Mad FORCs Race Team

CAMBA Festival of the Trails

2009-06-24T12:53:00.003-06:00

Renee C, Renee V, Pam and Carolyn all made their way "up north" to enjoy the first Festival of the Trails on the CAMBA trails. Good times were had by all . . . with food, schwag, and excellent singletrack!

Renee C. after getting drenched at the end of her ride on the Rock Lake trail. And yes it rained really hard!

Pam rocking the Hatchery Creek trails.

Carolyn enjoying some tasty food during the "Taste of the Trails" part of the weekend.

12 Hours of Northern Kettles

2009-05-27T07:38:00.002-06:00

Some pics stolen from Brittany from the 2nd WEMS race, 12 Hours of Northern Kettles. Kathy, Berlie and Barb did a 12-Hour Women's team and Amelia rocked the 3-hour solo. Nice job gals!

Kathy

Barb

Amelia

Photos of our Middle School Ride

2009-05-07T11:18:00.004-06:00

Middle School Ride

2009-05-04T12:48:00.002-06:00

Last Thursday Deb, Melissa and Renee had the opportunity to go with kids from Spring Harbor Middle School on a bike ride. Originally the plan was to go mountain biking at the Kettles but the weather did not cooperate and the trails were closed that day. However, since the kids were anxious to ride and they had brought bikes to school Jen, their teacher, came up with a new plan. In stead we all rode from their school around the Capitol City Trail loop for a total distance of 20 miles.

It was quite a site - 22 middle school kids and 5 adults - making their way through town and around the trail. For most of the kids 20 miles of riding was a huge deal and at times I think all the adults had doubts if everyone would make it. However, we successfully got all the kids around the loop and back to school at the appointed time and with the only injury being some skinned knees.

Let's hope we can get them out mountain biking in the future!

Watch Women Mnt Bike Racing!

2009-04-09T13:26:00.000-06:00

Know how you end up on websites you weren't really meaning to visit? This morning I stumbled upon female US Cup mnt bike racer Melanie McQuaid's website, racegirl.com. Her April 2nd entry has a video from the Fontana City, CA US Cup race.

The race starts on a nice downhill. Notice the stupe spectators at the bottom who almost get clipped. They would have deserved it too! About halfway through, they are coming off another downhill section and onto a road. Notice the black guardrail. I can't tell if it's solid or plastic, but that's a pretty scary "obstacle" to avoid coming off a downhill.

I think we so could ride that trail! I did notice much of the video showed hill climbing, and most of you know I am NOT a fan of the climb. But this year I hope to get over that. Funny thing is I love to climb on my road bike (got a new one-yay!), but not so much on the mnt bike. Maybe I need therapy to find out why.

Chequamegon Bound!

2009-03-26T11:19:00.004-06:00

I just looked in my checking account and saw that my check for the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival has cleared! I made it in. Now I am 4 for 4. My goal this year is to do it under 3 hours and 40 minutes. The last time I did the race I completed it in 4h 10m.

Yay!!

Barb

Welcome Unwin Chiropractic and Wellness Center

2009-03-20T14:45:00.003-06:00

The Mad FORCs are pleased to announce our latest sponsor . . . Unwin Chiropractic and Wellness Center. Now everyone can feel comfortable riding and racing as hard as they want and then making a visit for an adjustment or massage. Heck, you could even just get a nice relaxing massage instead of waiting until your muscles are a knotted mess.

Here's what Renee has to say about this new sponsor - I've made several visits this winter for post-ski race massages and I can vouch for how awesome it is to have them on board. I don't think I would have made it through my ski season without Lee's massage work . . . especially post-Birkie (and 35k of skiing with a leg cramp).

Spring is in the air!

2009-03-19T12:49:00.002-06:00

Time to get this blog "rolling" again . . . we've had some nice spring days and people are out riding now. Feel free to post stories and photos!! To that end we've got our April/May ride schedule done and our kick off meeting planned. You can check it out on the FORCs website.

The Kick Off meeting is Tues, March 31 at the Wil-Mar Center on Jenifer Street here in Madison. Meeting at 7pm with treats provided. Our rides start in April with road and Cap City trail rides on the traditional Tuesday/Thursday schedule. Mountain bike rides are tentatively planned to start in May as usually the trails are dry by then. We'll be riding at Cam-Rock more this year due to the trail expansion there offering more riding options. Should be a fun year!!

Oh yeah, and Alison Dunlap is coming back for the Women's Dirt Retreat on June 27 and 28. Maybe we'll get dryer weather this year!!

Sponsors are awesome.

2008-12-19T15:18:00.002-06:00

It's not even 2009 yet and I'm already talking about 2009 sponsors . . .

Gu has come on board for 2009. Good thing because I heard a bunch of talk at the end of season party about an assault on WEMS in 2009. Plus the FORCs love 24-9 and who doesn't need some Gu then??? I've been meaning to try their Roctane so now I will (I'll feel obligated really).

Saris Cycling Group is returning as a sponsor as well. I love having local sponsors. It's cool because you know the people behind the products. Plus now they have a disc compatible power tap so fast girls (you know, like Deb) can have fun playing in the dirt and measuring their power output and geeking out over data. Fun!

Willy Bikes . . . love them. Great local shop, great people, just all around great in my opinion. What else can I say . . . . they're so awesome and they've helped me out so many times.

Horny Toad . . . because it's nice to look good too! I've got so much Horny Toad clothing that sometimes I feel like I just stepped out of the catalog. Ironically I'm wearing a sweet HT top as I write this (in a great shade of purple, of course).

Bob's Copy . . . because who doesn't need some copies from time to time. Flyers, newsletters, posters, signs. Great people. Downtown location. Brings back memories of college and picking up my course packets.

More later . . . .

Renee

Leadville and other adventures

2008-10-24T17:01:00.002-06:00

First of all, I have to say it's pretty awesome to get a hardbody award for attempting Leadville! Thanks!

I've been meaning to give you all a race report on Leadville. So here's what I did on my summer vacation:

This year my husband and I decided to do the Leadville 100 in Leadville, Colorado. Leadville is a tough race and one of the first endurance mountain bike races. The race is a 100 mile/12 hour mountain bike race ranging in elevation from around 9,300 to 12,600 feet. There is an elevation gain of about 14,000 feet.

We decided to do every WEMS race leading up to the event as training, a plan which was stymied by excessive rain washing out two of the events. (P.S. I love the Levis Trow trails! Ride them!) We were also doing a lot of training on the side, but our most serious preparation would be our two week vacation in the upper elevations of Colorado.

Altitude sickness was our biggest concern, so we laid out a demanding plan:

Hike to the top of Long's Peak, a 14er
Ride up Mount Evans, another 14er
Ride the Monarch Crest trail, which flirts with 13,000 feet
Ride Molas Pass, another trail in the 13's
Ride Crested Butte trails, up to the 11's

By the time Leadville rolled around, elevation was no problem for me!

I have to say, I've rarely been on such beautiful rides. It was the height of wildflower season in the mountains and we had several memorable rides where brightly colored wildflowers slapped our handlebars and obscured the turns on winding, cliff-edge trails. Monarch Crest was especially fun. We took a shuttle bus to the top of the trail and rode 34 miles of amazing views and fun, fast singletrack. Crested Butte was also gorgeous for its wildflowers and worthwhile for its fast, creative trails.

For me, Leadville was almost a secondary concern on this trip. I had so much fun doing everything else! However, we arrived in Leadville two days before the race to get ourselves registered and settle in. Leadville is a small town, but that weekend was flooded with cyclists.

We registered and attended the introductory meeting, which felt more like a religious revival as the announcer revved up the crowd for the upcoming race. Dave Wiens (the several-year champion) was introduced to his many adoring fans and competitors, and Lance Armstrong also made a bashful appearance.

We hadn't done much preriding, so I wasn't sure what to expect when the race started. Prior to the race we'd received dire warnings about the difficulty of the course - impossibly steep slopes, deadly ruts, etc. And that was on top of the elevation. On your own, the course wouldn't be too difficult. Crammed in with hundreds of other riders is a different story and there was much calling out of directions and riding in long lines at the beginning of the race.

Nearing Powerline descent, which received the brunt of dire warnings, things started to thin out. The ascent to powerline is a cool gravel road that runs along the back of a scenic ridge. Passing over the ridge, you begin Powerline descent. Powerline is a rutted rough double track trail...that's rutted enough to really make it more like single track. There was often only one good line through this. I made it down fine and took off down the road for the next stretch of course just as an ambulance pulled up to take away an injured rider. Powerline is considered the most dangerous part of the course.

The course then went through a series of paved and dirt roads with some double and single track. There were a couple checkpoints and aid stations and then the Columbine climb! Columbine is a big dirt road climb that winds for what seems like ages. As I started the Columbine climb - the top of which was the halfway point, I was passed by Dave Wiens (the leader and eventual winner) with Lance right on his tail!

I started nearing the top where the trees began to thin thinking, "I'm almost there!" I was wrong. It's still a couple more miles of hike-a-bike at 12,000+ feet to get to the top aid station and checkpoint.

Happily, what was a hike-a-bike up due to the huge amount of people was a quick bomb down. Riding downhill, I was able to shave enough time to make it to the checkpoint at the bottom in time. Did I mention? Due to safety concerns, Leadville has time cutoffs at some of their aid stations. If you miss the time cutoff, you get pulled from the race.

I was really pushing the time limit. I made it to the base aid station only ten minutes before the time cutoff. I joined up with a pack of other riders about my speed and we took turns drafting on the paved and dirt roads. Our pack quickly broke up at the North Face, however, which is a ridiculously steep and loose section of trail that we had to achingly tiptoe up. While I pushed it on the last section of doubletrack, I missed the last time cutoff by 15 minutes. I had ridden 74 miles of tough trail in 9 hours and 15 minutes!

Leadville was a very fun and well-organized race. Their support volunteers were fantastic. Schedule permitting, I may be open to doing this race again someday. And of course, Leadville helped for my other big (non-biking) accomplishment this year - my first marathon! After all that elevation training, I had lungs of steel.

View my photo album here: Colorado Trip Pics

End of Season Party

2008-10-23T12:02:00.003-06:00

Last night was the Mad FORCs End of Season party . . . . we ate some delicious food, drank some beer, caught up on what everyone is doing these days and plotted for next year. We also handed out our annual awards.

This year's winners are:
Hardbody Awards -
Deb Joseph for her 12 Hour Solo victory at 24-9.
Carol Hassler for giving it a go at Leadville 100.
Ridge Benedum for tackling Ironman (and fitting a 12 hour duo into her training!).

New Racer of the Year -
Gwenn Davis - Although Gwenn isn't technically brand new to racing she hasn't raced much and not in a while and this year she did a WORS and a WEMS. We hope it inspired her to come out to a few more next year!

Party Girl of the Year -
Is it really a contest? Michelle Reddington showed us all how to party by spending a lot of time and consuming a few drinks at Stop #1 at 24-9. She showed us that life at 40 can still be filled with laughs and good times!

Spirit of Mad FORCs -
Diane Nordstrom for leading almost all of the Tuesday night road rides and making sure people came out so she could whip them into shape. She also serves on the Steering Committee and is the one who keeps everything (and everyone) organized and on track.

Ladies Night

2008-07-09T21:49:00.004-06:00

Ladies Night in Photos . . .

First off a huge happy birthday to Michelle!

Michelle looking strong and making 40 look like the new 20!

Congratulations to Miss Blackhawk 2008 - Nice job Spencer! Girls dig the hippy chick look.

Who's Ben checking out . . . the runner up in Miss Blackhawk 2008 . . . Dave "always a bridesmaid" Bell

Diane likes to get the fire roaring!

The racing action:

FORCs go International

2008-06-30T05:45:00.001-06:00

There is mountain biking in Taiwan , and Kerry managed to get invited to enter a race under a local team’s banner – 2nd in the over 30’s – on a truly hideous day, on a borrowed bike.
The Forcs go global…

Kerry's looking forward to seeing everyone at 24-9 as she'll be back in the states.

Tuesday Road Rides

2008-06-25T11:44:00.002-06:00

I finally got out for my first Mad FORCs Tuesday ride last night. For those of you who haven't been on one yet all I can say is that you need to get in on the fun! This week it was Diane, Deb, Michelle R, and myself and we headed to the lovely Goodland Park and back.

Now I showed up for this ride with too few miles on the bike and legs that were tired from too much running and rollerskiing. However, it can be hard to concede that you are no longer a biker when hanging with your teammates. To that end I knew I would need to employe every trick I've learned in my days as a "roadie" to hang on to this ride.

Here's some tricks for those of you who might have few miles on the bike but a strong desire to look like you've been riding:

1. The most important thing you can do to ensure that you look like you've been putting in chamois time is to always (and I mean absolutely always) ride on Diane's wheel. The more wind the more you must never let anyone else on her wheel. Diane is taller and broader shouldered which translates to a killer draft. This works double for me as I can get an amazing draft and since I have very narrow shoulders I give a very small draft which adds to the sensation that I'm fit. This proved to be my saving grace last night!

2. Try to always be at the front of the group when you get to a hill. This serves two purposes: 1. You get to set the tempo and you can set it at a pace you can survive. 2. If someone passes you and increases the pace you can still fall off the pace and remain in the group since you are starting at the front.
*As a sidenote, if you can't be at the front at the hill then do whatever you can to make sure Deb isn't as she can set a blistering pace by slowly inching up the pace and leaving everyone in the dust. Ouch!

3. If you don't have the fitness for the hills then you better work double time on your descending skills because you're going to need them if you don't want to be feeling sad and spit out the back.

4. Keep your time at the front of the group short and sweet. Although Diane wouldn't cut me any slack in my attempts to not pull through it can be beneficial to try and time things. As mentioned taking a pull on the hill is good so you can set your own tempo. Pulling downhill with the wind at your back is also a sweet move. Taking the pull right before a stop sign and then kindly rotating to the back as you clear the intersection can be a nice move as well.

I've got a few more tricks but I think I better keep them to myself or I'll find myself at the front of the group taking a long pull into a hard wind!

Family Night at the Time Trials

2008-06-18T21:05:00.003-06:00

What an event it was! Racers, kids, dogs, people jumping off the new jumps and total craziness everywhere you looked. The grill was going and the night was action packed.

A few shots from the evening:

2008 Women's Dirt Retreat

2008-06-16T20:20:00.003-06:00

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What an amazing weekend! It was so fun to hang out with all the great gals who came as participants and as instructors. Here's some photos of the weekend.

Big Dirt Retreat News

2007-12-30T18:11:00.000-06:00

Although it is full on winter and many of us are out enjoying the snow I thought this would be a perfect time to announce that Alison Dunlap will be one of our instructors at the Dirt Retreat in 2008. This should make for a great event (our ninth). The event will be June 7 and 8. We won't have registration forms for awhile but watch our website for details.

End of Season Party!

2007-11-02T16:57:00.001-06:00

Last night was the rockin' Mad FORCs end of the season PARTY. It was a delightful potluck affair with plenty of Sobe for all as well as some good beer. In addition to the usual hanging out, socializing, drinking and eating we had our end of the year awards.

Award winners were:
Mad FORCs Crash of the Year - A shared honor between Barb L. and Shannon K. both for lovely dives off the obstacles that we had built out at Blackhawk. Barb took a dive off the tall bridge and Shannon went off the teeter totter.

Mad FORCs Climber of the Year - Gwenn D. for her love of climbing. She always wants to know if we're climbing ski hill 6 out at Blackhawk. Crazy girl!

Mad FORCs Most Improved - Kerry R who showed up at her first ride out at Quarry Ridge on her hybrid. Then she bought a mountain bike, came to the Dirt Retreat and raced on a team at 24-9. We can't wait to see what she accomplishes in her 2nd season of mountain biking!

Mad FORCs Racer of the Year - Deb J. who seems to be at every event possible - WORS, WEMS, 24-9, Ore to Shore. She is a racing maniac and is an inspiration for the rest of us.

Mad FORCs Spirit of the Club - Melissa S. who has put together many great club events this year (including this party). She also has been on tons of the rides, raced at 24-9 and Rock Cut, and generally has made a huge contribution to the club this year.

Mad FORCs embrace the mud

2007-10-15T12:20:00.001-06:00

Sue J. out for her first cross race where she took 4th in the Women's 1/2/3 race!

I think she enjoyed it!

Sue wasn't the only Mad FORC out getting dirty so a big congrats go out to all the racers . . . Gwenn, Amelia, Renee V, Shannon, and Sam were also there. Renee C. was the race director for Badger Cross and Michele was there "recovering" from an adventure race by helping with course set-up, registration, and clean up.

More 24-9 photos

2007-08-02T10:36:00.000-06:00

Event photos are online now!

Check out our sweet encampment! Next year lavender pop up tents!!! That would be SWEET.

24 Hours of Good Times

2007-07-31T09:21:00.001-06:00

There have been so many times over the last 13 years that I've been extremely proud to be a member of the Mad FORCs and I have to tell you that this last weekend was another such time.

This weekend was the 24 Hours of Nine Mile in Wausau and over the course of 24 hours there are, of course, many tales to tell so it is hard to know where to start. Here's a few things I'd like to mention that made me glad to be sporting the purple!

1. Kerry R. and Emily
They both were doing their first race. Kerry joined the FORCs earlier this summer and did her first rides on her hybrid and didn't even have a mtn bike when she said she'd be on a 12 hour team for 24-9. She bought a mtn bike and did the Dirt Retreat and now she's done her first race. Emily came to the Dirt Retreat and she must have enjoyed it as she joined the FORCs and signed up to also do the 12 hour team at 24-9. I don't think I've ever met two people with better attitudes than these two. It was awesome having them at the event as it reminded me of how great mtn biking is.

2. Our Moms
How cool is it that there have always been FORCs who are Moms that not only keep on mountain biking but also find time to do events like 24-9. This year Shannon was at the event with 6-month old Ryan who was also wearing lavender all weekend. In addition, we had Moms Amy and Melissa doing the duo. I don't have any kids myself but seeing those gals out there living life to the fullest totally inspires me!

3. Our "mature" racers
I've always been impressed by how kick butt our "mature" riders are and how they keep riding strong. While it's true that they always say that endurance increases as you get older I don't think they necessarily meant over 50. However, the FORCs "mature" members have always shown that over 50 is a prescription for keeping on riding and riding. This year it was Deb who made all of us younger gals realize that not only can you keep riding as you get older but you can set hard goals for yourself and make it happen. It always makes me feel good when the older gals kick some bootie as it gives me hope for my future riding.

4. Our "oh so pro" gals
I would be the first to tell you that racing isn't about your results. If it's only about results then you probably won't stick around the sport too long as a long racing career is bound to have ups and downs. However, over the years we've had some seriously fast FORCs. This year a group of fast gals from the Midwest banded together to try and take the 24 Hour Women's Team National title. That team had some real fire power and it included a FORC - Sue Juedes. Sue now has a beautiful stars and stripes jersey! Of course, that team also included Corie Berrigan who not only is a regular Dirt Retreat instructor but also a former FORC. Holly Liske was also on the team and she was a former Dirt Retreat attendee and current instructor. Now we just need to invite Anne Grabowski to the Dirt Retreat so she can get some FORCs mojo too (and so we can get some of her fast girl mojo)! Now I'll never be as fast as those gals so it sure is awesome living vicariously through them and rooting them on to victory. It absolutely could not have happened to a nicer bunch of gals! The guys in the woods during the night must have wondered what that blur of purple was as Sue did two back-to-back high speed laps!

5. FORCs attitude
Everyone has challenges during the course of a race whether that race is 1 hour, 2 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours or 24 hours. I don't know what everyone's challenge were but I bet there were plenty from crashes, to light problems, to tired legs, to light problems, to stomach problems to who knows what. I know I always wish I were more prepared, more driven, more something. Yet everyone kept going and we certainly seemed like a pretty upbeat group of gals. I know Kerry P. hasn't been racing as she is busy preparing for her imminent move to Taiwan. However, could there possibly be a more upbeat, fun gal who still is fast even with all she has going on??? Barb made all of us at the FORCs encampment cool necklaces that look like little chainrings which was such a cool thing to do. I wish I had a story to tell about everyone because everyone made the weekend special!

6. The Mad DORCs
No, that isn't a typo. We had a group of 4 guys with an awesome sense of humor who registered as the Mad DORCs (dirty off road carnage). Hopefully they enjoyed spending time in the encampment of a gaggle of hard racing gals. Dave and Ben are Chainsmokers, Glenn I knoww from cyclocrosser and Woody from nordic skiing. They held up well in the estrogen zone and even pulled out a 3rd in the Older than Dirt category. Dean was along to do baby duty with Shannon and Andy came with Stephanie to support her and all of us. John E showed up off and on to heckle us as well. Personally I think all the other guys at the event wanted to know how those 7 guys got so lucky to be hanging with us.

7. My 24 hour team teammates
It might just have been insane to register for the Women's National Championship category. However, you have to be a little insane to do a 24 hour race at all. Winning was a long shot at best but we made sure that no team could just coast it in without trying. This team was made up of me and 3 new FORCs. Ridge did 24-9 with us last year and then I convinced her to join the FORCs officially. Michele is an adventure racer, cyclocrosser, roadie gal who I recruited to the team this year as well. Carol showed up at the Rock Cut race on a purple bike and it was a sign that she too should be a FORC. None of us are pro racers and we were out gunned by "fast girl" teams. Out gunned maybe but definitely not out classed! I have to say it was pretty awesome racing with those gals and getting to know them better. I think we represented pretty well.

Okay, okay I guess I should stop gushing but it's hard not to go on and on about everyone and how they rocked out at 24-9. Hats off to Deb, Melissa, Amy, Kerry R, Emily, Renee V, Shannon K, Barb, Kathy, Berlie, Stephanie, Ridge, Carol, Michele , Kerry P, and Sue. The time is now to make plans for your own 24-9 adventure. Talk has already started about those who want to do solos, duos and teams of all kinds for next year.

Here some photos of the FORCs and the DORCs and a few other people too . . .

Renee C

Dirt Retreat Photos

2007-07-13T20:00:00.001-06:00

12 Hours @ Blue Mounds Race Report

2007-07-09T23:38:00.000-06:00

Hello! Sorry to have missed you all at the dirt retreat. Sounds like it went really well!

Here's my race report. I'm sorry. I'm really long-winded :)

First of all, I can't believe I hadn't ridden at Blue Mounds until Saturday's race! You all should have slapped me around and told me about these awesome trails so near to my dear new home.

Ok, I started out a little nervous and almost didn't do the race. Why? Well, I heard there were many roots and rocks. Hmm, I thought, I'm kind of used to rocks, what with the whole Southwestern US riding experience. It probably won't be that bad. Of course, the shoulder I'd dislocated in Utah had other ideas. Rocks? It said. ROCKS? ARE THERE ROCK STAIRCASES? *whimper*

Anyway...so that was one issue. I'd do anything for a couple laps, but could I take a day of tough riding? Would it be tougher than Blufflands?

Then, of course, I checked the weather. Um. 90 degrees, you say?

Then I slapped myself around a bit, whimpered to (and got berated by) my husband, and packed for the race.

I actually made it to Blue Mounds in time for the race start. I was a giant sack of nerves, as I always am the morning of a race. In this case, however, I was a bit worse than usual, on account of the grim tales I'd gleaned from the internet. In the car on the way over to the trails, I couldn't even finish my bagel, which I knew I'd regret. Still, chewing and swallowing was not working so well and I ended up just packing extra goo packs into my camelbak.

The race start seemed casual enough. We ran a silly tiny boomerang lap towards our bikes and took off. I lagged in the back. I hate messing up other people who ride behind me on the trails and I thought it was a possibility, considering the trail stories I'd heard and my not-so-great talent on the bike. I figured I had 12 hours to make up for any slow starts, anyway. (And that, my friends, is why I like the long races!)

On the first downhill, I was astonished to find my knees were actually shaking. Then the girl in front of me had to get off her bike and I suddenly relaxed and flowed down the rest of the downhill. The first downhill was certainly a promise of trails to come, with some nice rocks to go over and around. We coasted out onto a brief section of doubletrack that cut around the swimming pool and a parking lot, then plunged into singletrack.

The first section of singletrack is definitely fast and fun. We started out on the "Gneiss and Smooth" trail, which was, in fact, nice and smooth. Sure, there were scary-looking rock garden-ish type things laid out in low creeky sections of trail, but they were actually super easy and smooth to go over, and made you feel really awesome. A very fast, blessedly flat trail, with lots of fun twists and turns, it was an enjoyable start to each lap. Also making up what, to my mind, was the first half of the lap, were the Chert, Serpentine Climb (which is easier than it sounds), and Basalty Bail trails. There was a super fun downhill section somewhere in the middle of this first half...if you do it fast enough, you just loop and swerve and make wee hops all the way down the trail. The rocks on the course really, REALLY are not that bad. I was pleased to find they provided a lot of traction (at least when dry, which they were) and were usually more reliable than log piles or roots. There was a section I think in that downhill where you went over a rock, then a log/rock combo, then a log again. I cleared all three once smoothly, which makes the next section of wiggling your way down (also not really so bad) rocks really, really fun. The other times, I kept taking the wrong line on the last teeny weeny log, or was going too slow.

About halfway through the lap mileage, we came to another fairly short doubletrack section, where they had a drink stand set up. I took advantage of the Heed. Mmmm...cold Heed.

The second section of singletrack went over Basalt & Pepper and Holy Schist. Basically, the trail went all fun and loopy for a while, then took you up one painful but doable climb, then another steeper and taller walkable climb. None of the climbs were horrendous and certainly didn't take too long to walk. Once past the climbs, the trails were fun, fun, fun again. More fast, mostly level singletrack with some interesting rocks and roots thrown in. Then, the course rolled up a doubletrack hill to the finish/start area. On the subject of the doubletrack hill, on my fifth lap I was eating as I spun oh-so-slowly up that hill. I looked to my right, where a rider had been keeping pace with me, and realized that he was walking up the hill, not riding as I'd thought. Argh!

I can't say enough how fun these trails are. They're great for learning about rocks and how not-so-scary they can be. Oh, yes, they are challenging. Oh, yes, there were sections I walked every single time. But most of the time, I rode and had a blast.

Aside from the trails, this race was an experiment in eating...or rather, what not to eat. I packed a variety of cool, juicy things, like fruit, (in anticipation of the heat) but I think I needed to bring more fat and protein laden food. I also discovered that yogurt + bagel = disaster for nearly an entire lap. And I found that eating less to compensate for eating too much results in finding my personal wall that day. I didn't quite bonk as I didn't feel hungry; I was just overcome by tiredness and soreness and as a result, my last lap was about a half hour longer than my others. I definitely learned I need to eat more consistently - and that I do better on a liquid/gel/oatmeal-cream-pie diet than on "real food".

Of course, in my defense of my last lap, I did get a flat. Oh, sure, it didn't take that long to fix but, you know, excuses, excuses.

Results:
Got 3rd out of three again, though I think I'm improving a bit. At least I did the same number of laps as the 2nd place girl...and wasn't horribly far away, time-wise. I did 6 laps in 10 hours and 56 minutes, for a total of 49.2 miles. I gained 5280 ft of elevation. My cycle computer says I actually rode my bike for 9 hours and 19 minutes. I also rode the trails with great abandon, hugging trees and rocks alike, which maybe means I am becoming a little bit less of a chicken. I count around 13 new bruises, 3 scrapes, and two blisters. Not bad for a day's work!

And because I'm obviously a narcissist, in purple bike watch news:

Wow, product placement at Blue Mounds. Luckily, the picture of me is too small to see my red, red face.

Here's me looking like a turtle at Blufflands

Here's me looking kinda like a 12 year old. Hmmm.

Hope to see/meet some of you at the WORS race next weekend!

Carol

Dirt Retreat time

2007-07-05T10:20:00.000-06:00

This weekend is the annual Women's Dirt Retreat that the Mad FORCs are sponsoring for the 8th year. Check out the coverage at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (scroll down to July 2).

Family Night Fun

2007-06-25T21:17:00.000-06:00

Some riding . . .

A little more riding . . .

Some trike riding action . . .

Lily the future super star racer . . .

Dave rollerskied over to join the festivities . . .

It was good to see everyone . . . and the food was delicious!