2010 Road! Mt Tabor Series #1 Race Report

Race Report: Tabor Series #1, June 9, 2010.

by Elaine Bothe

Rain, rain stayed away!

Six of us brave Sorellas make it to the top of the volcano for the first of the Mt Tabor circuit race series. It’s been pouring all day. Under threatening skies and over a slightly wet course teammates Michelle, Karin and Tonya represent in the Cat 4s, and Martina, Jan and myself hold down the back of the starting grid in Masters 40+.



Shivering in the cold, finally the 4's go, then us masters. Lisa from Bike Atty's shoots out first, I jump onto her wheel. Anne from Guinness, Jan and Martina follow closely. Up the hill, Lisa poops out a bit and I take off. Jan and Anne stick close. We trade off the lead for a couple laps then, we catch up with Margie who dropped from the senior pack.

Bell lap, PRIME! Wheee! (That means there’s an extra prize for the person who crosses the finish line first the next lap. It’s pronounced “preem,” I don’t know why, probably something Euro.)



I know Jan loves primes, and she's flying on the flat and up the hill. But I find a turboboost and Jan falls off, I want to see if she's going to reboot, but she yells Go Elaine!! and then seeing Anne's turquoise green kit in the corner of my eye I gun it. The coffee is MINE!!! they announce over the loudspeaker. Thanks for the awesome lead-out, Jan! it's fun racing with teammates!



Anne falls off, it's me wheezing big time now, and Margie and Jan working together, I'm thankful for a bit of a break. I lead up the hills, Margie, down, Jan takes pulls on the flat. Two laps like this, but then we lose Jan. I'm still on my cross bike with my mtb shoes still damp from the Jedi and my mud covered helmet.



Ward at River City set up my cross bike this week so I can continue to get used to the mtb pedals, and to fix some knee issues with the bike at Cherry Blossom. It's great now, we shifted some things for power and agility. It worked!! 

I accelerate up the last hill for the win.

Jan thinks she came in third, didn't know Margie isn't racing masters... so Jan actually got 2nd!!! Great job! Martina hung in there too... excellent job, what fun. 



Photo credit: Stewart Campbell

2010 MTB: Return on the Jedi Weekend Race Report

2010 MTB: Return on the Jedi Weekend, Merlin, Oregon, June 5-6, 2010.

by Elaine Bothe

In which Elaine learns the meaning of the word “EPIC.”

Saturday morning: Short Track! Yay, my favorite, the first of my season. I rode very hard, and very well. I got faster as the laps progressed. I win! (I'm the only Category 1 woman, oh well...)

1 mile course, at elevation (approx 3000 feet) talk about huffing and puffing. 8 laps, as I got lapped by the pro men, I got to follow for a little bit through the trickier sections, taking notes. What a great experience. 



Saturday afternoon: Super D!!!! Wheee! The scariest part was the ride to the top of Onion Mountain, on the back of a stake-side flatbed truck, holding my bike with 19 other people. Moooo. On a winding, bumpy road with steep dropoffs.

The ride: 9 miles down, well, mostly down, with some climbing on the gravel road and a rolling, super fun Jedi trail back into camp. I debate about whether to take my new 29er or my old Klein... since I'm trying to get as much time on my new bike, and after a quick spin around camp on my old bike... eeek... I go for my new one.

What a confidence builder, (with the Specialized Captain tires now mounted up), what fun. Oh yeah, I win ; )



Sunday, XC. I was nervous all weekend, I know this is a hard, hilly and long Pro/Cat 1 course. I looked at the map, 30 miles, lots and lots of elevation gain, I planned for 4-4.5 hours and who knows what they are referring to as "technical"... sometimes they mean it, sometimes they don't... well this time, they meant it. I rode up AND DOWN some of the most amazing long rocky stairsteps I have ever seen, let alone ridden! But I crashed later on some stupid stuff... oops... like trying to ride through a fast moving creek, a root I stared at a picosecond too long.... bike's fine!!

Oh yes, then there was the wrong turns... apparently somebody removed a bunch of the course markers. This isn't the first time this year that the courses have been sabotaged by people against mountain biking. I think they have no idea how badly somebody could get lost and if they got hurt out there... I didn't think of this part until the drive home.

 The unfortunate part is, since I was the last of the Pro/Cat 1 riders going through, and some of those guys made the same mistakes... I followed the wrong road that had a lot of bike tire tracks! Three or four guys, plus doubling back make for 6-8 SETS of tire tracks, which could be considered the pack!!! Total additional miles, approx. 2. plus some climbing.



I did get overwhelmed emotionally, this was by far the toughest ride or athletic pursuit I have ever mustered. But I did not give up, at one point I considered it while I was actually on the correct trail, but not having seen any markers for miles, I stopped at a crest in the middle of this stunning forest, alongside a gorgeous creek, thinking to myself, if I'm lost, this looks like a typical creekside hiking/biking trail, they always end up someplace with cars... I contemplated a bit, got back on my bike, and not even 150 feet later, I pop out on a road at an aid station. What a morale booster that was.

Still, I had 9 miles to go, with half the climbing yet to do. 

I knew I had the endurance to last a long time, and since I wasn't actually racing anyone but myself, I wanted it to be good practice for a 50 mile endurance ride later this month... for food, pacing myself, truly riding my own ride on a challenging course (though it won't be as technically challenging). But getting lost beats you up mentally more than I knew, I don't recommend it.

My 1st place trophy is more of a proud certificate of completion than a prize, but I'm still proud of it. A race--well, ride-- I'll be talking about for years, thus, qualifying as the very definition of "EPIC." Plus I won $50 for having the lowest combined total time of the Cat 1 women (just me, a small but mostly friendly field) and earning the title "Jedi Master!" It was all great fun, a truly wonderful venue and weekend.

Maybe next year it won't rain...


Photo courtesy of Shane Young, Oregon Velo. Thanks!