race.

Overall, it was a great little trip.

First race back

(Speedy fast bike goddess Bev & me after the Tour de Groundhog CX race, photo taken by Amy who took 3rd)

So, as many of you probably already know, breaking a bone sucks. I had broken a finger in grammar school but had never had a serious injury before breaking my leg in October. I was totally unprepared for how long it took to get better. Then, I started freaking out about racing CX again. I had wanted to do the Tour de Groundhog but our finances suck so I thought it was out. Then, I found out Amy was thinking of going. She's now my hero. She ended up paying for the bulk of the gas and I did the bulk of the driving letting her rest just a little of what was a really long day.

Yes, it is insane to drive that far for a cross race. But, I am so glad I got that first race out of the way. It was a very short course -- only about 0.7 miles, I think. A set up double barriers, a slick downhill to a left turn, a slight downhill into some slushy snow (for my race anyway -- it later turned to mud), to a barrier, run-up to another barrier, energy-sucking mud to a short on-street portion, then through a ditch and some turns around trees to finish up the lap.

I started out actually in front of Bev, who is insanely fast but relatively new to CX. I actually kept her behind me for half the first lap and stayed on her heels for a bit and ended the race feeling pretty good about my speed. By the last lap, my going over the set of two barriers was darn near perfect.

I ended up second in our 3-person women's field. But, I felt I raced well and I did finish before all three junior boys.

Once the race was over, I realized that my ankle was pretty sore so I opted to not do another race. But, I also realized that I hadn't been freaking out the whole time about possibly crashing and breaking something. So, it was really a win. I had already spent too much time freaking about that first CX race and am so happy I got it out of the way now instead of stressing for six more months.

As a bonus, it ended up getting in to the 60's so I had awesome weather to be a super fan. = )

What a year

2010 was a hard year for us which was a main reason for the very small amount of blog posts during the year. Who really wants to hear me complain on this blog all the time?

But, the year was not all bad. I was able to buy Rachael's 29er and it definitely made me a better rider. I could ride things that I could not before and the 1x9 made me a stronger rider. I did nine mountainbike races and did well in most of them and also participated in the WORS women's spring fling as well as helped lead beginner women's rides. I rode over Rachael's Log and finally made it up the hill on Garden Grove on the 1x9 in the fall. Christopher loved the trips to the races and keeps asking when we can go to another race. Yes, I have a wonderfully odd little boy. = )

I did do a couple of ABD's indoor time trial series but not all of them and skipped the outdoor time trial to do the Sylvan Stampede. The only other road events I did was the Gapers Block crit series Half Acre put on in March. How could I turn down doing five races for less than $20?

Cyclocross season started great. I did five cross races at the beginning of the season. I was riding well, won a pair of gloves and a little $ and actually earned my first upgrade point. = ) I had offered to volunteer for the Chicago cross series so I could race for $5 a day but only got Jackson Park in before I broke my ankle at the start of the second lap of my sixth race. That obviously sucked.

For 2010, I had a total of 3,235 miles on the bike and nearly 125 miles of running -- not bad since I was off the bike awhile with the broken ankle and, obviously, have not run since it happened Oct. 2.

Work went well to as I now get to do more writing/communications for the League of Illinois Bicyclists -- as well as still being able to work from home and pick my hours, which is an awesome perk.

Otherwise, holy crap was it a difficult year. My Grandpa Welch died at the beginning of the year, after my Grandpa Oudsteyn had died almost exactly a year earlier. Our pet rabbit, Buttercup, also died. Christopher did not know his grandfathers that well so the death of our rabbit is the first death he has really had to deal with. He still tells people -- including random strangers -- that she died and occasionally asks us when she is coming back.

Tom lost his job. Part of his group went with a new firm but things have not been going well at all. His pay was sporadic and his last paycheck was on Sept. 1. The stress has been huge, obviously. I have not been healthy for the entire year -- first, Christopher and I had some type of infection, then I had recurring sinus infections and I broke my ankle on Oct. 1, which I'm still recovering from.

I would love to think this year will be better but it has not been off to a good start. So, I likely will not be blogging much this year either but do hope to ride a lot, even if I don't get any racing in.