Cyclocross Season 2009: Hillsboro Fairgrounds, Oct 25

Race report: Cross Crusade at Hillsboro, Oregon, Oct. 25, 2009

Women’s Masters A, 14th Place

By Elaine Bothe

Shout it out! My washing machine is working overtime. Finally we got mud.

Mud two layers deep inside my clothes. Luscious sticky grassy mud, some deep wet puddles, sloppy squishy hairpin corners and slick traverses to balance out the long gravel parts. And, bumpy mud! a first for me. The goal is to stay upright!

In and out of horse barns, through gates and across the fields. This year we skipped the show arena that was full of knee-deep muck and who knows what else. Well, actually, we DO know what else.

Weather was cool, it rained in the morning before our race. I layered up this time, so I stayed warm waiting for the start. Again, I’m in the back so I have to hang onto traffic until I can start picking people off. Not a bad draft, though, over the gravel road at the end of our steamin’ freight train!

The first muddy corner opens a door for some progress. A lot of people just slipped out. My tires are true, I pass a few people but too bad my legs aren’t at full steam yet, as a few of them passed me again on a long smooth straight.

I stay with Teammate Colleen for a little bit, I attempt a pass but that lights a fire and off she goes. Go!! Yay!! Suuuure, Colleen, you’re tired after finishing 3rd in Salem on Saturday, the day before! Good job! (Quite a Sorella showing there, too, way to go everyone!)

After a couple of laps my heart rate settles down and I can get busy. I see a couple of targets ahead and I go for it. The passes stick. I’m starting to see lots and lots of teammates, yay! Good job everyone! (My apologies to one of you, though, for a less than courteous pass… I thought I had lots of room on the left as it looked like you were heading down the middle. And I don’t think you heard my call-out. So sorry! You were looking good though! Way to go!)

Then I see a couple, maybe three more competitors amongst lap traffic, I plan ahead to catch them on a particularly treacherous muddy corner and it works. One woman gets by me later… Last lap.

And another. Rats. But I get her back. The other one, I don’t know her, gains some ground through the horse barns. I don’t give up, waiting for my chance. I hear a commotion from the spectators ahead, then a cheer. I pop out of a barn into a corner and… nearly run over her as she’s getting up and away from a spill! Surprised, I quickly plot two potential moves.

More lap traffic through Plan A. My first idea didn’t work. I hang close, but she knows I’m there. On to Plan B.

OK. The last turn into the finish area is REALLY slick, I’ve seen a number of wrecks there already. There’s a bit of intact grass to the right, I hug tight as she goes wide. Some tricky maneuvering around a downed rider and, stand up, quick sprint, maybe 12-15 yards at most to the finish line.

I look ahead up course aiming for a point well beyond the finish. She sprints too, it seems pretty close as there were three or four in close proximity. Hope they can see my number…. And they did. She beat me by a hair, apparently!

I end up in 14th again, but there were a couple more people behind me than usual. Including Sarah, finishing on a borrowed pit bike! Ugh! Good job to Eileen, bringing home 4th place. Awesome! And after leading there for a bit! Yay to everyone for some good racing and fun times!

All in all, I felt more aggressive and had the legs to attack in the last half of the race. My dismounts and mounts are improving and I’m trying hard not to get dropped on the straights… but I was thrilled for the mud. It was a lot of fun but I’m sure glad I had eye protection and didn’t lick my lips!

See everyone next weekend, twice! Go Sorellas!

Photo courtesy of Mark Bothe.

Mt Bike, PIR Short Track 2009: Round 7 of 7, August 3. Upgrade!

PIR Mt Bike Short Track, August 3, 2009

Cat 1 Women, 7th Place

by Elaine Bothe

Short track season epilogue. I upgraded tonight after clinching the series title. It's fun watching the race I competed in last week, but kinda lonely at the same time. All my buddies were out there and I'm trying to keep warm.

I'm nervous, way outside my comfort zone. I don't know who's racing, how many or exactly how they stage.

I'm taking notes for next year. My new race is an hour later (Rats! should have brought the clear lens glasses!) and 10 minutes longer. (Yay! more time on the dirt.)

I get a rotten start (nerves) but manage to stay at the end of the pack. I even pick a few off, and all my buddies are cheering me on. There's a lot less traffic in this race, in a lot of ways it's easier. And, it's still fun. Bittersweet, though, since this is the last short track race of the series, and the highlight of my racing year. I'm bummed it's over.

Looking forward to next year, I have some work to do to stay competitive. I didn't finish last, I hope to improve by a lot!

Photo courtesy of Mark Bothe.

Mt Tabor Circuit Race 2009: Round 1 of 6, June 10

Race Report: Mt Tabor Series, Round #1 of 6. June 10, 2009

Womens 40+ 2nd Place

by Elaine Bothe

Short race, short report… well, for me ; )

First road race ever. Except for the Jack Frost TT a year ago, right off the couch. (Not recommended.)

The word “mountain” is in the name of the series so it was appealing even though the race is on pavement. The course is a curvy circuit about a mile long and some change on top of Portland’s own backyard dormant (?!) volcano. Glorious corners, beautiful park setting, half the course is uphill and half is down.

Since I don’t have a proper road racing bike, I shod my trusty cyclocross bike with some slick rubber and swapped out the pedals, cleaned up the brakes and off I went to warm up.

My goal: ride hard, stay calm and don’t crash. It’s a fitness ride, right? Uh huh.

I jumped right into the Womens 40+ category. It’s a bunch start, the seniors have red ribbons on their backs (Cats 1-4 or so, I’m not really sure, as opposed to juniors who are under 18), there’s also yellow ribbons, oh well can’t keep all that straight, and masters, blue. Shari pins my ribbon on last minute. I just know I need to pass all the blues.

I start out at the back of the pack, self conscious as this is my first road race. No countdown or anything, just a mosey as the pack oozes between all the curbs and fences. The lead pack eases away from me up the hill past the cheering Sorellas and friends and Mark (thanks everybody! It really helped!) but I’m picking off stragglers, reds, a yellow and some blues. Short uphill pop-up to a hard right, then the downhill stretch. I fly through the gears, I keep clicking but I run out so I just pedal faster.

Big bump in the pavement, right on the line. Who cares, I’m on a cross bike. I pass a bunch of people on the downhill, and hug the inside line around the fast sweeping right hander which is also bumpy. My bike is solid and handles really well without the knobbies, bumps or not! Cool! Didn’t know I owned a road racer!

Short straightaway between the reservoirs. (No spitting or snot rockets, please.) Then uphill, uphill lungs searing and legs burning though the finish and up, onto another lap. The road looks fuzzy, I’m so lightheaded! Breathe deep, stay relaxed.

Back and forth, I traded places with a blue-tagged Kendra Wenzel. I pass her uphill, she’d get me later, for several laps till the last lap when she camped on my wheel and sprinted past me for the win. I did not know we were racing for the win, I thought for sure there were more blues ahead!

But I take second. And $15 prize money! Yay, my first cash prize. Who’da thought, road riding.

Later my husband Mark had great race advice and told me to always assume I'm racing for the win each time I pick somebody off. Especially when everyone is all mixed up in a group like we were. Lesson learned. Plus, looking back, Kendra was showing me her plan, if I paid attention. She’s smart enough though, if I caught on she’d probably mix it up somehow. Oh well. I shouldn’t have passed her for dramatic effect that last time and should have camped on HER wheel! Next time. Lots of fun and a great workout. I’m looking forward to next week.

Photo courtesy of Mark Bothe.

Mt Bike Season 2009: Bear Trap Springs, Apr. 25-26

Race Report: Bear Springs Trap, McCubbins Gulch on Mt Hood, Oregon

April 25-26, 2009

by Elaine Bothe

It’s a late April weekend in Oregon. What to do for a challenge and some exercise. Hike? Run? Ski? Mountain bike?

How about some of each! Both of the Bear Springs Trap mountain bike races were a tremendous challenge and a ton of fun. I got exactly what I wanted: a big challenge, feedback on where my mt bike skills are and my expectations of the unexpected which were 110 percent fulfilled.

I’ve never ridden my mt bike on snow before, so, what the heck, I gave it a shot.

Turns out it’s twistedly fun, especially when I made it through places that others didn’t. It also turns out that crashing on snow isn’t a bad way to crash, as I got my share of that too.

Day One, Saturday’s short track race was all of 30 minutes long. After driving up to the venue with some snow and ice on the roads, I was concerned about the weather but it turned out to be nice enough for just tights and a jacket, not snow pants, parkas and Bar Mitts.

We started out in the middle of the campground parking lot, shot up a fire lane onto a hearty gravel road climb then flew down a single track descent with several deeply rutted snow patches, a few token roots and a rocky section, some deliciously bermed corners and whoops and a muddy “S” section before popping back onto the road for another lap.

A woman I’d never met before named Eileen clobbered me on the hills, and I thought I was good on the hills. But my technical skills were better, particularly through the snowy sections. (I practiced, previewing the course 7 or 8 times to warm up so I got faster each time). We went back and forth, fighting for the lead up the hill.

We both knew she could take me on the hill but if I got ahead of her on the decent, I’d have it. Now I’m leading. Lap 4: I crash on a newly exposed rock in a snowy section. I decide to notch it back to stay under control and finish in one piece. Eileen caught up and passed me on the hill. Lap 5, I kept her in sight, waited patiently for my opening. Three laps to go.

Ha! I got right behind her, stayed quiet, waited… and sprang a sprint past her at the end of the decent onto the road. With a bit of a head start, I lead again that whole lap but she catches up and passes me on the hill. Rats. She’s first onto the singletrack. Lap 7.

OK. Game on. I’m thinking about the next passing opportunity. Wait… Then it happens, down she goes in the snow! An easy landing, “are you ok?” I get around her downed bike and ride like crazy. She doesn’t keep up, and I take the win, my first victory in a bike race. Eileen comes in 2nd. Great race! We both chatted and shook hands afterward.

Day Two, the cross country race, 18 miles of who knows what. Preparing for the worst and expecting many snowy running sections and maybe a creek crossing or two, I bought foot warmers at a ski shop in Government Camp. Thick and wooly socks, if my feet are going to be wet, at least they’ll be warm. All layered up, I warm up. The sun comes out. It’s actually nice! Still not sure how high the course will go and how cold it might be, I keep my hat on but remove the outer gloves and a fuzzy layer under my jacket.

There are a lot more people racing, I don’t know who my competition is. I don’t see Eileen as we corral for the mass start. The whistle blows and off we charge down the same road and up the fire lane. Today we keep going up the power line trail, which is covered in snow. Scores of people, running up the hill with their bikes. Glad I cross train!

I’m passing people, people are passing me.

Abby, a talented rider who just started mt biking last year passes me on the run, apparently she’s a talented runner, too. Abby’s in the middle of a bunch of women, including me at the tail end. We leave the snow, jump onto our bikes and head into the forest for a rolling loop. I try to hang onto this pack but they move away.

Now I’m on my own. I pass one or two people here and there, some others get by me, too. I’m not racing with anyone, just out for a lovely Sunday ride. Aapparently there are some amazing views, but I wasn’t paying attention.

Rolling trails through the forest, some wonderful shale Gorge-hiking trail style traverses (what a cool sound under my tires!), snow sections, up, down, mud, dust, some of everything. This isn’t bad! I take off my hat on the run under the power lines again.

I get plenty of opportunities to perfect my uphill bike pushing techniques. Wrong gear, or too loose of dirt/stone on the trail or too much mud.

Now, I’m on a wonderful decent, a quick rolling section with nice dirt. The trail T-boned into a dirt road, all of a sudden I’m alarmed. No trail markers, no tire marks, nobody in sight. Now what? I’m looking at the sun, that’s south, trying to remember what loop I’m on and where it is relative to the camp. Note to self, bring a good map of the area and a compass next time!

Ugggh, I head back up the hill, knowing I missed a turn someplace. How far back? About 200 feet or so, another rider comes along. He hadn’t seen any arrows either… did we just enter a vortex in the time-space continuum? A really bad horror movie or what?

He stops, since I’m in his way. I turn around, and I see a fast-moving blurry figure in the treetops. Goosebumps… not really, I just made that part up. We head back down the hill and aha! there it is. A couple of corners later, I just missed an arrow sign by ducking to avoid a branch. Whew. Just a race, no dramatic vortex or alien creatures wanting to devour our souls.

The hardest part of the whole day was yet to come, after I’d been biking hard and running already for almost 2.5 hours.

The trail wound down to a creek, and became really rocky, and REALLY rooty and muddy. It was both frustrating and inspirational (I think I’ll look for a bicycle trials camp to increase my skills). I would not have even guessed it was a trail if the arrows hadn’t pointed that way and if the Cat 1 and Pro riders were not catching up and actually riding over parts of it. And at the end of their 30 miles of who knows what!

I rolled in all by myself in 3rd place, happy to see the parking lot and the finish line. I got to try (and crash over) some fun stuff that I would not have attempted if it wasn’t a race, I got to discover some new trails to explore later in the year and I had a great time.

April 25, 2009 Mt Bike Short Track Race: 1st Place, Cat 2 Womens 35+

April 26, 2009 Mt Bike Cross Country Race: 3rd Place, Cat 2 Womens 35+

Muchos Gracias to the promoters and race sponsors, River City Bicycles for a last-minute wheel true and front derailleur replacement, Jeff Tedder and Shari for delivering the highly effective Hammer Nutrition products that really kept me going over two days of intense mt. bike racing followed by a motorcycle track day, Christa at Epic Rider Research and my trusty Mountain Feed Bag that held my handy Hammer Flasks full of the good stuff, Acme Moto Wear, Dustin at Icon Tattoo, Lifeflight Membership Services for NOT needing them, Corey at Seven Corners Bicycles for keeping me in road bike wheels, my hubby Mark for all his love and support, and my Sorella Forte teammates, friends and family. For inspiration and assistance, all of you are the best.

Mt Bike Season 2009: Horning's Hustle, Apr. 5

Race Report: Horning’s Hustle,

April 5, 2009

Mountain Bike: Women’s Cat 2 - 35+

2nd Place

by Elaine Bothe

I made a few mistakes, the biggest one I didn’t figure out until the next day. This race is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.

The amazing and beautiful course made a giant figure-8, a 5 mile circuit on which I managed 3 laps. Up some really steep hills, three or four of which became more walkable and less rideable as the race progressed. And since whatever (and whoever) goes up, must come dow

n, and we did—lots of really fun, squishy and muddy descents, one of which crossed a creek.

And the weather was even better! 70 degrees or so, and sun. I packed my rain gear just in case—I didn’t really believe the weather forecast until I got all warmed up and stripped off layer after layer, until I got down to my bran’ new Sorella Forte kit. I even got a good head start on my farmer’s tan.

Lap One gave me a great start out of all the Cat 2’s, off the line and up a big dirt road hill. I was dueling back and forth with Michelle, who beat me by just 4 seconds in the Echo Red to Red race in February. We picked off some of the back markers in the men’s Cat 2s one by one.

Up, down, round and round. Michelle dropped her chain and I got past her. I’m working on passing somebody else (it’s really hard to tell who I’m racing against, I just want to get around ‘em!) and I misjudge the exact location of a tree and its root, washed the front tire and I go down.

Not much harm on me or my bike. I get up and keep going.

It’s hot. I’m powering down water out of my water backpack. In my stem-mounted Mountain FeedBag I stashed a Hammer Nutrition flask that I put a concoction of Hammer Perpetuum and HEED... like pancake batter, but tastier. It's handy, and I don't have to have a water bottle.

Lap Two is tougher. Michelle catches up and we go back and forth again, up the big hill and around down through a tricky switchback section riddled with fun drops. I saved an over-the-handlebars down a 4 ft drop (a kit-filling moment for sure) and later dropped my own chain. Michelle gets ahead of me.

Now I’m hearing funny sounds out of my back tire…it’s rubbing on my front derailleur and the brake pad is rubbing on the rim. This is a good way to get more exercise by making those steep hills even harder!

The start of Lap Three I wasn’t sure about. I asked if we were done… “Nope,” Kris the race organizer said. “Keep going!” So I did. Off I went, using every ounce of brainpower and every relaxation trick I could think of to simply keep my legs moving. Out of water and food, I’m saying encouraging things to other riders as I pass them, but really meaning the words for myself.

I plugged along, and I finally hear the band at the finish line—that means just down into the creek crossing, up a hill, past the feed station (yay! Water!) around the back loop, through some more drops and a really fun banked berm, into the amphitheater bowl and across the finish line.

Whew.

My tag goes up onto the board, fifth in the column. Rats. I thought I finished better than that. Hey, said my husband Mark. Fourth. The top tag is the category header, it’s not anybody’s tag!

Still.

I get some more water, chat with some fellow racers and we head back to the car for some Hammer Recoverite and lunch. We decide to head home.

That was the biggest mistake of the day.

On Monday, I’m looking at the results and figure out that two of the tags above mine were from people who completed only 2 laps! I finished in 2nd place, behind only Michelle! In spite of my crash and mechanical issues. So I was bummed all evening on race day for nothing. And I missed my chance to stand up on the podium.

Lesson learned: figure out the code before going home.

Many thanks to the race organizers and OBRA, for the help and support to Mark my husband, my team and riding buddies from Sorella Forte (Missed you in this one, Sage, and good job everybody – volunteers and racers -- in your successful race weekend at Cherry Blossom!), and our team sponsors including River City Bikes, Hammer Nutrition (I’m a recent convert) and all our other sponsors; and also my personal sponsors Mountain Feed Bag by Epic Ride Research, Dustin Ranck at Icon Tattoo, Acme Moto Wear, and Life Flight Network Memberships.

Photos courtesy of Oregon Velo.

Cyclocross Season 2009: Sherwood, Oct. 18

Elaine’s Race Report

Cross Crusade #3 Sherwood, Oregon

Women’s Masters A 35+ 14th Place!

It rained and rained and rained the day before, just as forecasted. I bought a brand new set of mud tires, the CX version of the tires on my mt bike that I love so much, Specialized The Captains. Whoo hoo. I spent a muddy Saturday with Anne and Tim and Sage and Sarah and a few others at Alpenrose playing and testing air pressures…

Sunday. Somehow the course remained dry and bumpy, with just a few token muddy corners and pop-ups. But what a course! Twisty turns, flying crazy bumpy downhills, even a little log!! Well, a big stick. Yay! Did some mt biker make this course? If so Bravo!!!!

A great warm up on my trainer, all that is working much better this week. Plus the weather is nice and sunny warm. Also, yay. I get to strip off layers.

I’m low on points so I start toward the back. I still rate a call-up, but just barely. These back starts are driving me nuts. I get a good drive then have to check up because there’s too much traffic going every which way. Drive, check up. Repeat, about four times. We string out into the singletrack part, I’m LASSTTTT!

But that first part is a bumpy downhill so I get to pick off a few people. Then a few more through some fun muddy corners. My tires hold true… a couple more up a muddy hill. Then down a short fast bumpy chute to a double barricaded creek crossing, crap, I come in a little fast, jump off and totally miss my grab for the bike. A couple people pass me back. This happens two laps in a row, you’d think I’d figure it out.

Uphill back to the start/finish. What a fun course. I go back and forth with 3 or 4 people. I pass on technical parts, they’d get me back on the big uphill. But I didn’t give up, and most of those passes finally stuck. By Lap 3 I get around as many lappers as I could, there were 300 women on course at the same time. So many Sorellas! Sorry the bumps were too much, I couldn’t say hi to everyone. Zan looking great, Birch, looking strong on her mt bike, Lynne I think, Anne---hey, why are you running!

Somebody passed me on the hill at the very end, Karen I think, one who I’d been passing back and forth.

Good job Rhonda, Kim, Eileen, Sarah, Shari, Sage, Tracy (holy cow, your warmup was a half marathon! Good job even showing up!) Tessa, Christine… I know I’m forgetting a lot of people who raced… Mark, Brice, Shelli, Tim, Jeff, and everyone for cheering and hollering, what a fan section we get. I don’t think there was a stretch longer than 100 yards that there wasn’t someone cheering for us all.

I’ve never felt so good about a 14th place finish. Out of 23. Splitting Karen and Patty who came in 15th is something I’m proud of. I raced hard, I loved the course, I made a bunch of mistakes so there’s always room for improvement. See you all next week! Yay!

Cyclocross Season 2009: Rainier, Oct. 11

Race Report

Cross Crusade Rainier, Oct 11, 2009

Seems like just a couple of weeks ago it was Short Track Night, 102 degrees and Sage, Eileen and I soaked our jerseys in ice water, then put the ice in the pockets just to stay cool!! My how the seasons change. Waaaaah….

It’s cold. No need to double up on the Endurolites. I had some warmup issues on my trainer, things were not working as smoothly as they should. So I jumped off, and tried to finish my warmup on the road and a convenient grassy hill near the parking lot.

Well, that’s the way it goes. I’m debating clothing options, the sun is breaking through the clouds and warming ever so slightly, so I opt for embrocation on my legs and a long sleeve base layer under my jersey.

Then we wait at least 20 minutes for the call-ups. I’m cold again! The uphill start throws me way past my LT but I just barely manage to stay on Sarah’s wheel. Lots of people pass me, but I pass a few back on the fun and bumpy descent. I see Sarah nearly lose it… great recovery! I had a front row seat for that!! And then off she goes. I can’t hang.

I spend the next lap and a half re-warming up and trying not to blow myself up (oops! Too late!), by Lap 3 I’m finally passing people again. I’m trying very hard to power out of the corners, pedal hard, keep my eyes and shoulders up for the barricades (don’t look down!) Kris from Cyclepath and I go back an forth and now I’m gaining on Eileen. Bell lap. Darn, I could use one more lap, the course is so much fun and I’m finally feeling good.

Wait, Eileen’s off her bike, running. Mechanical. No way! I keep going as hard as I can the rest of the lap. Across the football field, through the woods, up and around the swingset then the big climb to the finish. Lap traffic on the hill… Kris pips me at the very top to finish just ahead of me.

A disappointing 18th place finish in the Women’s Masters A 35+… second to last not counting Eileen… sorry I’m not helping much in the Loo Cup.

But I rode hard, I had a blast, and I enjoyed meeting a lot of newly minted Sorellas and hanging out with everyone. Good job all! Seems like our cheering section grows every week!

See you all next week in Sherwood, maybe by then my dust cough will be done, too!

Mt Bike, PIR Short Track 2009: Round 4 of 7, July 13

Race Report

PIR Mt Bike Short Track Round #4, July 13, 2009

Cat 2 Women, 35+, 1st Place

by Elaine Bothe

Fabulous course (my favorite so far, I decided in my warmup laps), fabulous weather, fabulous turnout. All the Cat 2 regulars including myself, Sage, Eileen, Kris, Beth Burns, Lindsey and others all line up across the start line, 30 or so women in all age groups.

We watch the single speed guys do a LeMans start… that’s nuts, they laid their bikes down in 3 rows on the ground about 25 yards away, came back to the start line, then run to their bikes. One guy hurtled himself down the start way early, just for the fun of it. I think he pulled off later to be fair, but it was a very funny sight.

Now we’re all talking about what would be the best place to put our bikes… front row? Back row so you don’t have to jump over someone’s bike to get yours? But fortunately, while those starts are fun, we didn’t have to do it. I think they’re more fun to watch!

Off we go. People are catching onto the “get a good start” concept because I’m not getting the hole shot anymore! We all want to be in front. Eileen, Kris, Lindsey, another couple two or three, plus myself and Sage are in the front for the first corner. I pass those others and start to chase down Eileen, Kris and Lindsey around the start loop with Sage on my tail. She’s yelling go! Pedal! You can catch them.

This is true. I’m closing the gap and Sage is following closely. My legs are back in good working order, I ate well all day and had proper Hammer fuel leading up to the race. I feel really strong. I also made a point of mentally relaxing myself again before the race, seemed to work for me at Tabor last week.

One more right hand corner before the infamous pea gravel hill. Low gear, pedal hard to build momentum. I set up my line to stay right, just in case… because I see the lead three hit the center, and just to the left. I know it’s soft on the other side, and we need to turn hard right. I anticipated a crash that I might need to get around.

Sure enough, after I crest the hill I see a side view of Lindsey, laying on the ground, Eileen goes down too and I’m not sure where Kris goes because I’m looking to the right. Everyone’s OK, just dirty, so I get past everyone and take off into first place back toward the motocross course.

This is where my racing gets boring, but the riding is still a blast. I build as big of a gap as I can, sorry to take such advantage of a crash, but who knows, I might be next. Crashes happen, a lot. But I didn’t crash, not even over the log which I made myself attack each lap even though there was a go-around. Had to mentally conquer the log after last week’s big ol’ get-off.

I keep riding hard, I look back and I see four intense faces chasing me, racing intently three and four wide into some of the twisty sections. I expect for them to catch up but this is a real technical yet flowing course, which suits me perfectly. Eventually I can’t see them anymore, and I take the win.

Eileen, Sage, Kris, Beth and Lindsey, and another woman are racing hard, it was fun hearing about their race. It was a very close finish. Eileen got 2nd, Kris, 3rd, Sage, 4th and Beth, 5th in our age group. Lindsey took 2nd in the under 34 group.

Mt Tabor Circuit Race: Round 5 of 6, July 8, 2009

Race report, Tabor Race #5, July 8, 2009

Women’s Masters 40+, 1st Place! the pressure is on!

by Elaine Bothe

Heading up to this week’s round, I’m leading the overall points over Kendra by just 16 points. The pressure is on for sure. I relax and think to myself, my goal for this series before it started was to get some good workouts in preparation for short track. I’ve attained that goal already.

Before starting today’s race, I decided I’d keep my upper body and face relaxed, work hard at my pedal technique to engage my hammies and glutes, and stand more often on the hills to give my quads a rest. And I wasn’t to worry about results. It’s just a really good workout.

Weather was great, just this side of chilly. Perfect. No wind. Low turnout, there are just four of us masters. Even Eileen took the day off. There’s a major road race series in Bend this weekend, the regulars including Kendra must be saving strength and didn’t show. Yay! Oh, I mean, aww, how I miss them!

Plus a bunch of Cat 4s got upgraded into Seniors, so their field is smaller too. The organizers start the 15 or so Cat 4s and the four masters all together for 6 laps.

Whistle blows. Off we go. OMG this is a slow rollout. We’re all in a pack up the hill. We are not 100 percent sure the organizers will score the masters separately or together with the 4s, that would be disastrous for my points situation. Oops, I’m not worrying about that. But I try very hard not to draft any 4s just in case, which is really hard to do in a big pack but I latch onto a fellow master’s (a Guinness rider) wheel for the first lap, what the heck. It was there for the taking.

Teammate Alana came out for all the fun in the Cat 4s, yay! good job Alana! I’m alongside her for a while. Things scramble up the hill. Nice formations and working relationships disintegrate. Alana gets ahead. There’s another master close by, someone in a blue kit. In case there’s a prime I didn’t know about, and for the fun of mixing things up, I accelerate toward the finish line.

I beat the other masters but there’s no prime. This next lap, the announcer calls out. OK, cool. Stand, “rest,” breathe deep up the hill. Face relaxed? Check. Hands loose? Yup. Crest the hill, the hairpin to the right. I peek, Ms. Guinness is still climbing. Hmm.

The downhill is funny, super fast, you can hammer but rest at the same time. Drool flies out of the corner of my mouth. Hopefully no one’s on my wheel, sorry! I run a fast smooth clean line, picking off some more Cat 4s. Keeping Alana in sight, I make it past the finish line again, in first place for the masters. The announcer calls out another prime lap, I’m not sure it’s for the masters, it’s a little confusing.

I hang onto my lead and take the win, my first of the series.

Photo by Mark Bothe.

Mt Tabor Circuit Race, Round 3 of 6, June 25, 2009

Tabor Series Round #3, June 25, 2009.

Women's 40+, 2nd place!

This time I keep my rocket launch start in check, and calmly mosey out with the pack. Eileen and I get to the front easily and I hang with her the first lap. She picks up the pace, so do I and we sprint for it for the prime. But wait, there’s no prime on this lap! Rats! There went my legs. Eileen keeps climbing like the amazing climber she is. I keep her in sight, but can’t catch up again. Eileen won, I took 2nd.

Race Report lull...

Too much time racing, not enough time to write reports! This last week was truly epic. Starting from last Monday’s Mt Bike Short Track series at PIR, Round #1 through last night’s Round #2, I managed six races in eight days. One more Tabor race tomorrow night… after a recovery day today I should be moderately OK!

Mt Bike, PIR Short Track 2009: Round 2 of 7, June 29

PIR STXC Round #2, June 29, 2009.

Cat 2 Womens 35-44, 2nd place!

After the Jedi weekend Sage, Eileen and I are all wondering if we were going to race Monday night. I knew I was, even though my legs were toast. I preregistered for all of them, and they’re such fun I figured why not, maybe Sage or I too could pull a “Sarah T” and finish strong after a long weekend. Eileen didn’t show, Sage did and so did Kronda (Yay! Good job!) and jr. members Sasha and Birch, (good job you two! 1 and 2! Yay!) and Zan, not racing but poaching a preview and playing with us on the boardwalk. (C’mon, you know you want to!)

Well though I gave it everything I had, it was still only about 85 percent. No rocket launch start but a decent one, I hung onto Kris’s wheel around the windy field. Sage is obviously healing and regaining her formidable fitness, she’s close, too. Kris gaps me as my legs are protesting furiously, wondering why they aren’t propped up in a comfy chair at a beer garden someplace.

I settle into my own pace, up front enough to avoid any mayhem in the early obstacles. After the first lap most of the course snakes though the trees and motocross course, we didn’t have to go back out into the field. Good thing, that would have made it a power course, not a finesse course since I had no power. Kris goes off course and I sneak up to her. With a half lap to go, I’m on her wheel waiting for my chance. She slows too much through the obstacles and I have a choice to either lose momentum or show her a wheel. Oops, with three corners to go, I show her a wheel and she knows I’m there.

We round the last corner, I take the inside line knowing I’d swing wide at the exit, hopefully blocking her a little and I try to round up a sprint for the last 30 feet. I lost by a half a wheel for second place. Sage took third, not bad at all for either of us on toasted legs. The course was great and the racing was fun!

Mt Bike Season 2009: Return on the Jedi June 27-28

Return on the Jedi, Merlin, Oregon, June 27-28, 2009

by Elaine Bothe

A truly epic weekend in the hills west of Grant's Pass. This is essentially a mountain bike stage race, with a short track race, a 9 mile Super D race (which is mostly downhill but with some climbing to keep the hardcore downhill bikes from winning) and a 24 mile cross country race on Sunday.

Sage and I drive down together Friday night to camp. She reserved a tent spot for us both at the Indian Mary Campground along the Rogue River. A gorgeous setting, with showers and flush toilets and electricity. Not bad for “roughing it,” we thought. This would be a really fun place to bring a bunch of friends and family for a party weekend. Which one large group of people did, for a wedding on Saturday. Loud talking, laughing, music, fistfights and all kinds of fun.

I had earplugs, so I got some sleep but on Saturday morning we pack up our tents, cancel our second night reservation and move uphill to the race venue. Instant calm, quiet and beauty greet us as we pull into the campsite. No running water, no electricity, no worries. Sounds like a good tradeoff to us.

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Jedi Short Track, June 27, 2009, Cat 2 Womens 35-44, 1st place! Oh yes, I forgot we are at about 3500 or 4000 feet elevation. I go for my signature start and nothing happens. Eileen gets the hole shot. Sage and I chase her through traffic, picking off guys left and right. By the third lap my engine is finally working and I’m gaining on Eileen. I plan my attack for the uphill (on her own turf, ha ha) before we head onto the single track, where I know I can build a lead down the rough bumpy stretch. My plan works and I take the win. Eileen got 2nd, Sage, 3rd.

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Jedi Super D, June 27, 2009, Cat 2 Womens 35-44, 1st place! Eileen, Sage and I hang out after the short track, chatting and having fun. Eileen’s not up for the Super D, but Sage and I are amped up about the whole thing. We did pass up the chance to preview it, we figure we’ll get plenty of riding in over the weekend.

After an hourlong 15-passenger van ride up to the top of a mountain on a dusty bumpy scary off-camber heavily rutted “road,” we get out and admire the 360 degree view. We absorb as much as we could, since we won’t be noticing much scenery until we cross the finish line back at camp. It’s a LeMans start, this is cool! We lay our bikes down on the gravel and climb back up 50 yards or so.

“Go!” Cycling shoes don’t make the best runners, so we all gingerly highstep it to our bikes and jump on. I get a good cyclocross mount going and I chase the lead pack of guys down the hill. One guy biffs it, and I barely avoid running over him or his bike. I’m flying, and so are the guys, faster than me. I’m following their dust cloud, which is just fine since now I have a clear path and plenty of space.

7 miles of gravel road, rocks and fast red clay firelane, including some climbing. Ooh, my legs are feeling the short track race but it’s a nice break for my forearms. Then hard left onto the Jedi trail, a swoopy 2-ish mile segment of fast rollers and open switchbacks. I fly through the trees, just like the stormtroopers in that Star Wars movie! 42 minutes after my start, I arrive at camp in one piece, exhilarated and breathless. What fun. I take the win in our age group and 14th overall out of 42, including the pro guys! Sage isn’t far behind, age group 2nd, and 19th overall. Way to go!

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Jedi XC, June 28, 2009, Cat 2 Womens 35-44, 2nd Place. Michelle, who I have yet to beat, shows up this morning for the cross country race. Rats, I think to myself, another hill climber I need to fight. Rats, thinks Eileen to herself, there goes my chance for a win. Rats, says Sage, there goes my chance for a podium. Anything can happen, I say! The crowd is thin today, just keep racing. At the start, we’re all chatting and wishing each other the best.

Off we go, all the Cat 2s, men, women, in a big cloud of dust. Michelle gets ahead a bit and Eileen and I are side by side, working traffic together. We all know there’s a seven mile climb to start this race out. Michelle poops out a bit (I think it’s the elevation, like what happened to me at the ST start the day before!) and I attack to get ahead of Eileen. Unexpectedly the race turns onto a bit of singletrack, I thought the climb was all on the gravel road. I’m ahead of Eileen, there’s a few guys in between us and more guys ahead I want to pass to gain as much traffic in between myself and Eileen. “On your left!” I say, over and over, passing guys, then hearing a couple other “on your lefts” behind me, a guy, another guy, then Eileen’s voice so I know she’s working it as hard as me. Yeah, I know it’s early in the race but gaps are good, anything can happen.

The singletrack is just a short side loop which pops back onto the gravel road. This is where the climb really starts, I figure, and I get into a rhythm. A couple of guys pass me, then I hear more tires, and it’s Eileen. She passes me of course, and yells “Come on, let’s go. Stay on my wheel. You can do it!” She wants to drag my sorry self up the hill!! How cool is this! She wants us both to beat Michelle! What fun! I manage to hang on for about a mile or so, then I drop off, telling Eileen to go for it. I figure I’ll see her on the downhill or the single track ahead eventually.

I get back into my solo rhythm physically and mentally. Another couple three miles go by and I hear more tires. “Tell me you heard that big ol’ crash.” It’s Michelle. She had herself an incident on the singletrack near the start, gathered herself bleeding from both arms and caught up. We socialize for a minute, then off she goes up the hill. I try to hang on, but can’t for long. On upward by myself for another two or three steep miles.

Ahh, singletrack. Yay!! I welcome the change and head off down the hill. I catch up to Michelle, she’s really slowing me down, she knows it. She dismounts over a fallen and chopped up log, giving me enough space to get by. Yes! “Thanks!” I take off to build another gap. But this section is hard. I expect to see Eileen someplace, but it’s hard for all of us. Some tricky rocky stair step-ups, slippery big roots and four creek crossings. I plunge through all of them except for one I knew was deep and I couldn’t see the bottom. I walk through that one, it’s up over my knees. During the last slippery steep uphill, I walked, just mentally relaxing myself and knowing this would be hard for Michelle and Eileen. Eventually the trail turns onto one that looks familiar, it’s the short track course but it’s going by a lot slower than yesterday!

Then it’s back through camp, up the gravel road a bit then along a beautiful valley meadow (I snuck a peek at the scenery) and a two mile climb just to make it fun. No Eileen in front. Maybe she took a wrong turn. And, more importantly, no Michelle. This climb is steep, I stand to give my screaming quads a break. I food up and drink to prepare for the last section, the downhill and the Jedi trail where I want to ride hard and gain more time on Michelle.

Left onto the gravel road that was part of the climb on the Super D. Tire noises behind me. “I’m baaaaack!” Michelle laughs as she goes by, and, so do I. “Good job!” I say, knowing this would happen but surprised it took so long. She gets a good gap as we finish the climb. But I’m right back on her wheel shortly after the downhill starts again. We’re railing, it’s too risky to pass but she knows I’m there. Side by side we negotiate the hard left onto the Jedi trail, the last 2 mile stretch back to camp. “You go ahead,” Michelle politely gives it to me. “And what chainring should I be in, the big?” “No, the middle,” I say, as I take off.

I’m faster on the Jedi trail today than I was in the Super D. I keep hearing wheels behind me, waiting for Michelle but it was just a couple of the pros. They’re good, so I don’t need to stop or hardly even slow to let them pass, they get around cleanly with just a little extra room. Finally, the last little downhill, I sneak a peek behind me to see how close Michelle was. Nowhere to be seen. Oh good, because we have a long half mile or so on the paved road before the finish and by this point I wasn’t going to be out-sprinting anybody. Eileen is already done, 3.5 minutes ahead of me for the win, I got second a minute ahead of Michelle. Sage got fourth. What a fun race!

Many many thanks to Sage, whose enthusiasm was contagious enough to encourage me to want to go to the Jedi races, and also Eileen and Michelle for our fabulous friendly and respectful rivalry. This is what makes racing so much fun and the race reports more interesting. Also thanks to my team Sorella Forte and all our sponsors, especially Jeff Tedder and Hammer Nutrition and River City Bicycles for their great support and assistance. Special thanks to my personal sponsors Acme Moto Wear, Icon Tattoo, Mt Feedbags from Epic Ride Research, Lifeflight Memberships and a huge thank-you and shout out to Corey Cartwright of Seven Corners Cycles.

And saving the best for last, love and thanks to my Number 1 fan and supporter, my hubby Mark.

Mountain Feed Bags by Epic Ride Research

The Mountain Feed Bag from Epic Rider Research

Just a quick post to talk about a small local Oregon company who is helping to sponsor my mountain biking efforts this year. It’s such a great idea, I have to share. The Mt. Feed Bag attaches behind your handlebar, and to the stem. Food, spare tubes, whatever, is handy without digging through your pockets buried under outer layers or stopping. It doesn’t interfere with the handling, or race numbers. It helps keep me fed and happy during long rides and races. Clever features make it easy to dig around and close the bag one-handed. The bag is impressively well made and sells for $30 plus shipping. Left- or right-handed versions available. Check it out, and help support those who help support us racers!

Cyclocross Season 2009: Battle at Barlow, Sept 27

Battle at Barlow, Sept 27, 2009

Womens Masters 35+ A, 14th Place

by Elaine Bothe

Cyclocross season is here! I’d been consternating for the last few weeks about what grid to run in, so I went gonzo and signed up for Womens Masters A, expecting I’d probably be in over my head but not sure I belong with the Masters B either.

I lined up with the big girls, front row, even though I’m older than most of them. We are all staring down the starting maw I mean road, pointing at the downed metal sign, the big chunky gravel, wondering if they’re going to move the teeth I mean cones wider to let all of us make it through. There are 15 women in our group, we are all on the front row I think!

Go time.

Well, I manage to clip in, so that’s a total of two, then maybe three pedal strokes. I’m pinched between Teammate Sarah on my right and my friend Eileen on my left. Dominoes, maybe starting up the hill to Sarah’s right. I think 6 or more of us were involved, all aiming for the same spot in the gravel.

Mayhem. I remount but the front wheel isn’t feeling quite the way it should. Flat. Game over, short race. Rats.

I’m fine, but I’ll probably have a Technicolor butt cheek tomorrow, along with some other good bumps that I’ll discover later.

Wave after wave of women race by me, I’m blinking in the hot sun, thinking about my flat kit in the car. But then spectators start offering me wheels. John, Eileen’s husband, gives me his! I swap, and off I go trying to recoup some sort of race mentality. Those first couple of corners were rough, re-warming up on an unfamiliar tire. I’m dead dead last. I pull it together and start passing people. I was impressed with how many Sorella jerseys I saw out there! Yay!! I lost count and who was who, what a club! Everyone looked like they were having fun through their suffering. Hopefully I was polite and called my passes… good job all!

I also really enjoyed all our spectators, every corner, every straight seemed to have people yelling “Go Sorella” if they didn’t know my name. Anne, Sage volunteering, cool! And lots of others, friends and family. Thanks all!

But there were plenty more people in front of me that I didn’t see. Colleen, Sarah, Eileen, Julie… I didn’t catch up to the back of the Master As main pack. I took note of one of the last women I passed, turns out she finished 2nd in the Masters B. And at least the Masters A never caught up to me, so I still finished on the lead lap, whoo. And not last... Beth had a flat too and had to run out her lap, ouch, but good job!

For the next round I have plenty to work on, such as having a plan for the start, better mounts and dismounts, attacking stuff, but if it was easy, why bother. But I think I’m in the right group, hopefully next time I can at least hang with the pack!

Photo by Mark Bothe.

Mt Bike, PIR Short Track 2009: Round 6 of 7, July 27

Elaine’s Race Report

PIR Mt Bike Short Track Round 6, July 27, 2009

Cat 2 Masters Women, 1st Place

HOTTTT!!! A high of 102 for the day. And humid, for Portland, 44%. Some of us lobbied for sprinklers and we got them, so not only did we have a cooling spray if we timed it right, we also got MUD! What a fun course.

My warmup was mentally lethargic because of the sun but my legs feel great and the bike is running really well. Overall the course is not too technical except for a couple of fun spots, one of which I horribly misjudge and fly down the side, screw up the rollout and land really hard on my right shoulder.

Really hard, ow.

As I’m laying on my side, staring at the face of the cliff I just fell off, I see a nice gently sloping path to the left of the scary path that I tried! Um, note to self: Check out scary sections before flying blindly all gung ho. Maybe there’s an easier, safer way down!

I’m still on the ground. Self assessment. I haven’t sworn or cried yet, so I must not have broken anything. I get up with Teammate Sage’s help. Fingers work, elbow works, shoulder works, but it’s sore. I walk toward the shade to collect myself, then I manage to get onto my bike and ride slowly back to the paddock area to find Hubby Mark.

There he is! He brought the little ice chest full of cold water and ice left over from his motorcycle race weekend (also hot, and he got himself a 4th and a 6th place finish in his two races! Yay! Good job!)

Sage and I soak our jerseys in the cooler (so does Eileen, it’s hot, after all, and we’re buddies) and stun ourselves with the cold shirts. Oh yeah.

I decide to race anyway and we go to finish our warmup.

Low turnout, only six in my master’s group, less than 20 women total. Eileen and another younger Cat 2 woman get the hole shot, Sage and I are side by side through the first couple of corners. Eileen gaps the other woman, I move past Sage and stay on the other girl’s wheel. I get around her and take up a “watch and wait” position behind Eileen, close the gap but not get too close.

She keeps turning around, she knows I’m back there. Her hubby John cheers us both on. I just wait.

She takes a funny wide line around a corner with some very deep ruts and instantly I’m on her wheel, pressuring her. A couple of really tight spots, I won’t pass there… she picks the smooth line through the whoops and I get alongside her, still pressuring, still waiting. She looks at me, I just look ahead plotting my move.

I know the next 50 feet after this steep little hill is really narrow and really bumpy, so I beat her to the top and gain a bit of a gap. Power on, but she hangs with me for a bit.

The next lap around I just hear John cheering for just me, so I know I have some time. I catch a glimpse of Eileen through the trees, but I’m safe. I decide to run clean and safely and I take the win over the entire Cat 2 women’s field by a healthy margin.

Eileen comes in 2nd and Sage gets 3rd in our age group! Kronda made it out, too, for the fun and brought home 6th. Yay! Good job!

The whole series is 7 races, they count the best 6 of 7 races. I have four wins, a second and a third so far, that seals the series for me as no one else has the points to beat me.

Unless they do a double points thing for next week, I’ll move myself up to the Women’s Cat 1/Pro grid and see what that’s all about! I can’t wait! They get 10 more minutes on the course than the Cat 2s do. Yay! More dirt time.

Once again, and it’s never enough, big fat juicy thank yous go to the race organizers for a wonderful series and the fun and challenging courses, my team Sorella Forte for all the friendship and support and all our sponsors, especially River City Bicycles and Jeff Tedder /Hammer Nutrition for all the race fuel and training tips.

Also, muchos gracias to my personal sponsors Acme Moto Wear, Icon Tattoo, Lifeflight Memberships and Corey Cartwright of Seven Corners Bicycles and to my #1 fan, my husband Mark.

Mt Bike, PIR Short Track 2009: round 1 of 7, June 22

Race Report: PIR Short Track, mt bike

Round 1, June 22, 2009

Category 2 Women 35-44, 1st Place

by Elaine Bothe

Isn’t that motocross track in the middle of PIR sooo tempting? OMRRA has to work hard to keep the kids and their bikes off it during race weekends. Irresistible.

But I paid my fee, signed my waiver and now I get to go like, well, whatever, Monday nights for 8 weeks straight. (Last week was just a fun preview day, no racing.)

I line up at the start, just in front of the motocross gates. I stage on the front row in between teammate Sage and her healing ribs (broken a few weeks ago in a crash) and my buddy Eileen. There must be 50 Cat 2 Women of all ages bunched together raring to go.

Cue Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkries,” we are out for blood. Not really, it’s actually very polite racing.

Mark jumps the fence to give me my lucky start kiss, and tips me (and all my competitors nearby) that the first lap is different, we go hard right on the gravel after the narrow opening in the fence. That should be a logjam, I decide I need to be in front early.

I share the hole shot with Sage after fumbling a bit with my cleat, but I got past her through some mud and led the first lap. Through the gate, hard right… I hope I’m headed the right direction because there is absolutely nobody in front of me. I look back, and see 49 focused faces strung out behind me!

I lead the second lap, too, but I got passed in the third by a woman named Kris, long blond ponytail... I don’t know which age group she’s in, but I am racing for the win this time. We battle back and forth for some fabulous racing. She's ahead, goes down over a log and I thought I had enough space on the right... but I didn't. I avoid running over her front wheel and went OTB. Kris gets up first, my bike is tangled in the course-marking tape. She goes off course and so I get ahead.

Back and forth, now I'm camping quietly (wheeze wheeze, huff puff) on her wheel waiting for my chance. We're side by side through some wide spots, and the first whoop section, so she knows I'm there... the second section of whoops are tougher. She takes the left side and I go right... I actually notch it back a little because you either need more speed to jump stuff, or slow down to stay in control.

I know she's going hard. I’m calm, patient, leave her lots of space just in case she goes down. And she did. “Are you OK?" “Yeah,” but she’s tangled in her own bike. Off I go and she loses about 2 minutes sorting herself out. I push on, trying to make sure there's no one else coming up behind.

Hey, there's the checkered flag. Since there’s still no one in front I have to make sure I’m done and ask! They pull me off after only 4 laps, rats, I had another couple laps in me... that was fun. Kris comes up and gives me a big hug and says that was so much fun, great race. She just has some scratches and bumps, me too.

Oh well, skirts are out of the question for the next 2 months.

So I managed to beat all the Cat 2s. Four of the top 5 finishers are in my age group. After that I lost count. In my age group, a woman named Patty who usually beats me in cross country races took second, Eileen took third, Sage, fourth and Kris ended up fifth.

Thanks as always to my many sponsors: my team Sorella Forte and all our team sponsors, River City Bicycles, Jeff Tedder and Hammer Nutrition, Mountain Feed Bags by Epic Rider Research, Life Flight Memberships, Icon Tattoo, Acme Moto Wear and Corey Cartwright at Seven Corners Cycles.

And of course thanks to my cheering section: my hubby Mark, always the loudest and the best spotter, my sister Peg, Brian P, Brian M, Kevin P and teammate Shari and friends, all were cheering fervently.

Mt Bike Season 2009: Mudslinger Mt Bike Race, May 3

2009 Peak Sports Mudslinger Race Report

May 3, 2009

Cat 2 Women 35+ 5th Place

by Elaine Bothe

I knew I was in trouble when all the Cat 2 women charged up the 2.5 mile gravel road climb off the starting line and a lot of unfamiliar faces – or, backs of heads, is really the view I had -- bunched together in a nice tight knobby-wheeled peloton, barking out orders like in a road race. Known hill climbers Michelle and Eileen, my dueling nemeses from prior races, held their own in the pack. Uh-oh!

I held onto the back of the pack for dear life along with Sorella teammate Sage and my real sister and mountain biking buddy Julia and her Poplollie teammate Candy, though they did a better job of pacing themselves at the start and didn’t get wrapped up in the quick pace.

The climb got steeper, and I bungled a shift and my chain popped off. Stop, fix, jump back on. The peloton rounded a corner, and I lost contact with the lead few. I picked a few riders off, and Michelle must have lost the front pack, too… she and I are back and forth, together again.

I see Sage up ahead. I chase Michelle past Sage, Sage yells out encouragement. “Go! Go!” Team orders. So I went.

Michelle gaps me as the hill continues. Finally, the course turns onto singletrack and more uphill, a long sloggy mess of a climb. A slow procession of people, men from earlier starting waves, women, all of us in a somber march pushing our bikes up the hill.

Then more gravel road climb. This must be some weird vortex of a forest, all climb and no downhill. The procession of people spread out on the gravel road and it turned off onto single track again.

This, finally, was the downhill part. A delicious descent, a sliding, winding, slippery snake of a trail flew through the forest. I go for it, my front tire finding traction I have no idea where. My back tire sliding left and right, I think how happy I was getting practice in the snow last week. This isn’t much different, except for the brown color and the temperature.

This is fun. I’m passing a lot of people, yard sales as far as the eye can see, all the way down the hill. Eileen is off her bike on the left. Michelle, a little further, down on the right. Maybe they’re racing each other. I thread the needle, willing my bike through the empty spaces in between everyone.

Down, down over drainage ruts, bunny hopping the little ones and rolling through the big ones. This is the strangest mud I’ve ever seen, it’s about 4 inches deep, and sticky and slippery at the same time.

Then the uphill starts again, we’re going for another lap. The crowd thins out and I’m pretty much all by myself, plugging along. I hear heavy breathing and tires behind me, a group of five or six riders. Including Eileen. Up she goes, I struggle to hang on. Oh well, pace myself to finish or fade.

More downhill single track. Eileen crashes again. Now I’m in a pack of people, some crashing, some not. Eileen is managing an impressive cyclocross remount, but I’m moving pretty good and I get past her again. A bold pass on my part (this is a race, after all!), and she was obviously frustrated with the mud. I feel her pain, but was happy to be in front of her.

Uphill again. More breathing coming up behind, this time, just one rider. Yup, Eileen. She has a big ol’ fire lit under her! She is hammering up the hill, I don’t have the legs and she’s not looking back.

By myself again, back and forth with a couple of guys, stopping to clean out balled up mud and pine needles from my front derailleur and brakes -- maybe this is why people use rotors! It actually came in handy slowing me down a bit on a really steep muddy downhill section.

At about this point, it’s not a race any more, just a ride, making sure I finish safely and in one piece. Two and a half hours turned to three, (yay! The turn off to the finish!) then three and a half. Three crashes in the last hour. I probably should have added a little more Hammer Perpetuum to my flasks, my arms are toast and the downhills aren’t as fun now that I’m tired.

Another mile climb and I’m done. The scenery is great, and I got a great hill workout. Sage finishes not too far behind, and the photographers are enthralled with our once-pretty matching kits, now completely mud splattered. Now I have a “mud race” jersey, it’ll never be the same!

My sister Julia missed a turn and went for an extra training loop, but finished in (mostly) good spirits. What a trooper! Good job. Michelle managed to get past me again at some point, and finished second. Eileen came in fourth. I managed a sixth place finish and Sage, seventh. Not my best placed finish, but up against some pretty talented road racers, not injured and with some information on where I need to improve, I’m happy.

Again, many, many thanks to the promoters and race sponsors for putting on a well organized and fun race; my hubby Mark for all his love and support (who also racked up his own hardware racing motorcycles on the same day: 2 thirds and a 2nd place finish!), Sage Fuller and my other Sorella Forte teammates, and my friends and family. Also, thanks go to my sponsors Jeff Tedder and his Hammer Nutrition products that really kept me (and Mark) going, Christa at Epic Rider Research and my trusty Mountain Feed Bag, Acme Moto Wear, Dustin at Icon Tattoo, Lifeflight Membership Services, and River City Bicycles and all our other team sponsors. Thanks, all, for helping me play in the dirt.

Photos courtesy of Oregon Velo.