snowday

I knew it was goin' to snow big today! Super physced I didn't go to work. Instead I went for a 4.5 hr snowbike ride on the back rds of ID. Departure time was 730am, with a turn around to put more air in my tires, which I later let out. The snow was DEEP today, proabably a foot on top of ice covered rds, but thats ok. After I ate it on a corner, I deceided to let the air out, which was a huge improvement. It was a very quite morning, with few autos out. It wasn't until the tree farm, 1 hr into the ride that the plow caught up with me. Then I turned on Bates, which had only 1 truck track, and once I got to Teton Creek bridge, there was no tracks for a bit, until I hit the next farm. It dumped until I got to Driggs, so goggles were in order. I had to defrost them a couple times in my jacket, which worked really well, a little tip I learned from JayP. Then I headed up to Darby Canyon, the snow was deep here too. I ate it again, due to some off camber ice under a foot of snow, then finished up by takin' the backrds out to the frontage rd, which was smooth sailin', deep but nice. Had some lunch, shoveld, made pizza and chocolate chip cookies. It was a great day!

Cedron Bates Loop, 12/11/10, 20F, approx 2hrs. I stopped for a pee break and speak w/ JayP after his double lap on Mt. Glory. 3 people stopped to see if I was ok, timing is everything. I didn't need to use my RBH vapor barrier sock today since it was warm. Bridgedale liners and a wool wigwam sock inside my RU outside boot which is now Baffin. I'd like to get a loop on the front of the toe for my gaitor?? and also need to apply some more wtr sealent on the seams. I do however love wearin' my RBH vapor barrier vest. It's just a piece of essiential gear. I saw my snowbiker buddies, the Byers gettin' some SBin' done themsleves. We disscussed the sizing of the VB vest, when travelin' via snowbike your clothes need to be bigger so you can fit stuff in your pockets/jacket perhaps your goggles or snowglasses if they freeze. It's easier to get your Jacket zipped up and is more comfortable with a water pack on. Pit zips, a two way zipper on jackets. Elastic waste band pants instead of having to tie.

Thoughts

The wx has been fluctuating a lot, so it's a good thing I have gear, snowshoes, Nordic skis, xc skis, a bike w/ studded tires and a snowbike b/c I have been usin' them all! I think about the Alaska Ultra Sport everyday. Thinkin' about those rough times I will need to push thru, the solitary times and of course the good times which brings a huge smile to my face. Until then I continue to "practice". I don't follow an actual trainin' regimen, but I know how important it is to get out everyday, or as much as I can. I am thankful to have the boyz (dogs) Rippin' & Chillin', b/c yes there are days I'm not so motivated and since I have chosen to be a dog owner and I am responsible for gettin' them out to exercise, I do, it creates a happy world for all of us.

I'll be working on gettin' my gear & food list together from notes I compiled from last yr. I will also be thinkin' about what I can get done prior to arriving AK for Nome. It was a little crazy last yr with all the running around before hand. We are on a pretty tight budget, so fer shure plannin' ahead of time will certainly help.

I am looking forward to the new Ti bike and rims we are graciously receiving from Chain Reaction Cycles in AK. Their support has been unbelievable as well as their bikes!

Til next time! Movin' forward!

The Cube in Rexburg, 3 race series

The Cube is a really fun race series and being that is less then an hour away makes it great! The City of Rexburg, Bob and Chris have done a super good job making a challenging and spectator freindly course, then even run it in reverse!



Lat week I raced with the ladies, their were 5 of us. The ladies are really awesome and fun, but since I have more experience the playing field wasn't fair. So after last weeks race I asked Bob if I could race with the dudes, no problem.



I have to admit, I was nervous and my main concern was gettin' in the way of my fellow racers, but JayP gave me confidence and suggested I just go for it! So I did. I watched the ladies race go off and then started my warm up. I did a couple laps and the course was definitely technical with some running, but REALLY fun. It had snowed so sloppiness it was going to be. The ladies finished and it was the men's time to go. All the men had lined up 5 a breast, there were about 20, then I pulled up and placed myself in the front row. There were a couple comments, one being, I hope you guys don't have big egos, shure no pressure, thanks. It was a little brisk standing there waiting for the go. The horn went off and with all I had a raced for the hole shot, I wound up in 3rd off the line. Within seconds I was passed by 2 men, but that was it! I held on to my place for 8 laps, the middle laps were the hardest of course, but I kept it together. JayP was cheering me on the whole time along with other teammates and friends. I finished 5th overall and felt great! I had a clean race with no bobbles and just kept my head together-wanting it more then the men who finished behind me. Looking forward to next week, the last of the Rexburg and my cross season racing this year, I think.



Thanks to all for the support!

whoa!

Well I can't believe that the Alaska Ultra Sport is only 4 months away. I don't think a day has gone by that I haven't thought about it. And of course so much has happened since then. I have all these 1/2 post that I started and are just sitting waiting to be finished.

For example the story from McGrath to Nome. I remember bits and pieces now and may still work on this. Returning to ID it snowed til June, the vision of white was overpowering. Driving 17 hours to Iowa to race for 12 hours and then have the race called due to lightening, then driving back the next day. I kinda don't want to remember that race. I wasn't as motivated as I normally am to race MTB this year like I have been for the past 15+ years, even though I purchased a brand new super sick Jamis 29er, which is just amazing. I competed in the Boise 9-5, which was a blast, and another story I have 1/2 written. Then there was the Leadville 100, Jay and I raced on the Grinch. I don't think it helped us building this bike less then 2weeks before the race, and not having it dialed it. We finished in 9hrs 9mins.

I led the Fitzgerald's women's ride on Weds with the help of the other women top shelf riders, which was great. Really great to see the women come out and try it. By the end of the season there was a consistant group of 5 training for Lotoja, that was really awesome to see and be a part of. I supported my husband JayP, who won Master's 35+, despite me missing the feed in Afton, which of course I felt horrible about.

Then what? Freakin' cyclocross season! Wholly fun-ness! To date I have competed in 5 races winning 3 Thanks to Victor Velo for creating and putting on Kross Kickoff, Moosecross and Spooky cross. I volunteered to host a women's cyclocross clinic in Victor, ID at Pioneer Park on Tues. We had a solid group which averaged around 5 women and everyone made so much improvement and learned so much, including myslef. Thanks to my friend J9 I was able to get rid of my stutter step!

So I have 2 cross races left in Rexburg at The Cube. This w/e I will be racing against the men, which I am REALLY looking forward to. Then, it is time to focus on snowbiking and the Alaska Ultra Sport.

I will start snowshoe running with my 2 boy dawgs and will watch the grooming report like a hawk.

Knik Lake to McGrath 2010

Well, we did it! Our snowbike trip to Nome AK was the most wicked thing I have ever done. My fingers and toes feel like they are sleeping, my nose is burnt from frost, a piece of ice formed on my buff which was covering my nose and thats how it got burnt, I had no idea it was there. The ride from Knik to McGrath seems so long ago. It was very warm when we started, approx 30 to 40 degrees. I was so nervous at the start, I made myself sick. My stomach was just in knots, wondering how I was going to do this with out my safety blanket JayP? Would I be able to get up the happy steps? How would I get over the pass if I were alone? What if I fell in open water? Gesh! Well all that worring may have helped and kept me focused on the goal-finishing! Winning the race and setting a new record was a bonus. My 1st 6 hrs I was unable to eat due to the stress I had caused myself. We just used the leftovers from our other drops so most of the food I had was chocolate, I like it but could have used some real candy, sour patch kids, Mike & Ikes, I like that kind of candy and it works for me. The temps were warm and the trail was variable. Before the race JayP said I should suck it up and try to mke it to Skwentna, but when I had arrived at Yentna I was completely soaked due to the warm temps, it was after midnight and the only thing I wanted to suck up was a pillow. I ate some Ramen, which I really developed a taste for on this trip, dried my stuff and slept there for approx 3 hrs. I departed the next morning at 425am, the trail conditions were variable, so some walking some riding, it took me approx 7 hrs to get to Skwentna. I had a salmon burger there, dried a few things, spoke with Craig who was breaking trail then continued to Zoe's place. Again the trail comditions were variable. I stopped at Zoe's had a bag of stuffing and a bag of instant potatoes, spoke with some locals who were having a good time, then continued to Finger Lake. As I was leaving Zoe's 2 of the men sleded out to some overflow and clearly marked it so no one would fall in. They were very kind and really wanted to help out. I made it to Finger Lake at 1am to find everyone sleeping. I looked in one of the tents and thought I saw a bunch of chopped off pig heads, but when I looked again the following morning it turned out to be sleeping chickens, guess I was tired. I got my drop, left a lot of food there and departed the next morning with a few others, heading towards Puntilla, which wind up being mostly a walk. My main goal was to stay close enough to someone so I could travel over the Rainy Pass with them. I wind up lagging behind, which meant I had to climb the happy steps by myself. It wasn't as bad as I feared and I even had an audience. Craig Medred was there taking pictures and making me laugh. He was joking around with me saying "Look at me, I'm so little and my bike is so big!" Once my bike is fully loaded, yes it looks pretty big. I caught up with the guys just before Puntilla, but about 5 miles to Puntilla some sort of sprint started, I wasn'r able to keep up, but casught the guys at the checkpoint. We all got some food and rest before heading over Rainy Pass. We pretty much walked from Finger Lake to Rohn. Once at Rohn, Rob who is just an awesome volunteer greeted us with food, warm drinks and made room for us to sit and eat. We all got some sleep before heading to Nikolai. We departed approx 830am. We had to cross some ice and it was really cold, but I recall riding a lot. I was with Bill Fleming, Plesko and Kyle, I was very fortunate to be with these guys, we had a great ride and even some fun! Once we got to Nikolai we had some of the most awesome spagehtti, cheese and butter, which I remembered from last year at was looking forward to. Nick and Olene welcomed us into their house at midnight and were so helpful in feeding us and letting us dry out our stuff. Within 2 hrs we were ready for departure. We wind up dropping Plesko, just becasue he was being thoughtful about me trying to break the record. I was amazed how Chris was able to do this race on a Singlespeed 1st of all, and then with a ankle he had broke only a few months before. So the pack was Bill, Kyle, Sean and myself. They totally pushed me to keep going and helped keep my focus on winning and setting a new record, Sean even shared his skittles, which was very exciting to me, since I love candy. I really didn't think about either, until I was approaching Nikolai. So the stint from Rohn to McGrath wind up being 24 hrs. Once I got to McGrath at approx 10am I was reunited with JayP, who I couldn't wait to see and greeted with a plate of MANCAKES!!! What a treat!

Thank you Chain Reaction for the sick 907 rocket ship, which made my adventure amazingly comfortable. Thanks to Fitzgerald's Bicycles for all your help. Thanks to Jeff at Carousel Design works for the custom frame bags, which carried all my survival gear. Thanks Salsa, Vicious Cycles and Wilson Hardware for giving me the time off.

I knew we would be departing the next day by noon, so I took a shower, washed my clothes, ate and slept as much as I could. Stay tuned for part 2, onto Nome!

Last w/e we rode about an hour from the house up to Darby Canyon where we slept for the night, it was a full moon and quite. Everything went super smooth. We found a spot and kicked out enough room for the both of us. I took my boots, jacket and water pack off and stuffed them into the bottom of my bag, just to see how it would all fit. It was very cozy. We had some cookies and hot chocolate, slept for 7 hrs, woke up and headed back home. The temps have been really mild here in comparison to the temps along the Ultra Sport Route.

Look Mom! I can fly!!

I'm too handsome for myself!

I love spending time with all my boyz! Rippin' and Chillin' are really awesome. We spend at least 1-2 hours a day, snowshoe running, nordic skiing or snowbiking, otherwise all their energy explodes in the house, and thats just nutz!

Friday I became sick in the head, like there was something stuck up my nose, sneezing and runny nose soon followed and has been hangin around since. Rippin', Chillin' and I proceded to ride Darby canyon, it has been great! Usually nobody is there and we can run all over. Sat, I rode a 2 hr loop from the house then took the boyz out snowshoeing.

Sunday we all headed up to the Warm Springs campground for some snowbiking! Chillin' and Rippin' joined us for the 1st 5 miles, then we dropped them off and headed out for some super sweet riding! The trails were just unbelievable! Miles and miles of beautifully groomed trails in perfect condition! We could have spent forever out there. We are really fortunate to have this incredible network of trials just an hour from our house!

We are really excited about the Ultra Sport and working on getting in all together!

Til next time!

wishing...

My heart will be in MN this w/e...We really, REALLY wish we we're packing up gear, food, the truck and heading to MN to do the Arrowhead 135 this w/e but with my career as an accountant, Sunday being month end, and my boss JUST deciding he was going to AZ for the week, just can't make it work. Maybe next yr. So good luck to all! Hope your recovered for AK!!!



This week has been fun! Got in some serious snowshoeing with the boyz in the am, a couple nordic skiis under the lights at Pioneer Park, a supa fast snowbike TT from the house Friday, a technical SB today-it was hot! got the boyz out for another snowshoe and ressting up for the practice overnighter tonight. It's nice to be able to ride from the house for a few miles and access a nice quite place to sleep. Looking forward to the run thru!

Gosh it just seems to be day after day of fun! or what some people call training.



Nice to start the week off with some nordic sprints under the lights at Pioneer Park. So fun to have others to play with!





My ever faithful playmates, always ready, always patient, always having fun!









Freshies!!!



Everyday is beautiful!

It was a great week of playing and I expect more to follow. Camp Dave was great this w/e! I was able to make 2 out of the 3 days and it was nice to share the adventures and fun times with good company. It's all what you make out of it. The 1st day of camp Dave was interesting. We didn't get to ride much but we spent some time out in some blowing snow pushing our bikes, it wasn't like 120 miles or anything. Day 2 was very fast on the QUIET backrds of Idaho, approx 20 miles in 2:15. I squeaked out another 45 minutes riding with the boyz and checking on the mayor's kitties. Looking forward to another great week of "playing" which started today with a snowshoe run in the am before work and a skate afterwards-with my little buddies, who are currently passed out sleeping!

Til next time.

Kicking off 2010 with the Togwotee Winter Classic was brilliant!



I am not a fan of getting up in the morning, so I am fortunate to have a husband as wonderful as JayP, who makes the coffee, takes care of the dogs, loads up the bikes and then still patiently waits for me. Thank you love.




I am also fortunate to be riding an alunimum 9 zero 7 (which eats snow for breakfast, lunch and diner) from Chain Reaction in Anchorage, AK. This bike is dynomite! It is 2lbs lighter then my Pugsly and switching the parts was cake for my mechanic a.k.a JayP. The 9 zero 7 frame is an 15 inch compared to the 16 inch pugs, so it feels more like my MTB cockpit, which I am really enjoying.


Jan 9th, 2010-Seven snowbikers met at Togwotee Mtn. Lodge in Moran, WY for the 9 am start of the 3rd annual Togwotee Winter Classic snowbike race. As each of us arrived we fiddled with our gear and questioned what we would wear. The overnight temps remaind around zero which helped keep the track firm. The start was approx zero as well with the temp rising to almost 30F when we finished. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel and was a little nervous. Ready go! We started off climbing and continued to do so for approx 8 miles. About 5 mins into the race, JayP of course takes off, bye-bye! At this point it was JayP, the Junkie, and Fitzy ahead of me with Keith hot on my tail. It took me about 3 miles to finally start warming up and the climbs were feeling really good. After a short battle with Fitzy on the climbs I was able to pull ahead and focus on what was ahead of me.



I could occasionally see Dave Byers in front of me and really wanted to catch him. I continued to drink, kept the pedal strokes strong and efficient and kept pushing the legs and mind to go! The course was in great shape with 98% of it being ridable. The terrian is wicked fun, lots of steep climbing with supa fast DH's and lots of rolling in between. At about hr 2:12 it accured to me that I could beat the women's record, with this motivation and the focus of trying to catch Dave I was really pushing myself. I finished 3rd overall and set a new women's record with a time of 2:57, 6 minutes behind Dave and 20 minutes behind JayP. It was a blast having racers to chase and wondering how close the racers behind me were. I didn't really eat much during the race, approx 5 chocolate peanut clusters, due to the homemade breakfast burritos we chowed on the way to the race. I drank about 32 oz of the 96 oz of the water I was carrying. I get nervous about running out of water and am getting use to carrying the full bladder.






After we all finished we had lunch at the Lodge, which was generously purchased by Athlete 360 and received great prizes from Fitzgerald's Bicycles, the Bunnery and JayP. We exchanged stories from our rides, laughed and went over some tips.



Looking forward to the next adventure!