2010 MTB: Spring Thaw Race Reports

2010 Spring Thaw XC and Downhill Race Reports

May 15-16, 2010, Womens Category 1

by Elaine Bothe

Cross Country on Saturday.

They did not remove the gravel road climb but I had a good xc race on Saturday. I shaved 30 minutes!!! off my last years time! I still finished last of the Cat 1’s, which was a regional group of people, not the usual suspects. Northern CA, Nevada, Seattle were all represented. But I was only 20 seconds behind the next finisher --- a much closer gap than Mudslinger race.

The Spring Thaw is not a course that favors me... 21.5 miles uphill on gravel road, then only 2.5 miles of highly technical downhill. Not enough hard stuff to make up ground on super talented and fit riders, but I was still was proud of myself. Michelle finished 5th, even after crashing once and and employing other heroics to get down the hill. My whole race was clean, no crashes, no injuries, boring war stories (sorry!!) and I rode up and down stuff I walked last year.

“Hardtail Pride!”

The downhill race on Sunday was even more fun, which is really the whole excuse for the weekend! I shaved a whole minute (total this year was 6 min 45 seconds, over a 1.7 mile course) off my last years time for 4th place, Cat 1. I really should have run the masters Cat 2 in this one, I'm still a minute off the cat 1 pack pace!

Oh well. I had the only hardtail of the bunch (to shouts from the crowd “Hardtail Pride!”) and it slowed me down through the washboards and jumps. My bike, not the crowd’s calls. Still a hoot and I had a blast.

Photo credit: Melissa Boyd.

Road!?! Cherry Blossom Stage Race

Road Report: Cherry Blossom Stage Race

April 23-25, 2010. Women’s Category 4.

by Elaine Bothe

Cherry Blossom. A festival in The Dalles, Oregon, where one of my teammates live. There’s a road bike race associated with the festival, an epic three-day, four race extravaganza. Our Sorella Forte team hosts the event along with the promoter. It’s a fundraiser for us, as well as outreach and a general good time. Even though I don’t race much on the road, I figured I’d have a go at it to support my teammates and to test my fitness and race smarts.

I sign up for the “beginners” road racing category, Women’s Category 4, since there isn’t a masters group and I’m new-ish to road racing. Beginners at racing, maybe, but that doesn’t mean they’re new on bicycles or in fitness. These women are strong. And most of them have some pretty nice equipment to ride… the latest and the lightest, gorgeous bicycles, one for the road and another for the time trial. Or at least, aero handlebars and wheels.

I dust off my cyclocross bike and put some bigger chainrings up front and slick tires on and call it a race bike. It’s the lightest bike in my fleet, and it’s pretty comfortable so what the heck. It’s heavy compared to the competition however, and not nearly as aerodynamic. But it’s mine… run what ya brung as the saying goes.

Stage 1. Road course, two laps, approx. 40 miles. Even after getting all fired up with talk of tactics and working together as much as we can, none of us Sorella Cat 4’s really know how to employ any of the tactics, or if our fitness would even allow us to think about it. Our default tactic was to provide a show of force early across the front without any dramatic moves which might tire us out for the long haul. I think all of us did a great job of working hard, working smart and challenging ourselves. My goal emerges on the fly, to stay with Alanna, probably the strongest cat 4 of our team, and the lead pack for as long as I possibly could.

At the start I position myself four rows back, within the first third of the pack. The first couple of miles are pretty easy but I brace myself for anything. There’s some shuffling around at the front as the speed picks up and I match every surge. I watch teammates peel off one by one as we climb the big hill to the feed zone on Lap 1. The view forward from my place in the peloton stays the same… butts and freewheels… I look back once and there wasn’t anyone there! We’re now a pack of 15 or so, splintering from the group of almost 40. Alanna and myself are the last Sorellas in the lead group. After the hill Alanna is a little ahead of me, so I worked my way up to see if I could be of some assistance. I say hi, and she seems happy to see me hanging on valiantly.

Lap 2, I stay in the group sucking wheel for all I’m worth, working my way to the leeward side of the peloton, far right, then far left, full on survival mode, as the wind direction changes, just keeping myself protected. At that same big hill on Lap 2 the pack finally grenades into small pieces, two, then three, then I’m not quite sure but now I’m alone. I think all I did to help Alanna was moral support, as she seems to be doing just fine motoring on past up the hill with the leaders. I latch onto another wheel for a bit but can’t hang. Maureen (ex-Sorella, now Hammer Velo) catches me and we work very well together, the two of us, nice short pulls for the last half lap. We pull off into the wind providing a wee bit more protection for each other on the descent. As the course flattens out, her pulls last longer than mine… I’m fading. I’m giving it everything I have but I don’t have a sprint to save my own life. I tell her I won’t challenge a sprint because I don’t have one to spare and because she’s doing most of the work.

I survive, in 16th place, just under 3 minutes down from the leaders. Wow. Oh yeah, my chain fell off three times during this race but I managed to feather it back on without upsetting the group or even losing my place. Not bad, for a mountain biker!

Stage 2, five laps, just under 30 miles. My goal for this race is to stay with the lead pack again, for as long as possible. The peloton is three columns wide. Teammates Christine, Tonya, Leigh and myself make a nice sturdy block in the first third of the pack, and I think Alanna is just to the left of us, well protected from the wind. Apparently she was having troubles with her cleat and fell off the pace right away. Booo!!! Eventually, Tonya, Christine and Leigh peel off the group, Tonya, too, had to quit with a mechanical. Rats!!

But I don’t know any of this yet and I just work really hard at staying up with the lead group. I work my way to a bolder position toward the front, doing a little more work windward side and second row, but I still didn’t venture any proper attacks. I match surges along with everyone else. I notice Alanna is nowhere to be seen, and the lead group is now only seven of us. By Lap 3, the two on the front are surging frequently (what, they want to lose the rest of us?) and the rest of us struggle to answer. Three or four of these, and they make a slow break, oozing away. Five of us, I’ve never met any one of them before, all on different teams, try to organize a pace line in the heavy crosswind section through the top of the orchards. It’s not working very well, and between a big gust of wind, and trying to avoid other rider’s wheels overlapping mine and I end up off road, in the gravel.

OK, I’m a mt biker, this is a cross bike, I should be able to handle this. I almost make it safely back to the pavement twice, but then my wheel catches a deeper section of gravel or something, I’m still not really sure what happened, and I go down. I’m not going very fast, and no one else goes down with me, thankfully! But I hurt my finger and skin the heck out of my knee, along with some other miscellaneous bruises and scrapes. Owwww, it hurts to shift but I don’t think it’s broken.

It doesn’t occur to me to stop racing. But by the time I’m back aboard, blood streaming down my shin, the other four pull their act together and I see a nice neat pace line fading down the hill. I hit the nitro boost and ride as hard as I can but I can’t catch up to them. All alone in the wind, it just isn’t going to happen. I’d say I TT’d it for a full lap by myself, but since I’m definitely not a TT’er, I’ll say I just rode hard. A group of three catch up to me, and we form a pace line. I rest for a bit as we go through the rotation, then I take a pull and we drop two of them! So then Anna from Bend and I work together nicely for a lap. Three more catch us, Maureen, one of the Canadians and somebody else. We all work together for the last half lap and attempt a sprint up the finish hill, and, again, I can’t find one. But I pull a 13th place finish out of I don’t know where.

Stage 3, TT time. Ten miles total, out and back, hilly out. No aero anything, it’s freezing cold, I figure just because it’s a Time Trial (my least favorite bike discipline) I don’t have to be completely miserable. I have on leg warmers, a long sleeve base layer and I wish my shoe covers would stay zipped because they’d also keep my toes warm. I rip those off fearing they’d catch in my chain or something. But the road is fun, I impress myself with my effort. I stalk and catch Susan who started 30 seconds in front of me. I wave to the oncoming teammates, start noticing the scenery then Susan shows me a wheel. I decide, oops, I have a job to do so I gun it and drop her like a hot potato. I catch one more rider, and the only two to pass me are the two women (including Maureen) who started 30 seconds and 1 minute behind me. 20th place. On a cross bike, I’ll take it!

Stage 4. Criterium! 25 minutes of guts and glory. Way more fun than a TT but I’m really nervous. There was a big crash last year and some pretty gnarly injuries... like punctured spleens and broken pelvises. (Pelvi?) I want to go hard but be safe. I preview the course spotting all the bumps and holes, even riding over them to see what would happen. Not too bad. Nice open corners. I start my warmup slow and on the inside, picking up speed and figuring out the faster lines. If I was all by myself there would be only 2 wide sweeping corners (not 4) that I could pedal all the way through, no brakes, and accelerate hard out of.

I want to be near the front, jockeying for position on the front line for the start. I get the hole shot… then decide I did NOT want to be on the front because it would fry me. Two Ironclad riders seem to be jonesing for the front anyway, so I back off and let them have it. I lose more space than I anticipate but I bridge the gap and hang onto 3rd place for a few laps, matching surges, anticipating sprints for primes and sprinting myself just enough to not get dropped. I’d rather survive the race near the front rather than drop off after a big prime effort. It’s plenty hard just staying near the front, five or six riders in front now. I hang on, and end up 11th and with the lead pack, my best finish for any of these stages.

13th overall in the General Classification, about 8 minutes back… not bad! All in all, I had a blast. What a weekend, what a challenge, riding with friends, making new ones and generally having fun.

In addition to all our team, a huge thanks to Team Captain and Coach Anne, for being a fabulous inspiration by winning the Category 3 criterium!! A triumph for our whole team.

And Hubby Mark made his debut as a volunteer driver, driving the lead car for the men’s masters race as well as my Cat 4 races in Stages 1 and 2. It made me smile every time I caught a glimpse of our car because I knew he was inside it. Read his report here.

Am I getting a road bike now? Are you kidding… I still think I’ll stick to dirt!

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Photo credits for this post: Bob Rueter

2010 MTB: Hornings Hustle Race Report

Race report

Hornings Hustle, April 11, 2010

Women’s Category 1, 6th place

by Elaine Bothe

Helmet, shoes, gloves, bike, I can ride. Race food, water. Check. Checklist: check. 45 minute drive, check. I’m so amped up for the race I have to set the cruise control to keep the car from flying. I already saw a couple of cops out on Hwy 26 just waiting…. A traffic stop is NOT on the checklist.

Car parked. Check. Potties nearby, yay.

One of my race goals today is to stay organized and focus on my pre-race routine. See, I made a checklist. But I didn’t add “find people you know and chat with them” to my pre-race schedule…

Michelle and her husband Morgan pull up and park right next to me. We chat.

OK, registration. I see more people in line I know. Chat! Martin! Hi! A big part of racing is to hang out with people you like all doing something really fun.

Teammate Sage and Steve show up, so does Teammate Eileen and her hubby John. Beth Burns came out to play. Fun! Sue Butler. Lots more people I know!

Anyway… checklist blown.

I previewed the course the day before. Stunning conditions, warm, sunny, a lot like last year’s race. I questioned my tire choice… I had switched back to my trusty Specialized The Captains thinking it would be wet and muddy. Crap. They did come in handy on a couple of steep pop-ups that most people walked up. So, I’ll stick with them rather than pulling heroic favors from the bike shops at 5:00 Saturday afternoon.

I worked one super tricky steep section of single track until I figured out the line and gearing. I set my tire pressure to work on that 10-yard section out of the whole 5 mile course… disturbingly low even for tubeless! 17 or 18 psi front, 20 rear!! Good thing I’m light and the course isn’t rocky, because I skittered right up that hill. Risk vs. reward.

The rest of the course looked great, dry, solid and fun. The tires felt surprisingly fast considering the tire pressure. Check. I packed it up, went home, ate a nice dinner with Hubby Mark and relaxed.

Oh yeah, back to race day. It rained overnight!! Wow. Can you believe the luck! I eyeball my trainer, an old wheel mounted with a slick tire thinking I’d check off my warm up. I look across the parking lot where the course cuts up a little hill.

I look at my watch. I look at the trail. I hear an announcement “RIDERS MEETING AT 10:30.” I look at my checklist. A riders meeting wasn’t on it. Crap. I think about what I had left to do. Swap out wheels (twice), changing clothes, pack my food and decide to screw the checklist and I warm up in my racing kit, I couldn’t waste a perfectly good trail.

With the rain, the course looks nothing like what I saw yesterday. It’s muddy. It’s slick and sloppy. Tires: Check!! It didn’t rain that much at my house, must have rained a lot more here. The fun descents are now slip-and-slides and the pop-ups turned into squish-fests. My confidence swells with having the right tires and my adrenaline is shooting off the charts.

It’s easy to get my heart rate going warming up on the course. I work it as long as I can until the riders meeting. We meet. I pee. Again. I find the staging line for the Pro/Cat 1 women and stay there, staking out my place on the front row. No repeats of the last race where I end up in the back of the starting grid. Today’s start is staged by category so it’s a lot easier.

But it’s still 20 minutes away from start time, so everybody moves away, some riding in circles, others on course, some working a good hill on the gravel road. OK. I ride down the road, do a partial loop on course for about ten minutes and sprint up the hill. I’m now at the line, sweating and huffing and puffing. Perfect. Michelle gives me a funny look, part of my heart rate is due to sheer adrenaline.

I’m determined to get a good start. Plus I want to see how Sue Butler starts. 30 seconds. We roll forward to the official start line. Go! Sue blasts off and I follow. Giggling I stick to her wheel for 200 yards and up the hill. There’s a good gap behind me, photographic evidence is below. That picture is not photoshopped!

But my heart rate spikes sky high, I flame out and the field passes me up the big hill. Oh well. I’m still making the pedals turn. Michelle shows me a wheel, I look at her, nod and eke out a couple more rotations per minute which keeps me in front of her .

The trail levels out across a bumpy field and we head downhill. Feeling better, I hammer down the hill, around a sweeping left hander then things get squishy. Yee-ha! Loose on the handlebars, the back tire slides side to side. Rock across some water ditches. I will the bike onto a reasonable line, catching up to a couple of women. I get around them through some switchbacks and try to open a gap.

Well Kristin is stronger than me on the flats, so she comes back around me with a vengeance after Mark yells that I’m in 4th place. OK, 5th now.

I hear somebody else breathing down my neck. I rush an uphill section and run wide into the bushes and another woman passes me. 6th. I push my bike uphill trying to find an opening in the steady train of traffic coming past. Finally I hop back on and hammer, now chasing everyone but Michelle.

I settle into a nice rhythm, working hard but clean the rest of the race. I pass Teammate Karleta in her first-ever cross country race! Yay! Go Karleta! Good Job! Through the trees again, across the creek and I really think there are more uphills on this course than down. That little single track popup I worked on the preview always had traffic on it so I never got to ride up it, darn. Once I even yelled “I’m riding it!” but the slow guy still attacked it in front of me… on foot. Denied.

I saw Michelle a couple of times through the trees, she calls out in greeting, but she’s still behind me by a ways. I pass another woman, (yay!) and Mark says there’s two more about 30 seconds in front of me who are fading. I’m not setting land speed records, but I’m not fading, I have another lap and there’s a fun technical section just past the start/finish line where I can make a move. This gives me some hope and I keep my eyes peeled.

Creek crossing. Fun, clean, up the sloppy bank I ride right through it like I have all race. Uh oh, the spectactators are packing it up and walking up the hill. Hey, the race isn’t over! Get back down there and watch! I crest the hill, somebody’s yelling at me “Don’t let that guy catch you!” so I didn’t.

There’s a lot of people milling about, hmmm… I keep it pegged until officials block my path, wide stance, hand out cop-style telling me to slow down. Nooooo! I’m not done, after only 3 laps! They take my tag anyway, I’m done.

Mark miscounted somehow, he including the Pro women I think. I end up 6th in the Cat 1s (we all only got 3 laps) with two behind me. Progress! My fitness is good, I’m faster, I easily rode things this year that I couldn’t last year even though they were a lot slipperier. Even though I’m the oldest in the category by far, I’m getting comfortable and feeling confident. I’m still improving and it’s fun getting to know everyone.

A hugely fun but hard race, I won a beer and some coffee in the raffle and I had a blast. Thanks for Mark for his support and expert spotting, Wenzel Coaches Anne Linton and Martin Baker for upping my fitness and skills (there were logs on the course? didn't notice!), my Sorella Forte teammates and training buddies, and all our sponsors. Also, the promoters and Oregon Bike Shop for putting on a spectacular event. I’m really looking forward to the next round.

Photo credits: Oregon Velo and Mark Bothe. Thanks! Great work.

2010 MTB: Echo Red to Red Race Report

Race Report

Echo Red to Red, March 6, 2010

Category 1 Women, 9th place!

by Elaine Bothe

The first mtb race of the year, with Sage and myself representing the Sorellas in some amazing weather way out in Eastern Oregon. Not a trace of mud anywhere, but lots and lots of bumpy singletrack.

And it’s my cross-country debut as a Cat 1. I’m nervous. After discounting some serious mistakes I made at the start (like being late for staging, oops!) therefore having to start toward the back of the mass start for what musta’ been 100 Pros/Cat 1/Singlespeed men and women, I am pleased with my effort yet there is always room for improvement.

Proud I didn’t get dropped in the neutral 2 mile roll-out, I see Michelle Hannaford’s braids up ahead—she was my nemesis and buddy from Cat 2 Masters last year, she upgraded too! But I couldn't really work my way up much, there were so many people. And it was supposed to be neutral.

Once I got going on the singletrack I started to fly. I picked off some singlespeeders and other riders, including a couple of women. We all have red tags, Pros and Cat 1s, so I’m racing everybody with a ponytail and scoring can sort it out later. Sue Butler (our local hero who is ranked in the top 20 of the world in cyclocross), Michelle, and a bunch of others, however, are long gone.

We’re all strung out like Christmas lights along the serpentine trails. You can see for miles... uphills, downhills, nothing too sustained one way or the other. Bump-y! hardpack greeted my hardtail, thus making my own tail, well, sore. I start to think to myself, hmmm, an extra spring in the back (of my bike!) sure might be nice about now. Turns out everyone suffered, suspension or no.

But I’m enjoying the weather, riding as hard as I can, my HR monitor pooped out but I’m sure I spent the whole time near if not in the hard interval zone... a woman up ahead, I’m closing in, slowly but surely. By now the leaders of the Cat 2 Men’s race, which started a full 15 minutes after my group, were catching us back-markers. Polite passing, I never had to stop, we just chatted and made it all work. I tried to hang onto those wheels as long as I could. One guy passed me, and, hearing a rider coming up, the woman I was stalking pulled off the trail to let him by!! Well, that was too good of an opportunity to pass up, so I rode past her too.

The Pros/Cat 1s shared the first 21 miles with everybody else, and I was finding markers all over the place from last year’s race. I remembered a lot of the hills, creek beds and turns, the rocky stretch where I flatted last year, a cool bridge to ride over then under later, but I couldn’t find the scary parts. I looked really hard, but the treacherous traverses and other scary stuff I remembered just weren’t there. Fortunately, not because they changed the course any, but because my skills grew over last year!

Just when I was about ready to head on into the barn with the Cat 2s and 3s, no! let's see where this other trail goes. 7 or 8 more miles’ worth of entertainment, even though my legs were already screaming full volume. Down a hill, to a really swoopy and swampy orchard full of logs to pop over, bridges, banks and obstacles. FUN!!

A big creek, 30 feet across and a big ol’ log. Cool! I'll ride it, even though it’s 6 feet over fast running water! ERKK! Nope, running it will be just fine, I do NOT want to fall. Cyclocross remount and off I go again. I look across a field to a cliff with ants crawling across it in a diagonal pattern. Ohhhh, that’s the trail, those are bicyclists! and they're walking! uh oh! I attack the hill, having to run a couple of parts but mostly riding it to the cheers of some men I passed as they walked! (OK, most were single speeders, but not all. I checked to make sure.)

A warm cup of HEED at the aid station, the last bits of uphill and sandy traverse to the top of a magnificent ridge overlooking the valley and the Columbia River in the distance, up past the vineyards back onto the gravel road toward the finish. Ahhh, said my butt. Smooth. I down my last two Clif blocks just in case I need a last ditch burst of speed for any reason.

It’s all headwind home, I get into the best tuck a mt bike can provide. TT it, I tell myself. I look back to make sure no one’s coming, head down and pedal. Tire sounds. Ready. oh, a guy. He’s really moving. back to business. More tires. A girl. “Great race!” she said as she passes. “Yeah!” I replied to her. But I thought to myself, who’s done racing? not me!

As I look over to her, I notice she’s on a 29er. Now that’s a mighty inviting wheel if I ever saw one. About a half mile out, too! I can’t believe she made the pass so I glom on. It’s not hard to hang on, and I’m glad I’m out of the wind. Well, I got my bit of recovery, and about a hundred yards out from the finish I stood up and hammered. No warning, no shifting gears, no looking back I just attacked. It worked! I doubt she’ll ever make that mistake again.

What a day. A great race, a burrito with Sage (who finished 4th in the Cat 2 Masters) and my sister Julia and a few other people we knew, sitting in the sun and not winning raffle prizes.

I finished 9th… Michelle finished a spectacular 3rd in the Cat 1s. Wow! Looks like I have some more work to do this year.

Photo courtesy of Oregon Velo.

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 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.

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.

Mt Bike Season 2009: Spring Thaw May 16-17

Race Report: Spring Thaw Mt Bike

Ashland, Oregon May 16-17, 2009

Cross Country, Cat 2 Womens 35+: 5th Place

Downhill, Cat 2 Womens 30+: 1st Place

by Elaine Bothe

No new bruises or lacerations to show for a fun, busy and difficult two days’ worth of riding! And my bike has just a layer of dirt a different color than last time.

Hot weather, forecasted 90 degrees and sunshine. Saturday’s cross country race fortunately started early, a 9:40 am start for us Cat 2s. We roll out of Lithia Park in Ashland, the scenic backdrop for the Shakespeare Festival. Immediately we are headed uphill, which was to become the theme for the day.

We meander through a lovely neighborhood. Wow, somebody conveniently left their Z8 on the driveway for us car nuts to admire. Nice! Oh, yes, back to the race. It’s a mass start, I lose track of who’s around me. Plus there are a lot of new faces, from California, Nevada and Southern Oregon. Michelle’s in there, of course, flying up the hill.

Paving turns to gravel road. Loose rocks on most of the road, a clear line forming on the left side. A wagon train of people heading upward. Passing is tricky, plan ahead since the rocks are so deep.

Then the rocky surface gives way to the dry native soil: it’s more like dense chunky sand, crumbled granite, bright white and fast. A couple of guys are on their cross bikes (apparently, I didn’t see them, they’re at the front and one of them even won his category), and one guy on a giant-wheeled unicycle! And bumpy with water grooves, washboards and giant potholes. I hit a few hard in the play of bright sun and shadows.

I’m wishing I knew the course better, I would have chosen different tires. I’m even missing my neglected cross bike at home. The trusty mud tires that served me so well in the Mudslinger are slowing me down big time on this road. I pass two joggers. “Great day for some exercise, huh!”

Up, up UP, up uuuup, up UUUPPPPP. Uhhp, upppp, uuuuuuuhhhhhp. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhp. Well, you get the idea. I like my hills, but this is getting ridiculous.

Twenty minutes. Forty, one hour. 1:20. 1:40!!!! Hey, look, single track!! Rats, it’s up, too. Nice moist/dry dirt, grip is great. Finally my tires are useful. The joggers are catching up, it’s too steep so now I’m running also.

Aid station. Water, thanks man! Back onto the gravel/sandy road. I studied the course map the night before, a clockwise circuit on mostly Forest Service roads. 23.5 miles total.

Not as steep now, but it still feels like uphill. Hey, yay! Down! Not long. Back up. I’m getting grumpy, my legs are quite done but I keep pedaling. I’m riding by myself mostly at this point. I pick off one or two guys, and a couple of other guys pass me. No other women anywhere to be seen.

Another junction, aid station. My elevation-addled mind lost count if that was the second or third. But wait, what’s that, it looks like a chute. And a guy is pointing down it. Go that way!!

If you insist…. Holy… here it is, finally, Dowwwwnhill! After a 21.5 mile grueling slog of liver and onions (it wasn’t that bad, really), here is a 2 mile chocolatey dessert. My super-fit-hill-climbing competitors including Michelle are long gone, this isn’t enough technical fun to catch them. Oh well….

I crack a big grin as finally my front wheel is lower than the back. Shoot, it’s lower than my seat! The first bit is a token rocky bit of trail, right, hard left into a proper rock garden with delightfully appropriate tombstone-sized boulders left and right. The line is 8 inches wide and STEEEEP. I laugh, I dab a foot then two, and let loose down a flat faced rock then through some more tombstones. Yeee haww!

This is the course for tomorrow’s downhill, I knew from my map study. This will be my first downhill race ever. I take mental notes, getting more and more excited with every hairpin twist and turn. Switchbacks onto narrow bridges, a double (I roll it), then a cascading roller coaster through the trees and crazy traverses. I forgot about all the uphill part, this, is FUN.

Through another intersection, and, down! I see the FS road again… no, wait, there’s a trail paralleling it. Yay! I get to go there. More switchbacks, though this is a soft sandy trail so a little less confidence inspiring but still quite fun. Now I’m glad for my tire choice… the trail peters out and I’m back on gravel.

Then pavement, back through the same nice neighborhood and through the park to the finish. A great ride, a fun race and I get to do the best part on Sunday! 3 hours and 2 minutes after I started, I manage 5th place, just 30 seconds behind 4th. Michelle finished 36 minutes ahead of me.

But I won a bucket of Hammer Strawberry HEED in the raffle! Sweet! Thanks!

That whole evening I replayed the downhill section in my head over and over. My strategy, my line…. I brought my dirt bike armor and full face helmet and goggles along, since I had it. I will definitely wear every piece of it Sunday, including my soccer shin guards.

Not intending to crash, I’d still rather dress for one even though I know it’ll be hot.

Barely able to sleep, I get up early so I can go preview. My Hammer Nutrition and water strategy Saturday served me very well, my legs feel good today, though I’m glad I’m not duplicating the XC race or anything long. Or hilly.

The drive up was harrowing, on the same type of roads—uphill and bumpy. Turn around and park, stroll around the corner to make sure my registration is all in order.

Gear up and go preview. They have a gated chute all ready at the top, and a clock just like a time trial. “Do you hold my seat like a time trial?” I ask the volunteers, being totally clueless. Yep. I can start clipped in.

My first preview through the tricky top part is as tentative as yesterday, dabbing and checking things out at the top. I’m testing my legs, my bike and my mind. OK, I get it. I fly down the rest of the hill, studying some of the trickier sections to think about later. I intentionally started early, the free shuttle ride back up a steep 2 mile road didn’t start until 8:30 and I didn’t want to be holding up any of the MUUUCH faster riders on my putt-ing preview.

Cool. I’m down. Waiting for the shuttle I chat with the other riders. They’re impressed with my hard tail bike. Well, it’s all I have, it’s all I know, and it works for me. I won’t be setting any land speed records, I just want to have fun and survive and see how I do. All I did from yesterday was lower the air pressure in the tires and clean and lube the chain. And clean the rims and deglaze my brake pads just to be sure they are in PERFECT working order.

I think I’ll work that top section again. The shuttle wait is long, not sure if I can get more than one other full run in. Through the starting chute, the crowd is gathering at the rock garden in preparation for some action. Great, an audience.

A clean run through the rocks, no dabbing. Hey! Fun! Cheers and supportive yells, they can tell I’m not all-pro, gung-ho and adrenaline-filled, hydraulic disk brakes and fully suspended. I pull up short after the double, so I can run that section again.

Another clean run, yes! On down the hill to wait for the shuttle again. Then the long wait till my 1:37 pm start time. An early lunch, a lot of nervous trips to the port-a-pottie, some socializing in the hot sun. I strip out of the gear and watch the pros navigate the rock garden. I saw some crashes, no big deal apparently, they jumped back on and hit the double in spectacular form. I clean my brakes and rims one more time.

Finally, go time. I suit up again, one more trip to the john, almost miss my callup—oh, they’re four people ahead, one minute intervals, I’m OK. Melissa Boyd, my only competitor in our age group is staged in front of me, she says “just call out when you’re ready to pass me!” Be safe, I say. She’s wise and had the forethought to have the organizers schedule a six minute time gap after us, so no gung-ho-pro-wannabe is breathing down our back wheels.

The two younger Cat 2s fire off one by one, then Melissa. The tone of the crowd changes, uh oh… must not be too bad, they’re not delaying me… I fire off. Another clean run. Cheers, cowbells through the rocks and down the hill. Faster than my previews but still in control. I need to work tomorrow, this is fun but not worth dying for. I am catching a pedal stroke here and there, where earlier I was braking.

Pushing the edges of my comfort zone I graze the uphill side straight through the double, then the switchbacks, then I see Melissa. “I crashed” she said, are you OK? She had some good gear on, after last year when she just had her kit and regular helmet. Yep, fine.

A few more corners then a quick sprint though the finish line. There’s about a half mile of roll out trail to cool off before the shuttle. My heart is racing and I’m covered in sweat, I didn’t even know it at the time. My run was just under 7:57 minutes, clean and safe, about a minute behind the other Cat 2s and two minutes and change behind the Cat 1 women. Wow. The top pro man’s time was 4:09!

I have plenty of comfort margin to improve but for a first effort with no crashes and a smile on my face, I’m pleased with my effort. The long drive home from Ashland wasn’t so bad since I had a nice little video in my head to play over and over.

This YouTube video is from 2008, but it shows the same course. These are the pros.

Thanks again to our Sorella Forte team (good job everyone in Silverton and at PIR! Maybe I’ll join you for some paved flat fun one of these days) for all the encouragement and support, my husband Mark and our team sponsors including River City Bikes, Jeff Tedder and Hammer Nutrition 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. Thank goodness I didn’t need that.