Race Report: Ocup 6, Kelso

Oh hiii.



Long time no posting, je sais, and I'm sorry about that. But today I had such a fun time at Kelso I am inspired to share a race report!



I haven't been to many races this year so the usual "race stuff" was not coming naturally to me. Hence, I spent all of yesterday preparing, slowly, so as not to forget anything. Even with all that careful preparation, somehow this morning I still managed to leave later than I should have. I arrived at the venue with barely enough time to register before hitting the road to warm up. Yikes!



The drive to Kelso involved torrential downpours so I was not sure what to expect. But the beauty about a weather "limiter" is that everyone has the same one so it is what it is (and it ain't what it ain't.) Luckily, the gods smiled on us and the sun came out just in time for our start. I think it was because I paid my dues riding a time trial in the pouring rain on Wednesday, but I digress.



The start was good ... great, even. Despite being a little flustered over my late arrival, I got myself together and was calm and collected on the line. At "Go", I found myself a spot in the tight pack as we went up the start hill, down the other side and then ended up in a single file as we began the BIG climb. Oh Kelso ... how you hurt us so. For those who aren't familiar, the BIG climb goes from the bottom to the top of the Niagara Escarpment. Parts are in the shade, but most are exposed to the sun. It is steep, long, and hot. And yet somehow I felt GOOD!



I made a move early in the climb and by the second part of this three-parter, I was sitting comfortably third wheel and our group was pulling away from the pack. That is, until I confused my lock-outs with my shifters, mis-shifted and sucked my chain on into the wrong side of the rings -- thank you oxygen-debt. I was too "dumb" to figure out what to do so I tried a couple things then let my heart rate come down to "thinking" and "seeing" levels. By this point, the entire women's field was past me, and the next category was rallying up too. Oh no!



Trying not to panic, I sorted myself out and began my race again, this time with a lot of fire in my belly. I actually wonder if it wasn't a sort of blessing -- although I'd gladly take that time back, thanks! Racing from behind, I was definitely "in the hunt" which is a great way to be. The first lap seemed to fly by and I gobbled up a couple girls. The second was more of the same. My final mark was Erica on the hill, and then it was one final time around. side note: huge thanks to Sean Ruppel for his colour commentary at the top of the hill. For the record, I do NOT have a drinking problem in case you happened to be within earshot.



Anyway, happy to report that besides a recurring chain-suck issue, the race was very "clean" despite slippery conditions from the earlier deluge. I'm super happy to have rode well -- and safely -- and to come home feeling stoked on a job well done.



Here are the results. My time was 2:07:08.84 and the next fastest was Laura at 2:04:22.60 ... that means that even with the stops I had to make (maybe 2-3 minutes total?), I don't think my time suffered all that much. So 6th place, and that's all me, baby!

Race Report: Ocup #6, Kelso

I had a good feeling about Kelso. Despite being laid low with strep leading up to the race, not to mention my general lacklustred-ness this season, I still had a warm little corner of my heart for this race. I followed Steve Neal's advice for the first week after recovering, and then had some great rides at the start of last week to shock ... errr, welcome ... my body back into some kind of shape. Top it all off with a totally zen preride on Wednesday and that would have been plenty for me. But to seal the deal, I had the support of not one, not two, but of SIX whole cheerleaders, just for me. Spoiled!!

Gerhard's parents happened to be in town the weekend of the race and being the good sports they are, were totally game to head out to Milton for race day. Gerhard and Adlar, his little bro, came too. And my parents made the trip from Port Elgin, so my stoke was all time.

Kelso can be an intimidating course, given the ginormous climb right off the bat. But having my squad lining the trail turned my usual strategy of survival into one of actual hunting and bike racing I haven't yet enjoyed this season. They'll have to come to all my races from now on, I think.

Anyway, with G's mom to help move things along in the morning, we got out right on schedule and I even had extra hands to load up all the stuff. Didn't even have to drive. Mellow. She kept asking me what she could do to help and the concept was so foreign to me I had a hard time coming up with an answer. And yet still, she seemed to know what to do. Awesome. We got to the venue, got sorted and then I left them to explore while I got ready.

At this time, I should also mention another contributor to my best race this season: Jerome! On Tuesday night, he was kind enough to give me a crash course on elite level tuning. We went over my bike inch by inch, component by component and lubed, tightened, trued and screwed every possible surface. My bike FINALLY felt like my bike when we were through, and I left with knowledge, a perfectly-squishy ride, and a shopping list. That's not to say the guys in the shop don't do a fantastic job, but they're very busy gentlemen, and haven't usually got 2.5 hours to spend on one bike. Which mine needed. Things were wrong with it I didn't even know could be wrong.

Speaking of the shop, my next thanks is to Owen and the guys for helping me complete and install said list at the shop. All new contact points: grips, saddle and cleats.

Back to race day: installing a new saddle is second only to changing tires for my least favourite bike-maintenance activity. I'm never sure of what I'm doing and it seems like I'm adjusting things forever after, even with careful measurements. It never feels the same. Anyway, with my old saddle bent (how'd THAT happen?) there was no getting around it. Although I suspect that this bent saddle business has a lot to do with why my shoulder pops out all the time. Hmmm. So better to have a saddle that's a bit too far forward or back than one that is literally hurting me. During the race I realized that I move around so much it probably doesn't make that much difference.

Anyway, warm up. Decide to second-guess saddle position. Twice. Back to the van for adjustments.

Get sorted.

Get start bottle from mom.

Get good luck kiss from G.

Get going!

Up we went. Our pack quickly turned into a single file train up the service road climb. The rest of the course was so open and fast that unless you put time into your competition on the climb, you probably wouldn't put much time into them at all. With that in mind, I was happy to be in the front half of our group. And then the girl in front of me stalled, my wheel hit hers, the girl behind me hit mine, and we all had our feet down while the front of the train steamed away.

Thus unseated, I ran for it. Oh my god how I hate to run from a sudden stop when my heart rate is red lined. On the bright side, this little slip made me angry, in a good way, and I put it into my pedals. The result was a pretty awesome little bike race between me and Erica Bota for the first two laps. Back and forth a bunch of times, then riding with each other in sight for sections, before I hit a wall on the third climb and couldn't close the gap. After Erica, I never saw another girl.

But I did see my cheerleaders!! Every lap they were in a different section, snapping pictures, and yelling really loud. Gerhard's dad has a booming voice, and he isn't shy. My mom stood out no matter what in her pretty blue outfit, so even as I came barreling out of the single track, and everything blurs except the trail in front of me, I could see her.

I'll just say one more time, support is so, so awesome. Every mountain bike racer will tell you hearing your name pulls out a little bit more from tired muscles and pumping heart.

So then I finished and stuff. Got a little air on the finishing stretch, collected chocolate milk and congratulated Erica before heading over to regroup with my "team". Congrats to Sue Stephens, the day's winner! The only mark on my day was the mark I left on my bike when I wobbly-kneed tried to dismount and clipped the top tube with my cleat. DOOOOHHHH. Alas. It's a mountain bike, I guess.

Oh, another little story: after the race Chico asked me "for a word". I was worried I was in trouble, and sure enough, someone had apparently suggested that a "female Sweet Pete's Elite rider caused a crash in some double track". Huh? I had no recollection of this run-in and relayed the story of the only time I had contact with another rider. It was when HE hit ME sliding out of a high speed turn. Neither of us went down, and he apologized when he passed me shortly after. Anyway, if there was another incident, and you were involved and are reading this, I assure you, I was not aware of it. I was pushing so hard I had that annoying loss of hearing that feels like there's water in your ear and all you can hear is your pulse and your breathing. So if there was some missed communication I'm sorry, and I'm sorry you crashed.

Besides that little question mark, I was in amazing spirits. I rode well, I rode my best, I had a great result (8th [for the fourth race out of five], collecting 6th place points thanks to two Kiwis from New Zealand's visiting national team ahead of me) and re-ignited the love of going fast on bikes from wherever it was flickering all season. Just in time for fall racing and a winter of getting back on track I'd say.

We closed the day with a proper meeting-of-the-families in Milton at an Irish Pub (that also served Mexican, Greek and Indian) complete with fishing stories.

As if the day wasn't good enough, mom sent us back to Toronto with fresh farm fare, and BAKING. Mmmmm, cracked wheat chocolate chip cookies and fresh zucchini bread. I'm a lucky girl.

Thanks to Mom, Dad, Gerhard, Adlar, Gerhard (G's dad), Christine, Jerome, Owen and the shop, and Steve Varga for feeding me.

Can't believe there's just one left!

Kelso

Opened up my email today and saw the monthly Chico report. Clicked it and to my surprise, I saw ME! A nice reminder of last year's glorious season. I've decided to give Kelso a shot afterall, hopefully to train through for provincials two weeks later. So not really carrying a lot of expectation, but I am excited because it sounds like there will be a cheering section this time. Woo hoo! Plus, I love riding Kelso (except maybe that infamous service road climb).

After email, my next stop was Chicoracing.com to see if the course map is up -- and it is! Looks like a fun old time -- I relish any opportunity to go DOWN the Ugly Up instead of climbing it, so this course is definitely Kris-approved. Hope to get out for preride on Wednesday the 4th, if anyone cares to join.

More photos from Sunday

I'm lucky I've got talented friends! Sean got some great souvenir shots of me from Downhill Day (and some unintentionally hilarious ones, which I'll mostly keep to myself). He was kind enough to forward me the jpegs so here you go! Thanks Sean!

This one makes me laugh because you can see the effects of a borrowed bike up close: Chris likes a wider handlebar than I'm used to and I've got at least 2 inches on either end in extra space! Also, at some point, my elbow pads became wrist guards. I didn't notice until it was time to take them off. Newb.

This one was taken during practice (I can tell because my elbow pads are where they're supposed to be)
This one is on the landing of the log drop. It's huckable but that's not in my bag of tricks yet. Well, a little huck maybe.

The log drop -- and amazing blue skies -- in the background. I saw guys landing outside this frame so I've got a long way to go!

Race Report: Ontario Cup #1, DH, Kelso

I'm exhausted, sunburned and totally stoked. Today was my first time racing Downhill and I'll always remember it.

Yesterday, as I mentioned, I was a little bit unsure of myself. I hiked the hill once to take a look at the course, sessioned some sections I had trouble with (read: every one of them) and then drove home thinking I was in way over my head. I even had a little heart-to-heart with my boyfriend about it in which we decided that maybe if things didn't look better in the morning, I would skip the race and thereby eliminate the risk to my XC season. It seemed clear to me that the potential for serious injury was high.

I woke up early so I could get there with plenty of time to run the course. Things didn't feel better. In fact, I'd had nightmares about the damn thing. But the sun was shining and I had some friends to collect on the way so off I went.

Sean, Jeff and I made the trip in the minivan. I came to race, they came to work on their picture-taking skills. Once I had the loaner bike and all the armour paraphanalia sorted out, we went our seperate ways. I was on a mission to figure out downhill. And I only had two hours to do it.

Photo cred: Jeff Monk. This is me during the race run, trying not to run over Jeff.

I hiked up the ski hill about six times. The lift was taking way too long and I was wasting valuable practice time just standing around. Each run I'd figure out another little thing. But still, before the race I hadn't yet been able to string a clean lap together. My riding was full of dabs [putting a foot down], erroneous braking and expletives. The course looked something like this:

1. Start gate then a straight with lots of room for pedalling, but with a jump (I'm an XC rider and even the smallest possibility of my tires leaving the ground makes me squeamish)

2. Gnarly rock garden starting with a pump section (three undulating bumps that you have to use your whole body to work the bike through or else lose all your momentum)

3. Six foot drop ... which I went around via the "chicken line", which was still steep and covered in rocks and roots, with an off-camber out

4. Flatter pedalling section (yesssss!)

5. Two sets of jumps

6. Log drop to off-camber berms and more rhythm sections

7. Gnarly rock garden

8. Wide open track to the finish ("pedal, pedal, pedal," roar the crowds).

By the time the race rolled around I was exhausted from walking up the hill all those times with a 30 pound bike, fullface helmet and armour (and nowhere to put a water bottle). I did a couple warm up sprints while doing my best not to watch as the other racers took off in 30 second intervals. It would mess with my brain way too much if I saw someone eat it on those rocks. So I just sat in the sun and prayed to Jesus to keep me safe.

Then a miracle!

After spending the whole morning talking about how scared I was, how over-my-head I felt and resigning myself to last place (if I finished at all) I took my spot in the start gate. The numbers beeped down, and I swear, I literally felt a "click" up in my brain and the competitor in me took the wheel. I was focused, calm, relaxed and at last! That smooth run I'd been trying for all morning just happened. I finished happy, and all in one piece so I'd already accomplished all my goals for the day. But to my surprise, my smooth-at-last race run was the fastest of the day for the women's field. I'd won a gold medal! And not like yesterday's ... today there were three other very fast, experienced and respected ladies to compete with.

Downhill was a great adventure, and an exercise in the power of positive thinking. I had such a fun weekend, and only wish I could be in two (or three!) places at once so I could come out to some more, but for now, I think it's back to XC.


After the race, the boys took me to Swiss Chalet, where I was given a yellow balloon and yellow pie in honour of my yellow medal.

Check out the shop's coverage of the event -- a great weekend for Sweet Pete's!

Race Report: Ontario's First Ever Super-D

I was awarded a gold medal today, but I didn't win it. I got it just for showing up to Ontario's first ever Super-D race put on by Sir Bikealot Racing in conjunction with the first Ontario Cup DH race to be held tomorrow.

I watched the pre-registration list throughout the week but there was no sign of other females stoked to try a Super D. So I told myself they must be planning on pre-riding the course, then deciding and registering at the event. Since Super D is a new discipline in Ontario, I thought it made sense that people would like a taste before they dropped 39 bucks on their entry fee. But as it turned out, I knew I'd won the race before I even started. You'd think that'd be a good feeling, but really it just kind of took the wind out of my sails. To keep it interesting, I decided I'd push to see how far into the men's category I could get instead.

Before I tell you about my day in gravity sports, let me lay out some basic information.

What is Super D?
Super D is somewhere between downhill and cross country mountain biking. Although the course points down, you still need to pedal. There are a few uphills, but mostly your momentum carries you. Throw in a some flowy single track, the odd technical section (nothing scary, girls!!) and it's all over in just a few minutes. It's basically everything that's fun about XC (unless you think long technical climbs are fun in which case you're out of luck.)

What kind of bike do you need?
I rode my Trek today which is the same bike I ride for XC races. People also rode 4X bikes and burlier trail bikes (6-inch travel) but certainly you'd be fine with 4 inches of travel and a hardtail. For the record, both the women's and men's fields were won by XC racers ... so I'd say it's kind of our thing.

What do you wear?
I made a point of wearing lycra today because I was in DH-land and they can't stand it. I thought I'd better represent. Full face helmets are necessary on the DH course, but not on the Super D -- I just wore what I wear to XC races. Some people wear ski-style helmets with goggles though. I wasn't too sure about the steeze on that one ... I guess it's cool?

What can I expect?
This morning, rolling into the parking lot, I thought "This'll be easy! Rock n roll!" Turns out you shouldn't expect easy. I was pretty much redlined for the entire 4 minutes and 39 seconds I raced. It's downhill, but it's a sprint too. Plus, unless you're willing to wait in line for an hour to get up the slowest lift in the world, you've got to ride up the ski hill at least two times to the start. In Super D, you must do two practice runs and the commissaire has to see you do it, and mark it on your number plate. Otherwise you can't start the race. I'm not sure how it is in other places (I think some Super Ds run heats?) but at the Ontario Cup, we were started one at a time at 30 second intervals.

That pretty much sums it up. Next time, I really hope more girls and more XC racers go out to show those gravity dudes what's up. It was such a fun course, and it teaches you a ton about carrying speed and cornering. I'm glad I did it, even if it was lonely in the ladies' category.

My day started fairly early as I wanted to practice on the course before the racing started at 1pm. The weather was pretty fair, but once in a while it did rain a bit. It seemed to get colder as the day went on as well so I ended up racing in knee and arm warmers again. I made friends in the morning with the only other person in lycra. We rode the chair-lift together, one back from our bikes dangling precariously by their back wheels and decided we'd just skip the chair for the rest of the day. *shudders*. I chased him down the course a couple times. He races Elite as well in XC so we were both on a little field trip to the gravity side of things. He won his race too. We must have had a lucky chair that morning.

I prerode the course, and also whipped around on the single track gloriousness at Kelso. I ended up doing alot more riding today than I anticipated, and that's a good thing! I didn't really know anyone so I hung out in the minivan eating my lunch and reading a book until it was time to climb the hill to the start.

My race run was fantastic. I did everything the way I wanted to, hit my lines, got some great, positive comments from the spectators, nose-wheelied the finish (although that was an accident ... tee hee) and even gave a young girl a pep talk at her dad's request. I think she'll be ripping it up next Super D. And so should you!!

Once that was all over with, I went back to the car and put on my DH disguise. I grabbed the bike I'm borrowing ... thanks Chris! ... and hiked it up the mountain. The switch from being clipped in to flat pedals was scary. The rocks were scary. The jumps were scary. The drops were scary. Respek to downhillers who make that rough stuff look butter smooth.

Tomorrow is race day again, so I'm off to bed, hopefully to dream about how to string together a good DH race run.

My loaner bike -- Trek Remedy. Suuuch a nice ride.

ABP and X-0 Equipped!!

Obligatory down tube shot ... and custom sticker job

Spy cam captures his royal cuteness. Only 11 weeks old!