During the first weekend of November, I went to Roamfest Sedona, a women’s mountain biking festival weekend. This event is essentially a party on bikes all weekend! I went last year and had such a good time that I decided to go again. The format was the same as last year: lots of group rides, workshops, and general hang out time with old and new friends; good food and drink all weekend; lots of free stuff provided by the festival and the onsite vendors; clean portapotties, haha. The biggest difference this year is that I knew what to expect and therefore, was MUCH more efficient in what I packed. I drove up with a couple of friends and shared a hotel room with a friend 5 minutes away from the festival venue, which was VERY convenient!
The festival provided demo bikes for people to test ride. I demoed 6 bikes and rode them on the same trail to make it easier to compare the bikes. The bikes I tried, in order of the photos below, are: 1) Transition Scout, XS frame and S frame, 2) Pivot Shadowcat XS frame, 3) Rocky Mountain Instinct, S frame, 4) Rocky Mountain Element, S frame, 5) Pivot Mach 6, XS frame. I really liked the Shadowcat, Instinct, and Scout. Did not like the Pivot Mach 6 at all. I’m slowly narrowing down potential new bike options…
The non-biking activities I participated in included a climate advocacy discussion, a bracelet making session, and a silent disco. The disco is one of the funniest group activities I’ve ever done! Everyone had their own headphones, which connected to 2 different music playlists. You chose the song you wanted to dance to. When I took my headphones off, it was hilarious to hear the (somewhat off-key) singing of all the ladies, but no actual music recording. Most of the group wore costumes, which added to the fun.
Of course, riding mountain bikes in Sedona means sharing beautiful views with lovely people. Looking forward to next year!
Hello, dear readers! It’s late October, which means summer is finally OVER here in Phoenix, AZ. Mornings are actually pleasant and, dare I say, a wee bit chilly, which is such a welcome change from the months of heat, humidity, and general crankiness (I’m not referring to myself at all…). I’ve been enjoying the option of riding later in the morning or — gasp! — late afternoon.
One recent highlight I wanted to share was a spontaneous girls’ weekend in Sedona last month. A few friends and I decided to check out some new-to-us mountain bike trails and visit a couple of mountain bike coach friends in Sedona. Not much to say, other than a great time was had by all. Gorgeous scenery, silly photos, and awesome friends = wonderful time.
Hard to take a bad picture in Sedona.ExuberanceAmo, me, Joanna. Amo and Joanna are 2 fantastic mountain bike coaches based in Sedona.Action shot!Just look at that red rock!We visited the Amitabha Stupa park, which is an outdoor venue for prayer and meditation.Our 2nd day started with a photo opp by a sinkhole!Showing off our best sides in our Shredly mountain biking shorts!Another fun photo.Heidi and I attempting some partner yoga on top of the “Ant Hill.”
At the end of last year, I wrote a list of mountain bike goals for 2022. I realized today that I’ve achieved most of them! Here is my list:
Ride 2,000 miles this year.
Complete the Whiskey 30 race in one piece. (DONE! For proof, check out this blog.)
Learn how to jump intentionally, not accidentally. (I’ve taken a jump clinic and have actually jumped intentionally during rides!)
Go to a bike park for the first time. (DONE! Went to Angelfire in July. For proof, check out this blog and that blog.)
Continue working on my list of technical features. (This will always be a work in progress, but notable achievements include clearing 3 rocky sections on the lower National trail at South Mountain.)
Build endurance to ride my first dirt half century, i.e., 50 miles. (Still working on this one.)
Continue the skills practice by taking clinics and practicing specific skills on my own. (Still working on this.)
Continue to meet and encourage beginner riders to ride. (DONE! I just started my weekly ladies’ mountain bike ride again!)
Not too shabby! Still have time to knock off a couple more items….
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to participate in the Homegrown women’s downhill clinic at Angelfire Bike Park in New Mexico. I’ve wanted to ride at a bike park for the past year and now I FINALLY know what it’s about! During the summer, a lot of ski resorts offer downhill mountain biking, which I learned is very fun to do. You ride the chair lift up to the top of the mountain, then pick the trails you want to ride down. Even though I knew that there is no uphill riding, it was kind of foreign to me to NOT pedal much at all!
Riding the chair lift with my friends Heidi (left) and Jess (right).
I drove to the clinic with 3 other ladies from my mountain bike group in Phoenix. The clinic was spread over 2 days and focused on several topics, such as bike park etiquette, jumping technique, and cornering technique. We got to practice what we were learning all day on the trails.
We left Phoenix on Friday morning at 5am. Drive time is about 9 hours, but with a couple of stops for gas and a leisurely lunch break, we ended up arriving at Angelfire around 5pm, just in time for the clinic’s happy hour. All 70 clinic participants were sorted into about 10 small groups and during the happy hour, we met our respective coaches, some other ladies, and enjoyed snacks and drinks. After happy hour, my crew went back to our rooms at the Angelfire Resort to get our stuff organized for the next day and to GO TO BED!
Our bikes locked and loaded and ready to go!Cool mural at our lunch spot.We made it! At the happy hour (Gina on her phone and Jess making a ‘peace’ sign).
Saturday: we all met at the Homegrown tent near the chair lift, then split into our small coaching groups. After official introductions, we got on the chair lift (the “Chile Express,” probably named after New Mexico’s famous green chilies?) to the top of the mountain! The small groups were generally split up according to level, which was based on the questionnaire we all had to fill out prior to arriving at Angelfire. I believe that most of the groups started day 1 with a review of fundamental bike skills, such as body position and braking. It was good we started with the skills, because that gave me a chance to get to know my rental bike (Trek Slash 8, 29″ wheels, 160/170 travel). The temperature was perfect and SUCH a treat after dealing with the Phoenix heat.
Meeting the coaches.All the ladies from my mountain bike group! We had a great group from Phoenix!My first chair lift ride!View from the lift.
After the skills session, we got to do our first run (i.e., descent down the mountain). My group had 6 participants and 2 coaches and during each run, my coaches would stop at a certain point to demonstrate a specific skill, such as jumping. (For those familiar with Angelfire, the trails we rode that day included Ziggy, Combi, Diesel, Turbo Diesel, Sierra, and Jazz Hands. All are fun and feature lots of berms and jumps.)
After lunch, which was provided (box lunch: croissant sandwich, chips, cookie, water), we learned that the lift closed due to lightning (and rain). This is normal because of monsoon season. The lift opens when there are no lightning strikes for at least 30 minutes. If there is lightning within a single 30 minute timeframe, the clock is reset. Turned out that the lift would be closed the rest of the day. Therefore, instead of riding, my group snagged a covered spot and practiced trackstands (i.e., balancing on the bike without moving), played cornering games (ride in a square), practiced front wheel lifts, and learned about suspension. Very productive, educational, and creative!
Some of the ladies from my Phoenix mountain biking group met up at El Jefe’s (the Mexican restaurant right by the resort) for yummy margaritas and snacks and to discuss day 1. Then, I decided to eat some of my own food for dinner back in my room, after which I met up with the girls at the resort’s hot tub to unwind and relax. I was tired!
Sunday: All the small groups went up the chair lift to do as much riding as possible. My group focused on jumping for the morning session. I can’t believe I can jump now! It’s so fun to get a little air on the trail. This day marks the first time I was able to jump on the trail…so exciting! We also played around in the “drop zone,” which includes 4 wooden platforms of varying heights that you can “drop” off of. I’m not quite ready for the bigger drops! After all that jumping and dropping was a very tasty lunch of burgers and potato salad (and a cookie!). Tasted so good.
The 4 drops in the “drop zone.”Lunch! I got an Impossible burger. Yay for vegetarian options!My small group.
Our afternoon session was NOT cut short by inclement weather. However, we DID end early for the clinic’s raffle. All of our names were assigned a number and then randomly selected for fantastic prizes, like Dharco pants, Wild Rye apparel, an Outbound Lighting bike light, mtbvibes jewellery (made by one of the clinic coaches, Joanna Yates), and hats. I won a fun pair of earrings I’ve had my eye on for a while! We all got free t-shirts too. And….that’s the end of the clinic. But wait….there’s more! All of us Phoenix ladies had dinner at the Peruvian restaurant near the resort to celebrate a great weekend (good food! I’d come back). Then, most of us went to the hot tub to relax. That hot tub worked because I was super tired. Ah…bed….
Waiting for the raffle to begin.Me with my earrings that I won, courtesy of Joanna!Look at the little leopard!So. Many. Bikes.At dinner with the Phoenix crew.Enjoying some patio time.El Jefe’s patio (Mexican restaurant beside the resort).
Monday: bonus day! Three of my friends and I decided to stay an extra day to practice all the things we learned. I rode my own bike (Pivot Mach 4) which felt unstable and small after riding a downhill bike! Because of that, I opted not to ride any black trails. I noticed that I did not feel as stable on my bike as I did on the rental Trek Slash 8. Also, the Trek’s wheels are 29″ and my wheels are 27.5″. I felt like the Trek rolled over chunk much easier than my Pivot due to the wheel size. (Note to my Self-Appointed Trainer (SAT): I may be looking for a new bike soon….)
My group took a lot of fun pictures during our first run. We were having a great time riding the trails and enjoying the beautiful scenery. For the second run, my group split into two. Gina and Heidi wanted to check out some black trails and Jess and I decided to ride all of Easy Street, which is a really fun green trail with lots of opportunities to practice cornering. During one break, we met Russ from North Carolina, who took our picture. We were not expecting to see him again, but we saw him at the bottom. Because the others in my group wanted to check out more black trails, I thought it would be good to ride with him, since he seemed to be more interested in riding intermediate/blue trails. So, that’s what we did! It was fun and I played tour guide, showing him some trails my small group did on the weekend.
The lift was closed from about 12:30pm to 3pm because of lightning, so we decided to have lunch at El Jefe to try and wait out the lightning. When the lift opened up, I opted to take the opportunity to shower and pack. I mean….since the others weren’t around, I could take a long shower, haha. We enjoyed a final hot tub session, then went to bed.
Group picture.Being silly on the trail.This little chapel is at the top of the mountain!Showing off my muscles, haha.Cool rock cairn.Me and Jess.Me and Russ.Me with professional enduro racer and one of the clinic coaches, Stefanie McDaniel.Our helmets in formation at lunch.
Tuesday: This day is a blur, as we got up at 4am (NM time) because we planned on leaving at 4:30am. Good thing we packed up most of our stuff in Heidi’s car the night before. I got back to my place shortly after 2pm (AZ time). Yay to seeing my kitties! Yay for not crashing on my bike!
So many takeaways!: It’s hard to remember EVERYTHING I learned, but some of my main takeaways include the following:
2-1-0: This refers to how you enter a “berm,” i.e., corner. You don’t want to brake while cornering. I learned that you should use both brakes just before entering the berm, then just use one brake while cornering, then let go of the brakes to maintain speed and even gain a little speed while exiting the berm.
Inquisitive turtle: As you are cornering, turn your head in the direction you WANT to go. You always want to be looking ahead.
Chicken wings: Keep your elbows bent while riding down steep sections….and while cornering. This gives you room to navigate drops and turns more efficiently.
Pop butt out: This helps to flatten the lower back and straighten the legs a bit to rest them. I found that I was staying in a squat position a lot while riding downhill, which fatigued my legs. Sticking my butt out reduced the pressure on my quads.
It’s been a while since we spent a weekend with our friends Carl and Lifan. We finally scheduled Memorial Day weekend to camp and mountain bike on Mingus Mountain, near Jerome, AZ, because my SAT (self-appointed trainer) was excited to show us some of the trails he’s enjoyed the past year. I was excited to escape the Phoenix heat, which was — and is — ramping up.
Both my SAT and I took Friday off work and we spent a few hours in the morning packing and getting the last details in place before heading out. When we left at around 11am, my GPS said that there was a crash a bit north of us on the I-17. Therefore, we decided to take the scenic route through Yarnell and Prescott to Mingus. Neither of us had taken that route to Prescott before and were pleasantly surprised at how pretty the drive was. We were enjoying the lush trees (yes, in Arizona!) and charming ranch houses so much that we neglected to take pictures. I’m guessing that all of the green is due to the multiple springs in the area, marked by signs indicating “Hidden Springs,” or “Iron Springs,” etc.
We arrived at the dispersed camp area around 2:30pm. (We decided to disperse camp rather than stay at the Mingus Mountain campground because our friends were bringing their dogs and the campground wouldn’t be conducive to letting the dogs roam freely.) After driving up and down the gravel road, we staked our claim to a large, lovely, tree-covered campsite. We had to drive up the gravel road about 5 minutes to get enough cell reception to text our friends the campsite location; we were going “off the grid” this weekend!
We set up camp shortly after this picture was taken.
A couple hours after we set up camp, our friend Ian arrived in time to start making dinner (Impossible burgers and potato salad). Delicious! Pretty soon, it was time for bed. We opted to sleep in the back of our truck and yes, it was pretty cozy. 😉 Good thing that nighttime temperatures were cool (about 8C / 45F).
The next morning, we awoke to see free range cattle grazing in our campsite! I love seeing wildlife. 🙂 While enjoying a leisurely breakfast (vegan blueberry muffins, vegan quiche, gourmet coffee), we discussed how to set up the shuttle for the day’s mountain bike ride. (For the uninitiated, a mountain bike “shuttle” refers to when (at least) 2 people drive 2 cars to where the ride ends. Then, after parking 1 car at the endpoint, both people drive the other car back to where the riders are. THEN, everyone (and their bikes) piles into the car for the drive to the trailhead. This process is adjusted depending on how many riders, bikes, and vehicles are available/needed. It took my SAT and Ian 2.5 hours to set up our shuttle (thank you!).
Watching the cows from inside the truck bed!My SAT and Ian measuring and hand-grinding their coffee beans. Addicts unite!Ian made quiche! Very fancy (and yummy).
Carl and Lifan arrived mid-morning with their lovable doggies, Millie and Nala. After they settled in, we all packed into the truck (yes, all 5 of us in the cab!) and drove to the trailhead. We started with trail #9037, followed by the Black Canyon trail #114, then ended with the Gaddes #110 downhill. I think the word of the day was “adventurous,” because most of us found the first half of the ride to be fairly challenging. Why? Because the trail:
was very narrow singletrack
was overgrown (because the trail wasn’t ridden much by others and therefore not maintained)
featured lots of loose rock
was steep and exposed (i.e., the trail overlooked a canyon. Not good for those afraid of heights!).
So….yeah. That first half was a bit beyond my comfort zone. Oh. Right. I already said the ride was challenging. 😀 We went slowly and honestly, I felt like we weren’t ever going to finish the ride. I fell along one steep section because it was covered in slippery pine needles. After I fell, Lifan, who was behind me, fell in the same spot, then her husband, Carl, who was ahead of us, turned around to come back to us and then HE fell. My SAT tried to encourage us, saying that the trail would widen and that it would get easier…soon….However, before the trail got better, we had to navigate one very short and steep “hike-a-bike” (HAB) section, which is exactly as it sounds! The top of the HAB section was the physical high point of the ride, if not the psychological high point. When we reached the top, we were greeted by very gusty wind and great views. Finally! The trail DID start to open up and it became a bit smoother and easier, allowing all of us to ride much faster. We all reached the bottom safely and were extremely happy to see Ian’s Tesla waiting for us. Hooray! My SAT got everyone Cokes and snacks at the nearby Maverick gas station, as a peace offering, then we went back to camp. Overall, the 12 mile ride took 4 hrs 15 minutes (yes, that includes breaks, but still…) and although it did feature more challenges than I anticipated, it was still great to enjoy the cool temperatures and beautiful scenery with friends. Nothing like suffering together to solidify friendships! Back at camp, we devoured burgers and potato salad (again, but who cares?), with raspberry crumble bars and cookies. Food seems to taste better outside….and after exerting considerable physical and mental energy, haha. After some hangout time around the kerosene lamp fire (there is a fire ban, which means NO campfires), we all got ready for bed.
All 5 of us in the truck cab. Ian is driving and I’m sitting on my SAT’s lap.Took a wrong turn at the start of the ride and ended up at the lookout point.Too bad the wrong turn meant we climbed for nothing.Views were pretty nice!Top of the HAB section. Happy to be done the HAB section.More smiles, now that we reached the easier part of the ride!So. Much. Green.We survived! Check out the Tesla and the 4-bike rack! (My bike is INSIDE the Tesla, because it’s the smallest bike.)
We all enjoyed another leisurely morning on Sunday, with lots of oatmeal, coffee, fruit, and conversation. Our friend (and Ian’s GF gf, i.e., gluten-free girlfriend) Vanessa arrived. Because none of us were looking for another strenuous ride (apologies to my SAT, haha), we decided to do a couple more moderate downhill trails (specifically, trail #533 and a couple of connector trails). We did have to do a shuttle, but this time, it was much less involved. This time, all 6 of us were in the truck: 4 people in the cab and 2 people, plus 2 bikes, in the back of the truck. The rest of the bikes were on the bike rack. My SAT and I elected to “take one for the team” by riding in the back of the truck. It wasn’t too uncomfortable, mainly because the drive was short and the 2 borrowed pillows from Carl and Lifan helped to cushion our aging knees. 🙂 The mountain biking this day was really fun, with enough flow and technical sections to provide (appropriate) challenge and lots of smiles. 10/10, I totally recommend.
Relegated to the back of the truck!How many people can one truck hold?Fun ride with good people.
After arriving back at camp, a few of us tested out our solar shower. Verdict: 2 thumbs up! It felt amazing to clean up a bit. We made tofu tacos for our last camp dinner, then hung out in Carl and Lifan’s Sprinter van with their dogs to end our last evening together. All too soon, morning came, and we all parted ways. Thanks for a great weekend everyone!
Our solar shower. Fill the black bag with water, let bag lie in the sun for several hours, hang from tree, and voilå! Nala, left, and Millie. Two tired doggies cuddling in the van.
Hello and happy 2022, dear readers! Yes, I know we’re well into February. Despite my best intentions to maintain this blog in a timely fashion, I’ve been busy living my life, which is probably a great thing to do, especially in light of a certain global pandemic that is still in our faces 2 years later…I have a couple notable events to catch you up on, so let’s get started!
One of my mountain biking goals this year is to successfully finish the Whiskey 30 race at the end of April. This race is called the “Whiskey Off-Road” and has several course options: the 15-proof, 30-proof, and the 50-proof. What does “proof” mean? “Proof” is defined as twice the alcohol content by volume. For example, a whiskey with 50% alcohol is 100-proof whiskey. Anything 120-proof would contain 60% alcohol, and 80-proof means 40% of the liquid is alcohol.
This race will be my first solo race and the most difficult in terms of distance and elevation. The 30-proof option is about 32 miles long with about 3,300 feet (1000 m) of elevation. Additionally, the race is in Prescott, which is at a higher altitude than Phoenix, so breathing may be affected. (Actually, I fully expect my breathing to be affected. That, along with all the climbing and all the rocks, will most likely adversely affect my performance!)
As soon as I said to my SAT (self-appointed trainer, a.k.a., my husband) that I was doing the Whiskey 30, his eyes lit up and he happily proclaimed that he would “help” me train. And thus it began. The first major training ride we did was in mid-January and was….hard. Of course. We invited our friend, Ian, to join us because misery apparently loves company. That, or my SAT wanted to ensure that I wouldn’t complain too much by having someone else along for the ride. (Ha! I didn’t complain hardly at all!) We rode the “Around the Mountain” (ATM) route, which simply means that we rode our mountain bikes all the way around South Mountain. The route is 35 miles long with 3,300 feet of elevation, which is almost the exact statistics for the Whiskey 30 route. Did I mention it was hard? The first half wasn’t so bad because I already was pretty familiar with the trails. But….I basically died on the second half. There was SO MUCH climbing! However, I didn’t complain hardly at all (out loud). (Note: Yes, I already said that, but it’s worth noting because “not complaining” was actually one of my goals for this ride. So there.) My left quad complained a lot. It cramped up several times, the last of which brought me to my knees. I was SO HAPPY when the ride was done and questioned my decision to race the Whiskey.
View from the north side of South Mountain. We were riding the Ma-Ha-Tuak trail.Ian and I look happy. This is before my leg started cramping.My SAT always looks happy on a bike, especially when he takes me on loooong rides.Quick break.What?? There’s MORE climbing??
As you may know, I’m part of a women’s mountain biking group here in Phoenix. The group’s name is Hawesaholics Babes Ride On, or HBRO for short (pronounced “H-bro”) because most of the members live in the East Valley near the Hawes trail system. I’ve been a member for just over a year and have enjoyed getting to know a lot of women who love mountain biking. At the end of last summer, the group founders asked me if I would consider leading a weekly beginner ride at South Mountain (SoMo) for the ladies who live near SoMo. They saw that I was riding consistently and was organizing a few group rides here and there. I thought that would be fun, so agreed to take on that role. I’ve now been leading beginner group rides since September and have met a lot of other ladies (some of whom live really close by me!), improved my ride-leading skills, and have had a lot of fun.
A couple of weeks ago, the HBRO group had its “Galentines prom” event, which is one of its three major events for the year. We all got to dress up in fancy, prom-style dresses, enjoy going out to a nice Italian restaurant, and hang out with each other while we were clean and pretty and NOT wearing helmets! The big surprise for me that night was being crowned HBRO’s “Queen of the Mountain” (QoM). Essentially, the QoM is nominated by other HBRO members and the QoM title is awarded to someone who contributes to the group/mountain bike community and is a good mountain bike ambassador. Apparently, my weekly rides and a few other events I’ve organized are appreciated! It was a humbling but awesome experience to be acknowledged and appreciated publicly. Not gonna lie, the ladies made me cry! Also, that crown is HEAVY. It was a fun night that I’ll look back on very fondly!
Some difficulties with the crowning.Almost crowned…Newly crowned!With the HBRO founders: Robin on the left and Tiana on the right. Tiana is wearing her ACTUAL prom dress from high school! Tiana is also a LOT closer to high school graduation than most of the HBRO ladies!I had to take the crown off because it kept slipping off my head! I’m with two good mountain biking friends (Vanessa on the left and Gladys on the right). Group picture!
What’s coming up in March? Well, I have a birthday ride in Sedona and a jump clinic to learn how to “get some air” safely, along with my weekly beginner ride and Whiskey training rides. Stay tuned for more updates!
Last weekend, my SAT and I rode part of the Black Canyon Trail (BCT). The BCT is about 80 miles long and roughly parallels the I-17 in Arizona. It’s surprising that so many people who drive the I-17 to and from Phoenix have no idea that there’s an amazing trail just beside and below them. Most mountain bikers who ride the BCT select a specific section or two, rather than ride the entire trail. We chose to ride the Copper Mountain loop, which is a 15 mile loop that is SE of Prescott. The loop starts at the Big Bug trailhead (note: I think the reason the trailhead is called “Big Bug” is because of all the HUGE grasshoppers (or whatever they are) in the area). I was pretty impressed by the beauty of the area: lots of green due to all the rain we’ve received this monsoon season, red dirt, lots of prickly pear cacti and purple rocks. The loop itself is probably an intermediate-level trail; it isn’t extremely technical overall, but there are definitely sections that feature rock gardens (i.e., bunches of rocks clustered together) and some exposure.
Starting the ride.
Nature is beautiful.
Riding through a rocky gap.
Got to take a picture of my SAT!
Expansive views.
Lots of prickly pear cacti.
I need to improve my selfie game.
More prickly pear cacti.
And even more…
Made it back to the trailhead!
Those bugs are HUGE!
I earned my fries. 🙂
One thing I started doing this fall is lead a weekly ladies’ beginner ride at South Mountain. I’m part of a Phoenix-area ladies’ mountain biking group and was riding so much that the group leaders noticed and asked if I would like to be a ride leader. Of course I said yes! I’ve had a lot of fun meeting new ladies and showing them some things I’ve learned since I started working on my riding skills last year. In addition to my weekly rides, I plan on organizing longer weekend rides every so often. Today, I led a Hallowe’en-themed ride at Browns Ranch and my little group had a great time enjoying the scenery and taking lots of fun photos.
My very colourful group!
Just “bee”ing myself!
Holding up Balance Rock.
Polly (my bike) in front of Balance Rock.
It was a beautiful morning!
Balance Rock behind us…
…and in front of us…
I like this photo.
Handing out candy at the end of the ride.
I have a couple fun events coming up to round out the year, including ROAMfest, a women’s mountain biking festival that focuses on all things bike-related (note: ROAMfest is next week!!) and the Dawn to Dusk race in December, during which I’ll be part of the same four-person team as my Bear Jaw race in August. I’ll make sure and post writeups of those events, so stay tuned!
In my last post, I mentioned that I was going to race the Bear Jaw Groove race. Well, I did! The race was yesterday and my four-person team did splendidly. The race was held at the Arizona Nordic Village and the race format is simple: ride as many laps as you can in 6 hours. Each lap is 11 miles long. Obviously, the solo and duo team riders had it a bit harder than the four-person teams because they don’t have as long of a break in between laps. It was pretty easy to tell which riders were the solo riders because they were all super skinny, wore spandex, and had intense gazes. Kind of like the solo male winner:
He rode 77 miles, i.e. 7 laps, in 6 hours. That’s almost 7,000 ft of climbing. If I worked that hard during a ride, I’d eat ALL the fries.
I got into Flagstaff around 3:15pm on Friday. I thought I was beating the traffic, but quickly learned that move-in day for Northern Arizona University (NAU) was that day. Traffic in town was SO BUSY. I got to my airbnb and decided against going downtown for dinner because I didn’t want to face traffic again. Instead, I walked to the closest Safeway and picked up some items for dinner and lunch the next day.
My airbnb was a cute little bedroom in a single-family house with its own private entrance. The family owns a few chickens and the coop is right next to the airbnb entrance. I really enjoyed meeting the chickens and hearing their quiet “clucks” during my stay. (When I told the chickens I don’t eat meat, they seemed to appreciate that fact, haha!)
My cute little airbnb
The airbnb chickens!
Race day! For those of you who’ve never been to a mountain bike race before, it’s basically a big party. Yes, there’s an actual race, but there are also things like food trucks, vendors, live music, and activities for families such as a kids’ bike race. I was with a group of ladies from Hawesaholics Babes Ride On (HBRO), a ladies’ mountain biking group in Phoenix. We all arrived at the race site by 8am, set up our home base, and got our bikes and ourselves ready to go.
Race swag
HBRO racers right before the race started
My four-person team
Some of the vendors’ tents
The finish line!
Our HBRO area….lots of bikes!
Like I said earlier, the race course is 11 miles long. For the four-person teams, one racer rides the course at a time. When one racer finishes, the next racer will start riding. I was the second person to go on my team, which worked well for me. I didn’t have to deal with the mass start and I had a bit more time to get mentally prepared.
My new Canada gloves. I may be an American citizen now, but I’ll never forget my Canadian roots!
Right before I set off for my lap
The race course is not a technical one, i.e., riders of all levels can ride this course. My team pre-rode the course a couple of weeks before the race, so we had a good idea of what to expect. The most annoying part about the course is the climbing; almost half the course is uphill. It’s one of those steady grinds that seem to go on forever. Not fun. But, after the climb, the rest of the course is mostly downhill, which is way better! I had a couple of goals for the race: 1) beat my pre-ride time of 1 hour 40 minutes (I felt like my pre-ride time was slow because the ride was a big group ride and there were lots of stops to get people acquainted with the route) and 2) do my first lap in 1 hour 15 minutes. I met both goals!
I’ve had a few people ask me what I thought of the course. Aside from my course description above, my top three highlights — in no particular order — during the race were:
riding through the Aspen trees (I WISH I could have taken a picture! It was so pretty there!);
hearing a guy behind me yell “I was trying to keep up with you but you’re totally bombing the downhill!” (TRY HARDER, DUDE). Oh, FYI, “bombing” refers to racing down a trail as fast as possible. I left that guy in the dust. Literally!; and
pedaling as fast as I can towards the finish line in case a photographer was there to capture the moment (I wanted to look intense…you know, like a REAL racer).
My whole team did really well and we were very happy to learn that we placed first in our category!
Right after the race ended. We decided to wear our matching tank tops for the post-race photo. 🙂
Right after the awards ceremony
Cool medal! It’s also a bottle opener!
Ok….so full disclosure….we were the only team in our category (four-person team, women). HAHAHA! But hey, it’s still cool that we did the race and even cooler that we have a souvenir (i.e., medal)!
I had a really fun time and I’m glad I did this race. I got to know some awesome ladies better and we are all doing another race together in December! Stay tuned for more training and event stories!
It’s mid-August, which means it’s STILL summer in Phoenix….which means “monsoon season,” which means hot and humid. July and August are the “monsoon” months and the Phoenix area usually gets most of the rain it gets for the year during these two months. I’m good with watering the desert; after all, the desert needs water too! Also, rain helps keep forest fires at bay, which is a very good thing. However, all this watery monsoony goodness means humidity and when you combine humidity with high heat….yuck. I’m still trying to get out and ride most mornings, but I’m not gonna lie….it’s really difficult to get up early and ride, when you know you’re going to be SOAKED at the end of the ride. And not because of rain. Because of sweat.
However, a couple of distractions have been helping to keep me on my bike. The first distraction is a little race coming up on August 21 called Bear Jaw Groove. This race is a homegrown event and takes place just outside Flagstaff. This is the 2nd year for the race and it’s fun to support a local event and be part of the event’s formative years. Bear Jaw is a 6 hour event during which solo riders, duos, and teams of four ride as many course laps as possible. The course is an 11 mile loop which starts and ends at the Arizona Nordic Village. One of the cool parts of the course is the “Aspen corridor,” which is a section that winds through an Aspen forest. I’m part of a 4 person ladies’ team and we’re all doing this race for fun and to get out of the Phoenix heat!
The other distraction is a monthly challenge issued by the Hawesaholics Babes Ride On (HBRO) Facebook group. I joined this group at the end of 2020 and have met a ton of ladies who ride. HBRO is a local group, so it’s easy to find someone to ride with. Each month, the HBRO founders post a monthly “clean this challenge,” which is basically a technical obstacle or more difficult trail to work on for that month. Those who take on the challenge are supposed to record a video of their attempts at “cleaning” (i.e., clearing, riding successfully) the challenge and the video with the most Facebook “likes” wins a prize. It’s a fun way to work towards a goal. The “clean this challenge” for August is not bike related; instead, it’s a fun little obstacle course at a local park (think of a very watered down American Ninja Warrior type of course with things like monkey bars and a “Spiderman” style net ladder). Participants are supposed to record and time their best attempt and the video with the most “likes” will win the prize (this month’s prize is an insulated mug).
As soon as I saw the August challenge, I thought it would be funny to put a spin on it. What if I got a few other ladies to do the challenge with me….but instead of attempting the obstacle course “normally,” we pretend it’s an obstacle course for a bike? I suggested the idea to a few friends and things took off from there. The result of all that brainstorming and video shooting is right here in this YouTube link: click me for a laugh.
To give you an idea of the sheer ridiculousness of the video, here’s a picture of me in my protective gear (yes, it is a bit much for a playground obstacle course, but it served its purpose)! Let me know what you think!
(Ready to roll! I am wearing a Kevlar helmet, “facegoggles,” and downhill body armour. The helmet is bullet-resistant and weighs about 10 pounds. I was SO GLAD I didn’t have to wear that thing for very long. The “facegoggles” are more like a face shield and quite effective at keeping people at a distance. They’re not as breathable as regular face masks, though. Both the helmet and facegoggles were borrowed. The body armour is my SAT’s from his downhill mountain biking days. I think I look like a cross between GI Joe and a stormtrooper.)
I’m doing a new thing! I’m shifting my focus to mountain biking, now that my “rim to rim” hike is done and to that end, I registered for a mountain bike clinic! I’ve never taken a mountain bike clinic before and it seemed like a good time to do one, given what little there is to do this past year (thanks for nothing, global pandemic).
The clinic I’m taking is part of the “Slaydies” series through Adrenaline Coaching. Each series includes 4 classes; my series is the November one and meets each Tuesday afternoon for 2 hours at South Mountain. Class sizes are limited to 5 ladies. The first session was on Election Day and I was very glad to have the distraction! We focused on the correct position for descending (i.e. “active stance,” or “get as low as you can on the bike”) as well as braking on descents.
One of the best things about taking a clinic is getting feedback from a totally objective third-party, i.e. someone other than my SAT (self-appointed trainer/husband). For whatever reason, hearing my SAT tell me to “get lower” when I go down descents doesn’t seem to resonate as much with me compared to when Stefanie (clinic coach) tells me the same thing (maybe because Stefanie doesn’t live with me?).
In addition to verbal feedback, Stefanie assigned us “homework” based on her observations of our current skill level. My takeaways from week 1 are to practice getting as low as I can on the bike while going downhill. Here’s a picture showing what my body position looked like during my first attempt going down a chunky descent vs. the last attempt (we had 4-5 attempts):
(My goal is to match the red line on the right as much as possible when descending.)
I have a ways to go before I would consider my active stance “low enough.” 😉
(Stefanie showing Lauren the video of her descent.)
At the end of the class, we had a quick debriefing session over sparkling water (thanks, Stefanie!) and mini banana muffins (thanks, Lauren!) during which we all shared what we learned.
Before writing this blog post, I went for a ride to practice my active descending stance. I can tell that I was much more aware of my body position and could tell when I wasn’t as low in my stance vs. when I was low (or, what I consider “low” for now because I’m still trying to make the low stance second nature). Hooray for getting out of my comfort zone and trying new things!
Today, my friend Jodey and I visited east Mesa to ride some of the Hawes trail system. We were both interested in trying out new-to-us trails and potentially testing our resolve to “challenge ourselves” on the bike. Well, after our 10 mile ride, I can definitely say that Hawes is hard. That is, hard for someone who is hesitant about trying steep, rocky inclines and descents (at this point, you may ask why I mountain bike at all?). Because the Hawes trails are right in the middle of a rather posh residential area, we knew that the first couple of miles would be on residential streets, eventually leading to a trail access point.
When we hit the access point, this is what we saw:
I wish the above picture did a better job of showing how crazy steep the beginning is. Normally, when I go for a mountain bike ride, I expect to ride my bike. Today, I mainly hiked the first few miles of the trail, accompanied by my bike. The trail was so steep that I actually lost traction, slipped, and fell. Also, I wasn’t a fan of the rutted trail (i.e., there was a narrow track that you either followed or avoided by riding on the sides of the trail) and the loose gravel/rock that made the trail slippery.
On a brighter note, it appears that any falls I’ve had while mountain biking occurred when I was OFF of my bike. Does that mean I can bike better than I can walk?
Our goal those first few miles was to reach the power towers, where the trail levels out a bit.
Goal accomplished, albeit with a lot of huffing and puffing. The second half of the ride was MUCH more enjoyable, as we got to RIDE our bikes for more than 2 seconds at a time. I surprised myself a few times by successfully riding some downhill sections I wouldn’t have considered riding normally and even (halfheartedly) tried sessioning a boulder obstacle. Did you read that, my SAT (self-appointed trainer)? I tried doing something hard voluntarily!
The weather was beautiful today and we got to see some pretty views, like this one:
All in all, a successful day: we didn’t incur any injuries, we tried something new, and stepped out of our comfort zones. Bonus: no boys to tell us what to do. 🙂
Happy New Year, dear readers! I trust that all 5 of you had lovely holidays. 😉 I’m amazed that we’ve hit the year 2020 and still don’t have the ability to apparate, i.e. transport oneself instantaneously, or have access to flying cars. However, with this new year, the temptation to make one of those ubiquitous resolutions is strong and I am currently trying to come up with a resolution (or, at least a challenge) for….mountain biking.
<insert shock, awe, gasps of surprise>
Although this blog started as a training log for my first (and only) double century via road bike, I expanded the scope of the blog to include adventures of all kinds, like hiking, mountain biking, and becoming acat mom. I have a fancypants mountain bike and in keeping with my penchant for using everything I own, along with pressure from my SAT (i.e. self-appointed trainer, a.k.a. hubby), I’m now officially soliciting ideas for a mountain biking goal. Should that be a weekend bikepacking trip? A challenge ride of 50, 75, 100 miles? Skill development?
Side benefits of increasing my riding include a stronger cardiovascular system, losing a bit of holiday weight, and french fry consumption (the last benefit is the best one, in my opinion). #eyesonthefries
So, chime in, dear readers! What should I consider doing on the mountain bike this year?
reluctantroadie 