Dawn to Dusk Phoenix, AZ Dec 1st 07

Todd and I raced a Phoenix dawn-to-dusk race as a co-ed duo team. We won the co-ed division and beat all the two-men teams (a total of 60 teams) with 8 laps. The weather was basically Southeast winter weather plus wind; cold wind and rain all day for two days. But AZ never gets rain so we were riding through shallow flash floods and washes turned into rivers.

Toward the end of the day Todd started to cross one of the "rivers" and his entire front wheel disappeared, he went over the bars and ended up having to fix a flat. His CO2 didn't work so he had to borrow one from another racer, luckily help was allowed in this race.

We worked really well together and only had one close call. I came by the pit on the way to the exchange tent and saw Todd hanging out with Dejay Birtch. I yelled "What are you doing???", somehow he made it to the exchange tent by the time I got there.

I did the first lap and we alternated every lap, the goal was to try to get dry and warm before going out again. On our 4th lap Todd was really fast, on the next lap my entire goal was to beat his time, I got it by 1 second according to the official times. The lap times were all over the place because the weather (and flash floods) kept changing. I went out the day after (in perfect weather) for an easy/slow recovery spin and did a lap as fast as some of our race laps. Results

How to see the doctor while traveling.

While going through Alabama I needed to get something for the poison ivy I picked up in the SE. This is the most convenient way to visit a doctor's office while traveling: Find an Urgent Care with a really big parking lot, pull in at night when it is empty, turn around, park by the exit and go to sleep. Wake up in the morning 15 minutes before they open, stand outside with three other people, then go wait inside for an hour. But I didn't have to wait in the office the whole hour, I went "home" and had breakfast while waiting. After I got my prescription I walked across to the pharmacy and filled the prescription, again going "home" to wait. Then off toward Arizona.

Gainesville College 6-hour Oct 07

Todd and I raced our first ever "endurance" race. Not knowing what we were capable of, we decided to ride together till about an hour to go, then race each other. The cool thing about a longer race is that you can talk and ride; we had a blast chatting with friends, most of whom we had not seen in the last year. I got in 12 laps along with the top five solo guys. The top solo was Eric Watson, beating my time by almost 16minutes. Results (Thanks for the picture Mark.)

Family Visit, Stone Mountain

My family came down from TN to attend the Yellow River Festival and hang out at Stone Mountain with us. My brother Mikah is now in the Marines and stationed in NC, he came down to beat up on (show love to) our younger brothers.

Yellow River Clinic Oct 07

What a great weekend for rides and clinics. I led the advanced clinic and we had a great group. Thanks to Dave for taking me on a pre-ride of the trails the night before to prepare. Sorba Link

Cyclocross

After leaving Florida we spent the day in Anniston, AL so Todd could put in another day working in Talladega. We rode the Cheaha State Park trails Thursday. Todd worked Friday. I did errands and sat for three hours at a doctor's office trying to get something for the poison sumac, chiggers and fire ant bites that are almost covering me including my face (more welcome to the south items).

Saturday Todd and I did our first cyclocross race (Nashville, TN). Thanks to Dan Hensley and Cumberland Transit I was able to borrow a cross bike. Todd rode his hardtail. We pulled into TN at midnight the night before the race and started the cyclocross DVD that Kari Linder recommended over a year ago. I had ordered it, but never opened it. We got through the mounting and dismounting sections then went to bed. The morning of the race we watched the carrying section while we rushed around getting ready. We got to the race (late), I put my pedals on the borrowed cross bike, took the cages off (didn't adjust the seat or anything) then raced. I raced Pro/1/2, Todd raced Masters 35+, I placed 1st (of only 4 women, but I raced with the Cat3s so had plenty of people to race). Todd started one minute behind us and passed me right before the finish line, he placed 3rd of 12. We did it again on Sunday then had beer and food with Thad, Troy (pictured), Dan and Holly. Thanks to Holly for the good food and place to hang out.

Interbike, Ride with Tinker

Monday and Tuesday was spent at the Bootleg Demo, test riding bikes and socializing with a lot of people we hadn't seen in a while. The doors to Interbike opened Wednesday and we attended the Cross Vegas race. I had never seen a cross race, they made the mounting/dismounting look easy. Todd had to fly out for a job Wed night, I rode a night ride at Red Rock led by Tinker Juarez. There was a big turnout for the night ride (a bike demo ride by Cannondale and a light company). We split into three groups, the fastest (smallest) group went with Tinker, a fast local guy (the leader), 5 other guys (mostly non-American racers) and me.

I was a little worried that the pace would be too fast, but after the first 5 minutes or so (where I thought I would be dropped for sure) it was perfect. It was a fun ride, hammer as hard as possible (for me) then stop and wait. At first everyone was fast and I was in the back, but as guys fumbled I would pass. By the halfway point I was riding 2nd or 3rd, Tinker chilled out behind me, he is the nicest guy, no ego whatsoever. It was pretty crazy, twisty-turny-rocky with a low powered handlebar light that kept coming loose. If I was not on another guy's tail I could not see or stay on the trail. I think I hit my pedals and bottom bracket more times than I have all year put together. There were some super-fast, buff, swoopy sections that were pretty scary (at speed, in the dark), I was riding second through that section and didn't want to hold anyone up. After a really rocky section I got a flat (rear tubeless TTs with Stans). I added air and rode out on less than 20 lbs, the Stans held. After the flat I was leading for a while, big ring semi-rolling section, I got really tired and pulled over to let the whole group by and it was only Tinker and the local leader guy. The three of us came in together, the rest of the group had broken up. :) Thursday October 18, 2007 - 10:22am (MDT)

09/22/07 Leaving NM, Headed to Interbike

Todd cutting us a path out. We knew it would be a little difficult to get out of our parking spot at Todd's Mom's.

Florida con't

Taking the ferry from Jacksonville, FL to Amelia Island. I was not sure we would be allowed on, but there was no problem.

Todd found another State Park with large rig camp sites and a good mountain bike trail. We decided to do a big ride since we haven't spent much time on the bike recently (except the race) and are planning to do the 6-hour race at Gainesville College. 4.5 hours, six laps, at a 4.5 hour race-pace I guess, I was pretty tired when we were done.

I am not used to tight trees anymore, I nailed one with my head and broke the helmet in three places. The cover kept it all together so I could finish the ride.

10/07/07 Hanna Park, FL XC Race

Crazy muddy MTB race in Florida (it had been raining almost non-stop for 7-days). The mud pits were long and deep, so I started practicing cyclocross a bit, at least running (sludging) through the mud and trying to jump back on. I tried a dismount once but it was too nasty muddy with hidden roots and tight trees, I almost wrecked so I stuck to practicing mounting. In addition to the mud, it was really hot and humid. My HR was really high, but my watch display was out due to yesterday's wet pre-ride so didn't know it till I looked at the download. I placed 2nd by 1.11 minutes. It was great to do a Gone Riding race! I really enjoyed seeing Dave and Terri Berger, they always put on a great race. Thursday October 18, 2007 - 11:35am

2007 Fall Trip to the Southeast

Drive, ride, not enough sleep. Drive, ride, not enough sleep. Drive, ride, not enough sleep. I drive late, Todd drives early, pets eat whenever, we sleep when we can. We tried to ride a bit every day just to keep our legs loose. 09/29: Nevada to NM, arrived Tijeras, NM campground 3:00am. 09/30: rode Cedro one last time, drove to TX, spent the night on the road when neither one of us could drive (3:00am-7:00am). 10/01: Arrived Tyler State Park, "East" TX 5:00pm. Rode good trails at the park. HUMIDITY! BUGS! I was soaked just walking out the front door and eaten alive before we unhooked. Welcome to the south. 10/2: Rode Tyler State Park trails again, shipped eBay items out from the local post office, drove east, spent the night on the road when we both needed sleep. 10/3: Arrived Anniston, AL campground ~10:00am. Todd washed up and went into work (Talladega), I went to sleep. That evening was an easy spin on Chief Ladega trail (Silver Comet on the AL side). 9:30pm I started driving toward Florida. (I like driving at night anyway and we did not want to deal with Atlanta daytime traffic.) I got us past Macon and we spent the night at Camping World. 10/4: Todd did some Camping World shopping when they opened then headed to Florida. I stayed in bed for a while. Arrived Hanna Park, FL. Short easy spin in Hanna Park mud, light rain at sunset. 10/5: RAIN, RAIN, RAIN, RAIN. No ride. Shipped some wheels to Germany and Puerto Rico (eBay), found a Starbucks, stayed indoors the rest of the day. No more driving for a few days. Thursday October 06, 2007 - 11:10am (MDT)

Cedro, NM Race 09/16/07

No training, riding for fun con't. One long lap, the most technical race course to date. I placed 2nd, there were 5 Pros, all of which I knew from the National Series. Nina Baum from Albuquerque (Cannondale) beat me by ~ 4minutes. It was a really hard trail to ride blind, but fun and entertaining. Sections were twisty turny, I overshot many turns and couldn't find the lines through the technical stuff riding at race pace. The course was minimally marked, pieces of yellow ribbon hanging in trees. Todd missed one turn, paralleled the trail then got back on. I made a 50/50 guess on one of the turns, luckily I was correct. We had a hard time trying to pre-ride because nothing was marked and there are a million trails out there, we pre-rode some of it and were out there for 3.5+ hours. What made it even worse the course crossed over itself three times, we assumed that wouldn't happen so we pre-rode sections in the wrong direction. The course was great and we will try to attend again next year.

NM

Rock ledges in NM, Dale Ball South

Todd's first ride with Garmin

The riding here is great. We can get some big rides in straight from the MotorHome/Todd's Mom's house. We have only done 4-5 hour rides, but we could do 12+. Todd likes to ride up the ski hill road on the road bike, ~1.25 hour climb at race pace, but I don't see the fun in that. There is a race in Cedro (by Albuquerque) this weekend we may do, it is the most technical and roughest race course I have ever seen, one 23-mile loop.

Riding in New Mexico

Ride up to the "Towers" (top of Santa Fe ski hill, ~12,000ft). We raced back down to try and beat the lightning and rain.

"Tucked Away" at Todd's Mom's Home in Santa Fe

Todd's Mom's home

Only 1.5 miles from the Plaza. After a million k-turns I got us in, no idea how we'll get out, backing out should be fun. Todd's Mom has a new gas range so Todd stole the electrical connection that used to go to the electric range and wired us 50 amp service. (That means we can run both air conditioners, the electric hot water heater, the microwave, the washer/dryer, make coffee, etc. all at the same time.)

Todd installing a 50A connection for the Motor Home

Water, sewer and electric connections, buried under driveway.

Durango (Grandma's) again

Back to Durango for a few days then on to New Mexico. Grandma moves to Albuquerque for the winter so I gave her a lift in the MotorHome. That was a cool drive, she has stories for all the little mountain towns in Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico. And, there were no fingernail marks in the passenger seat armrest.

Salida

Ouch! my arm and my hip. After a great technical ride yesterday with no dabs on some super steep and rocky terrain, I went down today on a plain ol' loose-over-hardpack singletrack. One deep puncture wound, two little ones, bruises and road rash. Our local "tour guides" Margie and Deb headed up to Alpine Tunnel. Saturday September 1, 2007

Salida con't

We are now in Salida, CO; the season is over and I am resting, eating whatever I want (margaritas, nachos, pizza, lasagna, etc.) and riding for fun. Salida seems to be the perfect place for this. We are camped at a nice RV resort and kayaked (duckies) the river behind us with Todd's Step-Dad Chris. Our First Century No picture. Todd and I did our first century, Going Green, in Salida. There were ~180 riders but some did shorter loops. I drafted Todd a good bit on the way to the Cottonwood Pass climb then it was every man for themselves. I was supposed to draft him on the way out and he was going to draft me on the way back, but he didn't eat half of what I ate and I felt really strong at the end so he told me to take off. I finished 1st in 6:08, Todd finished 3rd (he took a wrong turn and added a little distance). Oh yeah, it wasn't a race. Monarch Crest Trail, above timberline. Todd's Mom and Step-Dad came to Salida to visit. We had a great BBQ at their cabin, lots of food and too much drink.

Independance Pass

Drive over Independance Pass (not in motor home).

Snowmass Aug 11th

My Short Track race. see http://velonews.com/news/fea/13110.0.html for video (focuses on leaders, of which I was not). The start pile-up was much bigger; by the time the video turns to look, most of us were back up and on our bikes. I am the second one to cross the screen (left to right) after the pile-up. It is a month later and I still have scrapes and bruises, especially on my hip. Todd 3rd in National Series, Expert 40-44 Tuesday August 21, 2007 - 10:41am (MDT

Durango

Krista riding through the flowers on Engineer Mountain Trail

Engineer Mountain Trail south of Coal Bank Pass

Krista climbing Coal Bank Pass to Engineer Mountain Trail

Above timberline, Todd riding Engineer Mountain Trail

Todd climbing Coal Bank Pass to Engineer Mountain Trail Tuesday August 21, 2007 - 10:06am

July 2nd 2007 Durango, CO

There are awesome MTB trails everywhere. I have been here almost two weeks and have not ridden the same trail twice. Can't wait till Todd gets here, I need someone to ride with.

Grandma's Yard

Monday July 2, 2007 - 05:15pm

Staying at Grandma's

Grandma's home, 30 minutes from Durango, CO. I'll be here for all of July, what a great place. From left to right, pole barn, Grandma's house, Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Jim's RV, the barn, my RV (and red pickup).

Moab, UT

Sovereign Singletrack in Moab, UT. My stopover on the way from Park City, UT to Durango, CO. Early morning or late evening rides are the only options at this time of year, it is hot. An RV park with a trailhead makes me very happy. This was a perfect one-stop-shop, great trail to ride, camping, diesel, propane and I didn't have to un-hook the pickup.

21st NMBS #4 Deer Valley, UT

21st out of ~60 in Saturday's XC. The picture is from Short Track on Sunday, 27th (good for a back row start). Todd placed 5th in Men's Expert 40-44 XC.

My sister Erika crashed out hard, stitches in hip and lots of cuts and bruises. She would have placed 3rd, or better, in Women's Expert 30-39 XC. She has been passing out and thowing up on and off for the last 24 hours.

Thomas Turner had a good weekend. 25th of 87 in Saturday's XC. He crashed in the short track (in the exact spot in my picture above). After getting up to 9th place for a bit (and the wreck) he ended up in 14th of 54. After a visit to the medical tent he headed to the popular Urgent Care to get stitches in his forearm. I am headed to Durango, CO in the morning.

Local Park City, UT Race

Still in Park City, UT. It has been fun training here, I have been able to watch my sister Erika's last three races. She placed 1st Expert each time, in a class of 8-13 racers, obviously having a great 1st Expert year.

Todd and I raced the local race this weekend. They start each class ~1minute apart, Pro Men followed by Expert age groups, Pro Women, Sport Men age groups, Sport Women, Beginner Men age group, Beginner Women. So everyone is out there together. A lot of the sport guys hammer the first lap passing Pro women then fade and we pass them back. The course we raced was not a passing course which made things interesting... It has also been a while since I have had to feed myself, it worked out well, I didn't drop any bottles.

On the last lap I had a crazy wreck where I hit a rock with my pedal, my left foot came out of the pedal, I stuck it in my rear spokes, the rear wheel locked up (at 15mph) I skidded down the trail thinking that my foot was about to break, then finally fell over in slow motion when I didn't have any speed left. I lay on the ground with my bike on top, my foot still stuck, (threaded over the left chain stay, through the bladed spokes, then out under the right chain stay so the wheel wouldn't go forward or backward), my legs were cramped up by having them in such weird positions and I was sure I was about to get run over by a Sport guy. Eventually I was able to untangle my foot and get back on the bike, a little while later both inside quads (adductors?) cramped and I still had the last climb to do. So, don't put your foot through your rear spokes... Erika placed 1st/13 in Women's Expert (by 5 minutes), Todd 3rd/11 (1 second behind 2nd) 40+ Expert, I got 4th/11 in Pro Women.

Got my butt kicked ...on my first ever Girl's Only ride

My sister Erika and her friends are trying to kill me. Audrey, Erika and Jody all raced Expert the day before and said today's ride would be a "mellow" 3-4 hour ride.

I almost turned back on the first climb. I didn't get any pictures of the race, but they were awesome, placing 1st (Erika), 2nd (Audrey) and the long distance racer of the bunch, Jody, placed 5th while wearing her expedition size camelbak. The Intermountain Cup series is a pretty tough series which means these girls are fast.

Krista, Erika & Audrey

This is early season riding in Park City. Jody was a great tour guide, I learned the area pretty well during this ride. Thanks Jody.

Now in Utah

Mirror Lake Hwy (Hwy150) nice long ride.