Campmor H2H Chain Stretcher at Blue Mt

It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting here typing my first race report of the season, and now my last race of the year has already passed. The Chain Stretcher Race at Blue Mt is one of my favorites, and this year I was glad to have it at the end of my race calendar. I was pretty excited the night before in anticipation of the race. I was completely surprised in the morning when I woke to the sound of rain, as rain was not predicted.

Although the rain washed away my excitement, I wanted closure on the season, and closure on the Lyme disease, so this race was significant to me. I took the start line, with all the usual ladies I have had the pleasure to race with though out the season. The course was unusually slippery, and the technical nature of the terrain made it very treacherous. My rear tire was slipping out on rock faces, and wet roots took me down on the last sweeping turn out of Stinger. I can’t say anything broke or hurt after the fall, but it mentally slowed me down. I was having one of those "not too confident days", and I eventually gave into a methodical, safer pace. I even got off and walked a few things.

After one lap, I checked my lap time and had a moment of doubt where I questioned whether I would finish before dark. I had a little pep talk with myself, and I managed to stay with it, and although the mud smeared rock gardens seemed to get worse each lap, my riding seemed to get better. My second lap was much faster than my first and I tired very little for the long race it was. Three hours and 45 minutes later, I came across the finish line in my big chain ring with a big grin on my face.

So, although I am a little disappointed that my technical riding was not my best at my last race of the season, I felt like I beat the Lyme at this race. This was by far the longest ride I have done in months. My energy levels were good and I felt stronger than I have felt in quite some time. Looking forward to enjoying some casual autumn ridies and returning to normal riding habits.

Sadly, Summer Girl Rides Winding Down

There is something special about a group going out into the woods to explore new paths and experiences. While searching for any number of things, we find: fitness, laughter, stress release, speed, gravity, gravity defiance, fear, courage, wind, sweat, tears, blood, beauty, truth and most importantly, friendships. Watching seasons change, watching lives change, it all blends together as one grand set of experiences. Thanks to all the women that have joined me on this journey.

Rumble in the Jungle

Racing at Jungle Habitat, has got to be one of the highlights of the year for many mountain bikers. The defunct 1970’s drive through safari theme park has taken new form, with 30 years of new growth and vines entangling trees and structures of another era. Jorba, the main force behind the extensive trail planning and building in the park, has done a great job on the trails, that now allow the public to bike through. Racers were certainly challenged with rocks galore and tight off camber single-track with trees nipping at their handle bars the whole way. And if that wasn’t enough to keep their attention, racers could also take in the historical sites along the route as they would ride past a monkey cage, an amphitheater, to the top of a hill, in between tiger and baboon pens, through fences, past the umbilical cord, through a tunnel, into the deer pen and around the 80 acres of crumbling parking lot.



Although I felt a little light-headed, my day got off to a good start. Lots of friendly people milling about, a very relaxed endo on the pre-ride, and it was looking like it would be a great day for me to return to racing after my short Lyme break. Once departing the start line and being released into the jungle, I found myself overwhelmed with the fast start and instantly fell to the back of the pack. This only lasted the few hundred feet of pavement, as I was amazed how quick I came alive when rocks appeared in front of me. It was like the mountain biker in me was stronger than whatever negative forces were working against me.



Near the end of my first lap, with adrenalin rushing, I was close to finding my rhythm in the single track, but a split second of indecision and I was down. Now with my knee screaming at me, I reeled myself in and tried to temper the adrenaline. My second lap was disappointing, and I questioned whether I could complete three laps, but I kept going. The humbling thought of having to succumb to using my granny ring on the road climb did enter my mind.



Once on my third lap, I was too tired to waste any more energy on negative thoughts or anything other than finishing the race. With negative forces cleared from my head, I climbed the road in my middle ring. Being too tired to let the adrenaline get out of control, I found my mantra in the single-track. Winding between the trees, looking ahead, less brakes, less pedaling, I just flowed. I’m not sure if I actually got faster or just wished myself into thinking I would find the end of this journey sooner. As the trees wooshed by, my knee no longer hurt, and I felt nothing but a relaxed smile inside. Feeling like I was riding on the wind, completely entertained, I found the finish line like every other racer that day. It’s good to race.

Road Ride to Recovery

After an eighteen week break, I finally dusted off the road bike, and went out for a road ride. Thinking back now, I’m not exactly sure how this all came to be. Although I am a mountain biker, a good portion of my riding time is usually spent on a road bike, and for some reason, I felt a tad of road burn-out in late spring, and took a break. Once spring had arrived in the woods, I became totally immersed in mountain biking. Then a new 5 inch Moto-lite arrived. Needless to say, mountain biking felt great and I had no interest in the road. I had my sights set on Nationals, and was excited to try Super-D and hoped to hang onto enough residual fitness for a XC victory. Once the goals had been accomplished, I lost my drive, or that is what I thought. I did make an effort to get out on the road once, but I had no energy. Later I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease. So here I am, two weeks of doxycycline and 18 weeks later, once again swinging my leg over the Pinarello. It took a bit of arm twisting on the part of Art, Willy, and Marianne to whom I am indebted for these efforts to get me on a road bike once again.

Spinning down Long Meadow Rd towards Harriman, my plan was to do an out and back to my scale and not have the group wait. As it turned out, my humble plan was not needed as the group started out easy and I hung all the way up into the park for the 35 mile loop. I felt almost normal again on the bike and I enjoyed being back up in the park once again. The season is certainly changing, with cool breezes and bits of reds highlighting the forest. Climbing up 106, I watched acorns roll down the road. The black water of the lakes contrasted the pond plants, now turning gold. While the changes are exciting, they also bring sadness, as they remind me that summer is coming to an end. Pedaling through the hero stretch on the way home, we hit the usual 29 mph with the wind against our faces. It's good to feel better this day.

The First Signs of Fall

Half Century and 24HOA

You are probably thinking that this post is about riding some epic 50 miler, right? ….Well, not quite. It’s more about living a half a century. .....August 22, 2008 marks the day that I pass the half century milestone. I don’t know if this should be something to brag about, celebrate, or deny. It just sort of happens at one point if you do not die before then. The 24 hours of Allamuchy also falls on the same weekend, and my female teammates were looking for me to join them on a relay team. What better way to spend my 50th birthday, than to spend it with these special women, riding our bikes at Allamuchy. It also was sort of cool that we spanned four decades in ages being 24, 36, 40 and 50 years old. Although our official team name was Team Campmor, we made up an unofficial name of: Cheetah, Hotwheels, Firecracker and Cougar. Laura and I didi the artwork to create the tattoo labels on our calves.

Friday (the big day): Packing the car with what seems like way too much stuff, Art, Laura and I start our day nicely. Laura needs to get to a compressor to seat a new tire on the rim, so we stop at a gas station. I hear a big bang and lots of commotion, and turn to see a bent wheel, tire in shreds and Art and Laura covered in stans sealant. Faux pas #1, and all that extra stuff we packed is already coming into use.

There was a huge accident on the highway, causing massive traffic, but eventually we all made it to Allamuchy Boy Scout Camp to set up camp and take a lap on the course. The course was faster, shorter, less technical and unusually dry. I should have been more excited about the course and conditions, but having Lyme disease was paying its toll on my energy and enthusiasm. I suppose I still felt pretty good for a 50 year old, I just was hoping to go into this race in better health. I had a very enjoyable birthday dinner that night with friends in a Thai restaurant that actually caught on fire during dinner. Hot night for sure! Thanks to all that joined me for the celebration.

The Race: Hotwheels led us off with the first lap. Our plan was to ride double laps, but to be prepared to be flexible on the first rotation. She comes in with her first lap at 1:01 with a broken seat post and sends out Cougar. Cougar (1:15) and Firecracker (second fastest lap at :57) also opt for one lap each, pre-race nerves, I guess. I head out for my two laps, and felt like crap. Struggling with low energy, and determined to stick to my two lap plan being the veteran, I finally settle in at about 6 miles. I finish my two laps (1:04 and 1:07), eat, shower and put my feet up in my tent for a cheetah nap, as my legs were feeling shot, probably from the Lyme.

Hotwheels put in two more good laps, 1:04 and 1:08 nearing dusk. Cougar, not being used to racing the extra distance, puts in two impressive night laps (1:27 and 1:40) to continue the double lap rotation. Later on, I come out of my tent to find a disco ball and strobe light in the campsite. The Jorba crew certainly like to keep the atmosphere fun. I take a chair and join them on the knoll to watch the racers come in. I notice a campmor jersey go by, screaming “whoopee!” It’s Fircracker starting to ignite in the night. She pulls off 1:10 and 1:08 night laps. Awesome stuff!! If you saw a girl with a Campmor jersey and firecracker tattoo flying by, that was Laura.

Now it’s time for the tired cheetah to head out for a night lap, and I let them know, that I may only do one lap. Waiting in the transition area, Tom tells me he saw a bear on course on his lap lap. This is not what I need to hear. Once on course and all by myself, I notice a fresh bear scat on the trail. Every rustle in the woods makes me think, but I keep pedaling. Feeling tired, I still notice that I am passing many solos. I also noticed many mechanicals along the trail with someone already stopped to help. It is great to see this sort of support amongst fellow racers. At about 8.5 miles I see a lone mechanical, and as I did for all the others, I asked if he needed help and he said yes. So I stopped to help him. About 10 minutes later, I was on my way and finished my single night lap at 1:27. Showered and went sleep.

Hotwheels back on course, forgot to get the co2 back, that she had lent to Firecracker. Hotwheels flatted for the 1st time ever with tubeless, and could not fill her tube. She walked for several miles before Wendi came by and lent her some air. She calls it a night with 1 lap (1:48). Cougar is ready to go and pushes herself and her dimming lights to the limit with one more lap(1:38). She wakes up the Firecracker, and shortly later gets her onto the course for 2 stellar laps (both at 1:02).

Hotwheels, perhaps a little frustrated with her 2 mechanicals asks to ride my moto-lite and to switch with me in the rotation. She goes out for a lap, and if two mechanicals isn’t enough, she now breaks her chain. She uses a quick link to put it back together and is in (1:10). Back on course I rode very steady and smooth. Although I wasn’t real fast, I felt better than any of my other laps. I got in with a 1:08 lap at 11:44, but was reluctant to take another lap because of my health.

We finished up with 18 laps as the only women’s team, but more important than the result was the experience of working with these three women. We had quite a few challenges this year other than the weather, and the team did very well dealing with them. I think we all may have held back a bit, with my health and two of the girls heading out to Shenandoah 100 the next week. My only real disappointment was my health, and I hope that starts to improve soon.

Tandem X 3

Riding a tandem is like dancing with a partner. Put three tandems together and it is like a dance party on wheels. Yesterdays ride was one to remember. Moving together in a rhythm of tandem, Laura, Howie, Dar, Willy, Art and I rode 59 miles and 4700 vertical feet of climbing on some of the areas most scenic roads, and all paired on tandems together.

Our adventure started in Tuxedo NY, back dropped with a number ten type of day. We climbed up Rt 106 into Harriman State Park, and then headed north up Seven Lakes towards Bear Mountain. The lakes were sparkling in the sun and turtles were out sunning on the rocks. We decided to take an impromptu visit up Perkins Memorial Dr. to the look out. Here we encountered many cyclists challenging themselves on the ascent, only to be rewarded by the view and the gentle cool breezes at the top.





From there, we continued north and were able to bypass West Point traffic, by cutting through the military buffer on Mine Rd, another scenic quiet road that connects close to the incredible Rt 218 section that winds along the Hudson.









After our trip along the Hudson, we stopped in Cornwall to re-fuel and rode back south over some nice long climbs and descents on Angola/Mineral Springs Rd into Monroe and East Mombasha Rd. back to Tuxedo. It was a very enjoyable day, and great to see some new people get turned on to riding a tandem. The group dynamic was a perfect match.

Feathers and Butterflies

Todays finds ...

Ornate feather display at a passing trail head.


One of many butterflies sharing the nectar of a bush.

A beautiful sky ends the day.....

National Championships at Mt Snow

I am still trying to unwind, take a deep breath and realize all that happened in these last two weeks of racing. The first thought that comes to my mind is that I am part of an incredible team of generous and giving people that have been so instrumental in making this successful weekend happen for Team Campmor. Without them, and especially Art, I may not have even been at the race this past weekend.

We arrived on Wednesday, and found an unusually dry XC course with steeper climbs added, as well as single-track taken out and replaced with new single-track. The course was very rideable, but was strewn with roots and off-camber sections that would completely become a new creature if soaked in rain. Call me sick, but I half hoped for a little rain, to lube those roots up for a fun filled race. It wouldn’t be Mt Snow without the wet roots.

I also took a few runs on the Super-D course and determined that it was indeed too fun to miss, and talked my teammate Dar into doing it also. Marianne, Laura, Dar , Jess and I were stirring a lot of attention on the lift lines, as we always seemed to appear like a pack of giggling girls. Plus the lift attendant was quite a Titus fan, so we must have had some cool factor going on, and every time we were in the lift area, all we heard was “Campmor Girls!”.

Friday night before my race, my half hopes came true, when a severe thunderstorm passed over the mountain. It woke me from sleep, and I could see the curtains in the bedroom flying in the strobe light. Cool winds rushed in, with pounding rain and flashing light. All my life I have dreaded this situation the night before a race, and now I am excited by it. I am not sure how I was transformed, but I like it. I thought as long as it did not rain long enough to cause mud, I would be golden. .....The rain stopped in 30 minutes

Saturday I took the line, and when the gun went off, a woman I did not know, bolted. I chased down hard, but I could barely hold her wheel. As we reached the steep part of the climb, she spun out in the greasy mud. I moved to the side in hopes of passing her, and rode by her, pressing hard over the top, my heart-rate soaring. As I passed the infield, I heard people cheering and calling me by name, and then I heard cheering for the woman I had just passed. The next steep climb came way too fast, and I was nowhere near recovered, my stomach now starting to cramp. By the time I was turning into the single-track at the top, I could see the other woman was off and pushing her bike up what I had just ridden, which gave me a little comfort.

Plodding away up the many climbs, passing people in other classes, I finally reached the summit to start my descent. "Be like water" was my mantra. Oh boy, what fun it was. Slipping and sliding, staying loose, I got on a good wheel. She took great lines, and I found myself at the bottom way too fast. Recovered and back on the climb, I noticed that I did not seem to have my climbing legs. I proceeded to spin a bit more than usual and tried to find something that I could work with. I eventually got into a groove, and once again I found myself at the top ready for the romp down the mountain. This time, I was getting lapped by the lead single-speeders and experts. The traffic was a bit dicey as a few men crashed trying to pass me, but I kept it upright myself staying on the low side of the roots. At one point I got a little sideways with the rear end, causing a little “tighten my sphincter” panic, but I kept the front wheel pointing downhill, and momentum straightened me out eventually, causing me to let out a sigh of relief that morphed into a juvenile giggle.

As I neared the bottom, the cheering was incredible. If I didn’t hear my name, I heard things like “nice bike” and “nice wheels”. People were just cheering for everyone. As I turned down the last hill, I could taste the victory, and this is something I did not get five years ago ( when I did not know I had won until the results were posted, because they forgot to mark legs). Into the big ring I went, and coming into the finish line at Mt Snow with all the local friends cheering was exhilarating. I can’t tell you how much I have always wanted to win this race at Mt Snow, and to do it feeling like I had found peace with the roots felt even better. My fitness did not feel like it was my best, but I technically rode very well and my bike was just an extension of me, handling perfectly.

I was pretty pooped on Sunday for the Super-D, but it was a blast!! The Campmor girls rocked it in the Super-D. I am so thrilled to have Dar be our new Super-D National Champion, a very deserved win for her. I am lucky to ride with these incredible ladies, and it was awesome to stand next to them on the podium afterwards in our Campmor Podium sweep. Besides doing well myself, the team was fantastic as a whole, especially Marianne winning the sport red and stars jersey in her first year raceing. Truly a great weekend with friends to savor in my memories.

East Coast National at Windham

Finding some in between race, drug-free, psychedelic times in Tannersville, N.Y.






It was really cool to have a National Race venue so close to home. It certainly brought back memories of Hunter Mt. in ’93 with Tomac, Hans Rey and the infamous downpours. Now 15 years later, National racing has finally returned to the enchanting Catskill Mountains.

I arrived on Thursday afternoon with my teammates and was quite surprised to see such a buffed out XC course that was powder dry and scattered with nicely engineered bridges. All the sections and bridges had signs with cute names. The bridges were very friendly and had chicken wire on them as if they were expecting lots of rain … hmmm, remember Hunter Mt?

Come XC race day, it was up at the crack of dawn, to eat and get in a 1 hr warm up. I was expecting a very short race, and the shorter the race, the longer the warm up. It was a mass start for women and off the uphill start, I would guess that I was about 2/3 back, and ahead of my competition, going into the first single track. I did not feel that spunky, but I was able to stay in the lead of my age group, and get by all the miscue’s and grab a good wheel pulling me up to the base of the first of the longer climbs. I was able to find my legs and pass quite a few girls and bridge up to my teammate Laura. Just barely keeping her in sight in the single-track, I finally reached the last big climb where I passed about 3 more including Laura, but Laura hung on to my wheel.

Over the bridge, big ring and into the descent for a romp down the mountain, and through the mini wall section with ease, while Laura offering me some supportive words. Starting up the climb again, I heard crunching and felt my chain stop. I looked down and my chain was sucked into the spokes behind the cog set. It wouldn’t come out, so I flipped my bike over and un did the wheel and started to wiggle and yank on the chain. The first semi-pro came by and asked if I was ok, then Laura, asking too. All they got was a “yes fine”, but in my head I was frazzled, and trying to stay calm. Still wiggling, and now getting frustrated, another 2 women came by, and I gave it a hard yank, and it came out, thankfully still in one piece. Wheel back on, back on the bike and away to the top, catching back up to Laura again at the top climb.

The semi pros were in full lapping mode now, and I lost sight of Laura ahead of me. Sometimes getting lapped is like a race in itself. Being my second and final lap, I was flowing much faster in the single-track, and was able to allow passing for the semi’s out on the open slopes, which I actually felt pretty good about. My racer-x certainly suits me well, and helps give me much better handling ,control and confidence while descending. I was happy to finish my race ahead with a pretty good margin, and still be competitive with the whole expert class.

I had taken a few runs on the Super-D course, and once again, very nice trails. There were many pedaling, twisty sections in the woods. I almost felt like I was riding at home. And as a middle aged, female XC rider, I found them to be just challenging enough to try my first super-d race. Well that is what I thought until it started raining on Sunday and with heavy storms on the radar, it looked as if the super-d might be a no show for me. With some amazing luck, the rain gods spared us, and the sun started peeking out by race time, so I took my practice run and got to the top of the mountain.

It was pretty cool as there were 3 other women doing their first super-d also. It was a mass lemans start for women, and I can’t run for crap, so it was a given that I would be off the back. Jess’s bike tangled with the girl next to her, so she and I ended up in the back of the train pedaling like crazy down the meadow. I am usually pretty conservative, but I really enjoyed pushing my comfort zone a bit. I wore wide eyes and a big grin all the way down, passing friends cheering along the way. Much to my surprise, I reeled in some girls in the single-track, and made my final pass in an open field near the bottom, getting some un-expected air off a gravel pile, and sucked it up for a smooth landing. …all this initiating some uncontrolled giggling. At this point, I was beginning to go for the finish line and hung it out a bit more for competition sake. Awesome stuff! I crossed the finish line asking for another run.

Not always being competitive these days, this weekend helped to rejuvenate my sense of competition, and was a good reminder that there is lots of fun in some healthy competition. Looking forward to Mt Snow National Championships!