Back to racing!

There is nothing better than racing less than an hour away from home.  Last week we raced in Winder Georgia, what a fun course. It is rolling hills with some tight turns and technical down hill called Monster Mile.  Plus it is a half hour from home, so I know this course pretty well.

The race started off fairly well, no one was in the mood to gun it from the start. Which I personally like, that way I don't bonk half way through the first lap.  Somehow I was at the front, until I heard someone bombing down Monster Mile. Luckily it was Kym! I stuck to her wheel and we had a great race together. Here is Kym and I finishing the race!  

Our teammate Paula is amazing! She raced and won the Cohutta 65 (miles) the day before the Winder race and then came out and got fourth in the Winder race. Awesome!

Tsali!

The biggest race of the year is Tsali for me and it is always the first. Usually, I am out of shape and not ready to race. Last year I broke my chain about 5 miles in and hiked out. Not this year... Instead I made the painful trek for thirty miles. I felt good for about the first 12, then it was a long race.

Lucky for me I had a good start and was about 5th or 6th in the trail, then it was just about trying to hang on to the rider in front of me. Some how I ended up in third place (and won the expert field), I was worried I was not going to be able to hold on after I cracked. Anyways, it was a great race and a great start to the season. My teammates of course did awesome too! We had an awesome weekend.

I also won the time trial the day before. Kym had bad luck on the trail and got a flat, so she helped me finish strong in my race.

I wish every weekend could be like this one. It was awesome. I would like a repeat :).

This is me finishing my race!! I have never been so happy to be finished!!

New Year!

Last year ended fast for me. I finished my season with Fontana with high hopes of fixing my back. I have a bulging disc in my lower back which didn't hurt with day-to-day activities. However, when I raced my leg went numb from and half my body was in a lot of pain. So I spent my Fall at physical therapy and winter working on fixing my back.

My back isn't fixed but it is getting there so I am in positive spirits. Reid and I finished the Snake Gap series again this year. I beat my time from last year by 17 minutes! I was the first 30 and under woman and had the fastest total race time for all three races!

The time change starts today! I am sad to lose an hour but excited to start the weekday rides. I love spring time. I love the smell of sweat, suntan lotion and grilled hamburgers! All great things. Talking about grilled hamburgers brings me to our awesome sponsor US Stove Company, who helped us have an awesome season last year. They represent great products, they are great company, and sponsored an awesome ladies mountain bike team.

I hope this year is as great as last year. I am looking forward to racing hard and having fun!

Racing, racing AND racing...

A couple weekends ago Reid and I went up to Chattavegas. Of course I would have to start the trip with an extra hour sitting on 85. Somehow a trailer of cows flipped over on the highway and were running free. That was only the beginning...

Chattanooga is where Raccoon mountain lives. It is crazy fun and kinda technical. You have to pay attention- I think they should call it Rock Mountain since most of the trail is covered with rocks. Chattanooga is also where or close (South Pittsburg) to where our main sponsor USSC- United States Stove Company is from. USSC came to the race, brought their awesome stoves, and cooked us amazing food. They are awesome!!

The race was a good time, Kym won, I got third and Paula fourth. I think that will be the last time I will beat Paula so I have to brag!

Bump

I think there is only one good thing in Alabama... Bump n Grind.

Last weekend I made the long solo drive to Birmingham Alabama. Of course I got stuck on I 20 for an hour going about 5 miles per hour because of construction. I was thinking I could take my bike of my rack and ride faster than I was driving. If it wasn't 100 degrees I would have.

My race started off good, I got off the front and was quickly out of site. For some reason I didn't feel great but all I needed to do was finish. At the top of the climb right before blood rock I decided to check my rear tire. Something didn't feel right. Sure enough my rear tire was low. So I put air in it and made it down blood rock. Unfortunately, my tire kept going low, and I eventually slit my tire and it went flat. I still had nine or ten miles to go...

I am not the best at changing tubes, it took me a very long time to fix it and three women passed me by the time I was back on the bike. I was able to make up time and catch two women to finish in second.

This weekend is Chattanooga. I love Raccoon mountain!

Jackson

I like Jackson, or Jackson likes me. And, after this weekend, I really like Jackson. I don't know why we like each other so much. Jackson is hot, sandy, and rough. But, for some reason Jackson treats me right.

I had a rough start to the race. I couldn't find my pedal and went from the front to the back fast. Some how I was able to make up time and got second in the trail. Lucky! Then about 15 minutes in the race I managed to drop my bottle- I guess I wanted to shed some weight. I was hurting for some water by the end of the first lap. It was hot and I was starting to get the chills. I was lucky again and survived the lap.

The second lap was great, no mishaps, no broken chains and no flat tires!

Here is the podium pic! I had to post this picture, it will probably be the only time you will see me on top.

I am delinquent

Sorry I have been really bad at my posts. I will try to do better.

2010 ended up pretty good. I finished 3rd overall in the Expert field for SERC series and 2nd for the Georgia series. In August I made the trip up to NY and raced in Windham. It was awesome and I finished 2nd in my category. By the end of the summer I got used to the longer races and had better results.

In the Fall, I got a new bike. A cross bike! In Georgia they have an awesome Cross Series- maybe to make up for their awful road series. Cross is so great I can't even describe it. My first race was in Dahlonega at a winery. I started off great and had a huge lead. Unfortunately, I didn't tightened my pedal tight enough and it fell off. But after that race the cross season went well, I moved up in a category, and I had a great time.

Star, Kym, and I freezing before cross race in Chattanooga.

Racing hard at the cross race in Chattanooga.

And so 2011 has started and is flying by. I got a new bike. A 29er-superfly. I couldn't say anything bad about this bike, except maybe sometimes it goes too fast. This is the best mountain bike I have ever owned.

I raced snake gap and finished 1st in my category- I was the only person in my category, but I still won. Next year my goal at snake is to finish in less than four hours (although when I finished the three time trials in March I swore I was never going to do them again).

My cross country mountain bike racing didn't start off so well. The first two races I did- I broke my chain and some other things, and was not able to finish :(. I was able to finish my first race with a flat tire about a month ago. Since then, racing has been going pretty well for me so far this season, I have been surprising myself.

Oh, I have also been road racing. Haha, I think I am going to stick with the dirt. I get manic when I try to race road. I did a GA cup race in March. That was a joke. I won a pin for my win in the circuit and did a group ride for the road race because no women showed up. Surprise- I don't think I will attend another GA cup.

Then, I did a bigger crit race in Anniston Al and finished! I was excited about that and felt great about road racing. The next day was a road race and I got shelled. No fun. I am not going to talk about Twilight. Still bummed about that race.

Next weekend we are having a fun girls mountain bike camping trip in TN. I hope I don't get super lost. It will be fun and any mountain bike women that wants to go get lost on trails with me and my awesome team is welcome to come!

Me at the start of Fort Yargo- Look at our awesome new kits!

Well I think I have covered it. Hopefully my next post won't be in another year.