Thru Endurance We Conquer!

We spent three days riding at Sedona - Tuesday and then Saturday and Sunday. Nick also got a short ride in Friday. Nick had sent out texts asking for trail beta prior to us leaving St George and gotten plenty of information. With the addition of a map, we were pretty dangerous for getting in some really good riding. Tuesday - a late start to the day so we could get a map and find the trail head we wanted. The goal was Baldwin, Templeton and HiLine. The parking lot was already crazy, filled with hikers and tourists. Since everyone had suggested HiLine, that was where we headed, clockwise on Baldwin. We didn't realize that HiLine was one way for bikes and had to pause to consult the map. Revamp the plan - and that meant dealing with the hikers. Amazingly, most of them were super polite and eager to watch us ride up some of the tight rocky switchbacks. Then we were traversing the edge of a slick rock mesa. Easy riding at that point, but very cool with huge views of the red rocks a...

True Grit Epic - the first big race of the season and a new race to boot. There were sections of the course I'd ridden a few times (Zen) a few I'd only ridden once (the Barrel Rides and Barrel Rolls as well as Stuki Springs) and some I had no clue about (Bear Claw Poppy and Rim Runner) - stringing all together would be a challenge. It was also the first chance to test out my training and see if short and hard on snow would translate into  long and hard on rock and dirt. Adding to my stress was also the fact that this was the first big race that would see both Nick and I out on course at the same time. He had opted to race Men's Open instead of single speed this time and so would be starting with me and finishing well ahead of me. So I was a little nervous at the start and very quite - focusing on the 50 (or so) miles ahead of me. There was a very tough field assembled in the women's race and I knew making it into top five would be a challenge. Surviving the start had ...

It's a good thing plans are loose when on vacation. We'd originally planned on skiing at Brian's Head on Thursday, but decided against it given the forecast for early morning rain. When we woke up at seven to the sounds of rain drops (and a rather rude truck idling behind the van) it was time to head straight to St George. Not skiing would give us a chance to ride one more lap of Zen to stretch the legs from the drive. We weren't the only ones with that idea. Plenty of other riders were already prepping for singletrack when we rolled up. We didn't ride right away - eating breakfast and then snoozing for a bit. Neither one of use had slept all that well. But once it was time to ride, we were both ready. It was only my third lap on Zen and I was hoping it wouldn't be as rough as my first two. And it wasn't. I needed a little bit to remember what to do with my suspension - I think I've only riden on dirt once since the start of the year! And the body En...

The third race in the Leadville Winter Bike series - the Mineral Belt Mayhem. On paper, it seemed pretty straight forward - one big lap around town on the Mineral Belt Trail with a few miles of groomed singletrack thrown in for fun. Logistically simple as well - starting and finishing right down town on Harrison Ave. Except for one minor detail - the Leadville Skijoring... Yep. A sport I've never heart of - horses pulling skiers through an obstacle course at full gallop - had completely taken over the down town area. Nick and I watched a little - just the small jumps, not the big course - and it was pretty cool. Lots of standing around waiting for five seconds of action as the horse came tearing past. And I think most people were hoping for carnage at the end of every jump... At registration, we found out that the finish would be us at full sprint down the skijoring course.... I didn't warm up as much as I normally do. The warm and mild temperatures of the day were quickly ...

Even without racing at Old Pueblo this year, our February was just crazy busy. Instead of one being race, we were doing something every weekend - cramming a lot of activities into such a short month. It all started with the Super Half Marathon on the first. I raced and Nick supported and heckled. He's very good at heckling - even when I'm having a sub-par race for me. The next weekend? Tennessee Pass Night Jam - the second race in the Leadville WinterBike series. Of course, we didn't just ride - we also practiced with our skinning gear before the race and then spent a bluebird day at Ski Cooper working on our downhill technique. Nick is getting much better - compared to the first time I went skiing with him. I might not be able to keep up with him soon!  Stopping to watch the racing happening at Ski Cooper  A weekend at home for Valentines Day with a fancy dinner? Yeah right! Not in this family... Instead of flowers and candy, I got a nice three hour mou...