Slipped a Bit

I just checked my WORS points position and I slipped from 6th to 9th. I have never raced the Super D and Short Track events at the Subaru Cup to get the extra points but it appears that I need to in the future.

Black Flies and Humidity

It's that time of year again. I head out to 9 Mile for a ride last night and now that it's hot and humid the motivational black flies have returned. You can see them swarming behind you as you ride and they remind you not to stop. It was humid too and may have been warmer than it was at the Subaru Cup. We didn't push too hard and tried to take it a little easy but I did manage to push hard enough that I clipped a tree but luckily my pinky was between the tree and my bike and protected my handlebars. It is sore today. Dan was having computer issues with both of his bike computers so he may say we rode about 22 miles but I say it was 11.

WORS Race #4 (Subaru Cup)

We headed for Mt. Morris on Saturday for the 4th race in the series. It was hot to say the least but I prefer that kind of weather. The start times for this race are backwards so the instead of racing before lunch I started at 4:00 and Collin's Juniors race was at 6:30 p.m. When I got to the start area I got a "call up" which basically means I am high enough in the points now that I get to start in the front row. When the race started I quickly dropped off the front row and didn't push too hard because I knew there was plenty of climbing to come and actually there isn't much of a lead out here so when we all hit the first singletrack we came to a standstill anyway. It was slippery in the rocky sections and sticky in the flat sections because the area got a downpour on Friday. The sticky mud and slippery roots made it difficult to keep any momentum going and brought most people to a stop at one spot or another. I managed to miss the pick up of my first water bottle and dropped it but luckily I had Carrie, Kelsey and Collin there to help and they actually gave me several extra hand ups which I poured over myself to help keep cool. I managed a 14th place finish out of 20 which isn't all that bad considering there were people that dropped out for heat related reasons so just finishing was a plus. When I was finished it was just about time for Collin to start and Carrie turned the camera over to me so I could take pictures of his race. I think I sweated just as much running to all the different spots that he would go by to take pictures as I did in the race. Collin tried to give me the "I can't do it" in a couple spots and I kindly reminded him there is no quitting and to just keep pedaling. He came across the line with a 5th place finish. Not too bad of a weekend.

8.5 Miles tonight

Went to 9 Mile and rode 8.5 miles. 1 lap of the previous race. Collin joined me and did pretty good. He struggled in the rocky sections but walked his bike where he needed too. Also looked at the WORS point standings today and I'm currently 6th. Not too bad.

Rode a bit tonight

Went out to 9 Mile for a quick 11 mile ride before dark. Still a bit soft in some spots and my calf still seems to be hurting a bit. Never went down in the race but went down once tonight. Careless I guess.

Clean and shiny

Bikes clean and calf still hurts. Looks like rain tomorrow so hopefully some riding Wednesday at 9 Mile.

WORS Race #3 (Big Ring Classic)

After a Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning pre-ride of the course it was going to be fast and furious. Saturday afternoon Dan, Gary and I helped the WORS team set up the event and then the rains came and came and came and came. Needless to say the course was going to go from fast and furious to slow and tedious. Sunday morning we arrived at 7 a.m. and set up the E-Z Up and then I headed out to set up the water station for the trail runners. After they were done it was time for Collin's first Juniors race. He was in the wrong gear for the long climb up the road to me and ended up wiping out right in front of me. He got up walked over and grabbed a cup of water and commenced standing and talking to me. As a girl went by I pointed out that he just got passed by a girl. He hopped back on and continued on his way. After all the kids went through and my replacments arrived I headed back on the 4 wheeler. When I neared about a mile to go for Collin I spotted him in last place with the "sweepers" riding right behind him. I "encouraged" him to pick up the pace and he did. Carrie and her family also "encouraged" and he picked up 3 places for a 3rd place finish and a medal.

Time for me to get changed and start some kind of a warmp up in the mid 40 degree weather. I hate racing in cold weather. Mud is fine with me but cold I don't like. 11:30 came and I was in the first wave out.



It was a mad race down the road and I held my own until we reached the first big hill and I had used to much on the dash out on the raod and was falling back. Luckily when we hit the rocky and muddy singletrack, there everybody was all bunched up. I did all I could to stay with the group and was doing fine even though it was hard going because the mud was sooo tacky it was hard to keep the 29's rolling. Going into the start of lap 2 my left calf seized up with a cramp. I stopped stretched it out but it stayed with me for the whole second lap and needless to say caused me my slowest time of the year as you can see.



After changing clothes and waiting for the Elite and Comp racers to finish then it was tear down time. Dan, Gary and I again helped the WORS crew tear down and it was 7 p.m. when we finished. It was worth the effort. I got an MP3 player and some new Tifosi racing shades. I was beat when I got home. Tonight......BIKE CLEANING.

WORS Race #2 (Crystal Lake Classic)

For the second week in a row we headed to Rhinelander to Camp Tesomas and for the second week in a row I underestimated how long it takes to get there. If you know me, I like to arrive early and not feel rushed. I quickly went to registration and Kelsey and Carrie went to find a spot to view the start. When I got back to the vehicle I changed into my biking shorts, jersey and shoes and while talking to a friend and being in more of a hurry than I like to be almost locked the keys in the truck.

After a little more of a warm up ride than I like to do it was time to head to the starting line. At the sound of Goooooo! it was off on a miserable lead out that is an all out sprint on gravel road for what seems like miles.



It is probably really 1 to 1.5 miles. It felt like my heart was in my throat along with a lot of dirt. Once I got in the woods and into the singletrack I got a little rest before a couple small uphill climbs. How the rest of a lap at Rhinelander can be described is brutally rough. Evidence of this was that 3 out of the 4 bolts that hold the front chain ring to the crank set were loose when I checked them tonight.

I told Carrie that I would be done in 1:30:00.0 and I finished almost right on time at 1:30:18.0 and it took all that I had left in the tank. I pushed it as hard as I could and wound up in 15th place. I have taken 20 minutes off the time I had for the first race of the year and was 3 minutes faster than last year for the same race.

Next week is Wausau and I am looking forward to it because it is where I do most all of my riding and I really like it there. Right now the weather shows showers for Sunday and that might make it interesting.