Squirt. . . . ."The long lasting dry lube"

'Nuff said.

Can you identify this Ninja?

Wolf River Rendezvous

What a fun race!  We arrived Friday night a bit later than we had hoped for. . . .got held up in Oshkosh by a 3 car pile up, so that put us about 40 minutes behind schedule.  As we pulled in Bear Paw Friday night, finding our camp site was tough.  We scoped it out, realized with the way the current campers were arranged, there was no way we were backing into our spot. . . . .we dumped the "hotel on wheels" right in the turn around and set up shop.  Perfect.

Saturday's preride was challenging.  One lap took me about 36 minutes and I was hoofin' it pretty good.  I figured I'd be looking at a bit longer of a race come Sunday, but that's ok.  My lungs felt like they were on fire after the preride, my legs were tired and my body wondered how in the HELL I was going to get 3 good laps Sunday.  But my mind wanted to go do another lap and focus on all that technical riding.

I wasn't sure how I felt Sunday, other than tired, but I knew it was a fun course so my plan was to just go ride.  I lined up on the start line with a mere 8 other Brave sport women.  We all had a little chuckle together, realizing we were all guaranteed a "Top 10" if we finished.  What a great attitude these women have!  :-)

Don said "GOOOOOOOOOOO" and I knew I should get up front.  Climbing is my "thing" and I needed to be up front on that start hill.  I also knew this course was built for me. . . .lots of slippery rocks and roots, lots of climbing. . . all my strong points.  If I could keep myself up front and working HARD, I knew I would do pretty good.

We started catching the Sport boys before we even hit the first section of single track.  They are always so nice to us. . . . .cheering us on, moving over, telling us what position we are in, making room for us when they know we can make a climb they can't.  This is one of the reasons I LOVE Sport.  And this race wasn't any different.  We hit the first steep little climb in the single track and 3 Sport boys and one Sport girl got off their bikes, not being able to make the climb.  Seeing me coming, they all parted the way for me to poke right up the hill past them. . . .I LOVE those technical climbs.  That put me in second place.  I hoped I could hold it.  I knew the chances of me catching 1st were slim, but I was certainly going to give it my all.

Lap 2 felt good.  It was tiring. . . .my legs were starting to feel all the climbing.  A couple Sport boys went down on roots in front of me, I managed to avoid them.  One by one I passed them and worked my way up.  For the first time in a long time, I got to ride WITH some of the Sport boys.  We seem to be opposites in our strengths. . . . .I'd gain time on them in the technical, climbing sections, they'd gain time on me in the open double track stretches.  Back and forth I went with a few of them.

Lap 3 I was wondering how in the WORLD I was going to finish.  My legs were SOOO fatigued.  My breathing was extremely labored, all that climbing was really wearing on me.  Each single track climb I would have to push a little harder to get myself through it.  I kept telling myself "this is the last time through here".  I knew I could ride every single section on that trail, so making a deal with myself to "walk if needed" was NOT an option.  "Stay on the bike" my mind kept telling me.  "You WILL finish".  And I did.

Since there were only 9 of us, we were pretty spread out.  The gal I usually battle with (Kate) had raced Saturday, so she was a little "compromised" on this course.  I managed to finish in 2nd with a good gap on the 3rd place gal.  My legs hurt so bad when I crossed the finish line I wasn't sure I'd get back to my camper.  It was a wonderful feeling.  Knowing I had once again pushed myself THAT hard and had THAT much fun doing it.  Kind of sick really.  :-)

I'll be signing up for that race again, that's for sure.  And I'll hope for slick conditions next year.  That's the perfect make up for me.  Awesome.

Fall is here

Yes, it appears fall is upon us. The leaves are changing, the weather isn't as "nice", cold, dreary days are upon us. . . . . .nature is slowly shedding it's life preparing to hunker down for a cold winter.

I find that fall is a great time for reflection. I don't always plan it that way. . . .but it seems these cooler dreary days have me thinking about life and what I want out of it.

Recently I've found a wealth of patience I had forgotten I had. It makes me sad to think I had to lose someone close to me to understand how insignificant certain things in life really are, but it makes me very thankful to come to this realization NOW, while I'm still "young", while I still have time to "slow down and enjoy life".

In the months since my dad has passed, I've been building up for a personal journey I feel I need embark on. This personal journey is nothing over the top. . . .it's just simple goal setting, looking at the rest of my life and deciding what makes me happy, what I want more of, and where I want to go.

I'm one of those fortunate people who truly understand I can attain just about anything in life I truly want if I focus, make a plan and give it 100%. The "problem" is that I'm not truly sure what I want to attain in life right now, therefore I seem to be merely "existing". The funny thing is, it seems MOST of the world just simply "exists", going to work, coming home, riding their bike (or doing whatever) for stress relief. . . . .but we're all capable of so much more. And at this point in my life. . . . .I'm ready to work for "more".

Now I just have to figure out what that "more" is. :-)

Lake Geneva

Wow, what a race. That was freakin' hard!

As we lined up, I knew I was going to have to give it my all on that start hill to get a good position going into the single track. I was hoping my legs would cooperate as they were feeling very tired and flat during the warm up. Perhaps too much riding the day before. . . . maybe even too much loading the week before. Who knows. But I figured it was what it was, there wasn't anything I could do about it. I'd just try to ride my best and see what happened.

I tend to be strong on hills. . . .why I'm not really sure because they REALLY hurt, but I dug deep and got up front on the start climb. Went into the single track 2nd or 3rd. It was a good spot to be.

We caught up to the sport boys pretty quickly. . . . we actually caught some right before the dive down into the single track already. I figured that would be a bad course for traffic, but if it was bad for traffic for me, it was bad for everyone. I just hoped I could get a gap and hold on to it.

I got my wish in lap #1. I held my spot, rode relatively clean, although I stepped down that last set of rocks after the rock garden. I don't know WHAT my problem was, but that freaked me out every lap. Oh well, a few seconds lost stepping over something that could propel me into the cheap seats is a good few seconds to lose I guess.

Lap #2 I was still in a good spot heading up the start climb. I was hurting. . . .it was hot, I was sweating profusely, I could already tell I hadn't drank enough. I got yelled at by my easy up of peeps to drink so I tried to force it down on the second lap. Unfortunately, I think it was too late.

Going up the start climb to start lap #3 I could feel my energy drain. I knew I was in for a rough 3rd lap. I just hoped that I had gotten a large enough gap that I could hold my position - or close to it. Every hill felt like death. I was hyperventilating, seeing starts and not sure I'd be able to finish it I was hurting so bad. But somehow I found the strength to keep pushing on. I eased up a bit on purpose. . . .but mostly because I physically HAD to. I heard Sonia breathing down my back so I let her get around me. She had so much energy, there was NO way I was going to match that. Back and forth I went with Mariah. Last time through the rock garden I stepped over the last set of rocks - AGAIN - and Kate flew by. I gave it my all knowing I was nearing the end. I figured if I could make it to the end knowing I had given 100%, I would be happy.

And that's exactly what happened. I ended up 7th overall. Not so bad of a race, but not as good as I was hoping for considering I was in the top 3 or 4 for 2 laps. But I finished and I managed a win in my age group against some tough competition.

I wrestle with how much to put out there so early in the race. . . . . .and I wonder if a bit of conserving would have given me the "extra" I needed yesterday. But after a number of years of racing experience and getting to know my body and my strengths and weaknesses, I believe conserving wouldn't have helped me much. I seem to do the best when I put it all out there right up front. Sometimes I can hold on to that. . . .and sometimes there are just faster girls.

Today I feel like someone took me out to the bike rack and beat me to a pulp. My body hurts tremendously, I can't move my head my neck muscles are so tense and I've had a head ache all day. Mondays are usually not a lot of fun, especially a Monday after a race, but today, well, today takes the cake. Unproductive, low coping skills, lots of "pain". There's no question as to whether I gave my all yesterday or not. I gave it all, and then some. :-)

Epic Road Ride

Well, it was epic for me. I took a trip up to Parnell Tower today.

I took the "scenic route". . . . .knowing it's something my dad would have done if he were still alive. So that one was for you dad. I did on my bicycle instead of in a mini cooper. . . . . .perhaps that will help keep ME around a little longer.

I could only make it up to the first landing before my "vertigo" got the best of me. Too bad as I bet the views from the top were/are spectacular. But I'm sure dad already knows that.

Today was a great day to be alive. :-)

Goals?

"Long-range goals keep you from being frustrated by short-term failures."
-- J.C. Penney, Retailer

Hmmmm. I should probably get some long-range goals again. . . .

Quote

"Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul."
-- Douglas MacArthur, General

Interesting.