Heading to the Southeast - More Clinics and Rides!

We are going to have fun, I can't wait. Check out: http://www.sorellacycling.com/calendar.htm for details. Riding & Racing Tips from Krista Park, Pro-Mountain Biker Thursday, October 9th Peachtree Bikes @ 7:00pm Hooky Day in Ellijay Thursday, October 16th, Meet @ 10am, RTR @ 10:30am Bear Creek/Pinhoti Women's Only MTB Clinic with Pro Mountain Biker Krista Park and Sorella's Laina Hamilton Yellow River Mountain Bike Festival October 18th, 9am-12pm Click here for Festival info

Riding with my Sister-in-Law Traci

Riding around Santa Fe with Traci First ever MTB ride and we were out for almost two hours (and she only went down once), we may have another MTBer in the family...

Green Chile - it's a New Mexico thing

It is that time of year... NM green chile harvest, time to get your green chile for the year. I bought 1.5 gunny sacks. They roast it then you have ~8 hours to get it peeled, into baggies and in the freezer before it spoils (it took me ~4hours. Half of this batch will go to my parents in TN and the rest stocks our freezer for the year. It is completely addictive; luckily we are in town, otherwise we have to order from a place like this: http://www.dagiftbasket.com/ and it gets pricey.

Interbike

Will Call - Thanks Titus for the ticket Cross Vegas Wheel of Fortune with Scott and Danielle

Kenda Matt working

Skills Clinic in Santa Fe, NM

Monday Sept 22nd I was lucky enough to hook up with a local club in Santa Fe, the Pedal Queens. I led an evening skills clinic in a dirt parking lot and had a great time with Devi and friends.

Weekend of Fun Rides

This week was just about riding easy and turned out to be all about the singlespeed. I rode the Santa Fe Dale Ball trails and found some local folks to ride with. Sunday's ride was (a not so easy) 5.5 hours with Todd's MTB mentor Henry. Henry always takes us to a new cool spot. SS wide handlebars and trees... Tent Rocks.

NM State Championship -Super D

Three trips to Albuquerque in three days. Friday to pick up the van (which had needed an new half-axle), Saturday to Cedro for my Super D race, and again on Sunday for Todd's XC race. Saturday SuperD: The Cedro SuperD is my kind of race. Sleep in, get to the course @ 2:00pm, race @ 4:00pm, done 11.5 minutes later. The only problem is that you are more likely to get hurt racing SuperD than racing XC. Earlier in the week, my practice time for the initial rocky downhill was 1:40, I tried to better this time by picking a more direct line over a broken-up rock pile but I crashed hard instead. The small of my back took the entire hit when I landed on a rock shelf. I heard a loud crack (my back) then all the air rushed out of me. It took a bit for me to get up, untangle my bike and start walking down the trail (6minutes according to Polar). I iced it right away and luckily Barbara (Todd's Mom) was stocked up with pain killers and muscle relaxers from her neck surgery. By Saturday I decided that riding in the car, walking, sleeping, and doing chores are really too painful, but riding should be okay. (Plus, there was a cash payout and I was the only Pro Woman registered.) My race time on the first downhill (my favorite part) was 2:00, waaaay slow, but I stayed on the bike; the rest of the course was normal-to-rocky XC. The entire course was really fun. I finished mid-pack in the Men's Pro/Expert field and earned gas money, entry fee and dinner (Thank you NMORS). I didn't even feel my back while on the bike, but later it didn't feel so hot. Sunday XC: Todd raced SS against some really fast guys on a rough and rocky course (so rocky he gave up his rigid setup, tore apart the Scalpel, and put the lefty on the Vassago). During the race I hung out at the van and turned my geared Titus Fireline into a 19 lb singlespeed. Somehow I missed Todd's finish by ~ 2 minutes. I tried to make it, really. There was no way I could walk up the hill (my back) but I could ride -if I could just finish putting my bike together. ;) Todd finished 4th out of 14, ~ 5 minutes off of 1st. He is getting fast, I wouldn't want to race him right now.

VW tranny trouble again

I almost made it home; I am sitting in a transmission shop in Albuquerque... (home for the next few weeks is Santa Fe, NM.)

We had a transmission installed in May (our 3rd transmission), looks like the bolts holding the axle to the tranny were not tightened completely. I pulled into Albuquerque and something went loose on the front end, luckily I was only a block away from my Grandma's so I stayed there the night. This morning I called my Dad and while on the phone with him I found a pile of metal shavings, grease and a bolt sitting on the skid plate below the transmission. Turns out one bolt is missing completely and the remaining ones are loose.

I spent all morning on the phone trying to find someone to take a look at it, Nationwide Transmission was the only one interested. They were on the other side of town but sent a tow truck. They decided to put the one bolt back in, tighten the others, then drive around to see if there is internal damage... High tech for sure. I could be out of here soon or I may need another transmission. My legs still hurt too much to ride, so I am not missing any riding, but my laundry is starting to smell pretty good.

edit#1: No one has a 12-point socket the right size and they can't get one of the bolts out. They should be able to get a tool tomorrow...

AZ pics

After the BH race I decided to check out Flagstaff and Sedona on my way to NM. Hey, gas is only $3.84 now... First stop Flagstaff, a very cool downtown scene. At the brewery I had great veggie/hummus plate with the local pale ale then went next door to get a frozen coffee drink. Guess what? They put baileys in it! Here is the coffee shop's drink special: Camp spot outside Flagstaff Drive from Flag to Sedona. Now this is what I have been looking for. Danielle, I found our shop, and they carry Titus! (They even had a kegerator for after hours.) I sat at the bar, drank a Cappuccino and talked to the mechanic/bartender about all the local trails, riding, restaurants, etc.

UT pics

I was upstaged at the Cedar City coffee shop. Maybe I should write this on mine...

Good dog Jake, not the smartest dog though. This isn't the stick I threw... Thanks to Sue, Tim and Cass for sharing their food and shower after the BH race!

12th in the National Series Standing (in both XC and ST)

The series is now over for 2008. I finished tied for 12th in both the XC and ST series. My goal was to place in the teens in the races and finish with a series standing in the teens. Next year = Top 10. Brian Head ST = 13th Brain Head XC = 14th They both hurt. The ST seared my throat and lungs (I still have a cough from that effort). In the XC I experienced my first-ever, full-on cramping. On the very first downhill my legs seized up, my arms followed shortly, a very weird thing. I tried to walk one section but my toes were pointed down and my legs acted as though they had no hinged parts (knees, ankles, hips), I had to walk on my tip-toes/drag my legs with all my weight on the bars of the bike. At one point I was going around a right hand turn and had all my weight on the right pedal, my legs seized and there was no way I could turn the pedals or shift the weight to the left. In slow motion I went down and there was nothing I could do. I couldn't get my feet out, I had no control of my legs. It seemed to come in waves, I finally figured out if I pushed my heels all the way down and spun without too much power I could ride. I honestly didn't know if I could even finish the race. But, since getting off the bike and walking wasn't an option, I was able to clean everything... My legs still hurt worse than they ever have, what a way to end the season. But no mechanicals!