Huck-A-Buck

Happy Fun Racing held their annual Huck-A-Buck cross country race at Lake Crabtree County Park today, and Steve ended up in 8th place out of a huge singlespeed class of 25 entries! We got several photos from the race, as did Mitch Quinn, who was kind enough to host our photos along with his on his photography site Here.

Inspiration

When I'm feeling fatigued, tired and burned out with riding and racing, few things inspire me to get back out on the trail again like buying a brand new bike...!

Cowbell 12 Hour Challenge

After years of endurance racing on my own as a solo rider, I was finally able to convince my best riding buddy, Sherri, to join me and race as a duo for the Cowbell 12 Hour Challenge. As it turns out, I could not have asked for a more perfect teammate! She was always smiling and cheerful, full of energy and joy, and generally delightful to be around. Also, our lap times were within just a couple of minutes of each other for the entire event which made for very evenly matched rest and ride sessions, and I had a fantastic time at this race! Taylor Sullivan, Bart Stetler and company put on a most enjoyable event and I look forward to this one every summer. Sherri and I ended up having 13 recorded laps. I say "recorded" because Taylor was kind enough to let me ride with Sherri on her last lap as we don't live near one another anymore and rarely get to ride together, so only her time on the last lap was counted - I was just riding as her companion for that one. This meant that logistically we each turned 7 laps which equaled roughly 41 miles apiece according to my cyclometer. Sherri's husband, Steve, served as her support and our mechanic, while my husband, Steve, raced in the Singlespeed Solo class, bringing home second place with 14 laps! Sherri's hubby also was kind enough to take some photos for us during the race, some of which can be found Here. It was great seeing so many friends out there - Erinna who was just awesome in the Female Solo category, Ed and Robin who had raced with us at the Tsali 12 Hour last month, and of course Michael and Sue. Sue ended up with 5 laps, one above her goal, for her first attempt at the Solo Female 6 Hour class - way to go! Having those two camped next to us really makes a race extra fun and entertaining - thanks for all the laughs folks!! It was a pleasure too, as always, to see the ever-friendly and helpful Dirt Divas out and about - special congrats to Jennifer on an impressive first solo event! - along with LouAnn and her team of amazingly skilled and delightful ladies. Much gratitude to everyone who made this event so memorable and fun - I'm already looking forward to next year!

Tag - You’re It

Evidently Mother Nature was in the mood for a rousing game of Tag this evening and apparently I'm now "It". I had headed out to Beaverdam to ride right after work today, not even taking the time to remove my mascara (a painful mistake I was to learn later). Even though the skies had appeared threatening off and on throughout the day, for the first 45 minutes or so of the ride the weather was gorgeous and the trail dry and fast. I should have turned around at the first ominous rumble of thunder, but feeling no raindrops, I decided to push on. I managed to get almost halfway around the South Loop when I realized my error in judgment. The thunder clapped even louder and then the heavens opened and a cold heavy downpour of rain stung my shoulders, legs and face. The mascara that I had failed to remove earlier was now burning its way inside my eyes along with rain and sweat. My gloves were soaked, so the more I tried to rub the water from my eyes, the more water went into them, pushing the sweat and mascara deeper and causing more and more burning. I was soon unable to see at all, so was forced to dismount and push my bike. This may have been a saving grace for me though, because shortly after I began walking, a fierce bolt of lightning flashed its way across the lake and right onto my handlebar! I saw the blue spark flash off the bar and heard the crackling, but save for a very faint brief tingle in my fingertips, I experienced no pain or intense shock sensation. Of course, I did throw the bike to the ground, and squealed like a girl. After taking a few moments to regain my composure, I gathered up my bike and began walking along the trail again, still trying futilely to wipe my eyes with my rain-soaked gloves and still unable to see. Fortunately, it was at about that time that I heard Steve's familiar voice. He had decided to bail on his own ride to come find me and make sure I got out of the trail okay in order to, as he put it "be the manly husband and rescue my wife from the thunderstorm". So together we hiked our way out of the trail and back to the parking lot, at which point I reminded myself that I had always heard lightning never strikes the same place twice. I sure hope that's true!

Dark Mountain Downhill Race

Steve had decided he wanted to compete in the Dark Mountain downhill race this past Saturday, so I accompanied him and spent the day taking pictures of the event. He ended up doing rather well, finishing Top Ten Expert in a very tough field of racers! Having myself "retired" from downhill racing a couple of years ago and thus not really attending very many of them recently, it was great to go back and see so many friends from the downhill circuit again. It was just like old times, only I was on the other side of the camera lens this time, and I have to say I very much enjoyed being able to sit back and watch, cheer, photograph and generally be in awe of the skill of some of those riders.
The remainder of the over 100 pictures I got from the race can be found Here

Video Premier Party

Last night was the premier showing of the instructional dance video entitled "Bellydance Moves and Combinations Anyone Can Do" in which I was a student participant. Belly Revelations held a big party in downtown Raleigh to show highlights from the video and to celebrate Middle Eastern Dance in the Triangle. We all gathered at the Museum of Natural Sciences to watch clips from the premier, and then headed over to Turkish Delights Deli for a variety of delicious desserts, ice cream and Turkish coffee - YUMMY! - along with dancing outside under the stars, accompanied by some very accomplished drummers. There is nothing to compare with dancing to live musicians! It was also great to see my dance sisters and brothers again after my several month hiatus from classes due to my knee issues. We spent the evening dancing, laughing and letting our inner children out to play.

We also took time out for some posed photo opportunities.

There is just nothing like dancing outside on a warm summer night.

Feeling The Burn

This past weekend was the Burn 24 Hour Challenge, and my second endurance race in as many weeks, so was a real test of the recovery stage of my knee. My plan was to do the entire race on the rigid singlespeed. However, after the first 5 laps, I (along with a couple of other riders who also switched out their rigid forks in favor of suspension) decided that the screaming fast descents were just too jarring and that my hands would need a bit of a rest in order to complete the race, so I switched to my suspended singlespeed. I found it amusing how many folks at the race actually recognized "Spot" (my leopardskin painted bike) before me!


Anyway, although I was understandably disappointed that I finished last in the Solo Women with only 13 laps total, I was encouraged by the fact that I completed one more lap than last year and rode the entire race on a singlespeed (I believe I was the only woman to do so). I also had a great time seeing so many friends again and riding one of the most fun courses on the southeastern endurance circuit. Dark Mountain is just a blast to ride. My knee seemed to hold up reasonably well until the last couple of laps which I ended up having to walk a lot of due to some worrisome pain in the joint. I periodically iced my knee during the race which seemed to help some, and the worst of the pain did gradually begin waning with some light stretching, moist heat and rest after the race was over. I was happy to have been able to finish the race with no major issues, and hopefully being able to rest a few weeks between my next couple of races this year will facilitate a full recovery by next spring.

There were a lot of positives for me during this event, despite my race placing. One tremendous surprise for me came when Tyler, the race promoter, asked if he could do a video interview with me about my race experience! I hope I was coherent enough to answer the questions sensibly. I also have to give a word of gratitude to all the other riders who made the race seem more like one big friendly group ride than a competition. The other solo racers are my constant inspiration and can dig deeper within themselves for strength than imaginable. My fellow singlespeeders (and there were plenty of them at this race) really know how to have fun and push themselves all at the same time. The teams were unbelievably encouraging, cheering all the racers on all through the night. It was great to see and talk with folks who are my inspiration and have made my bicycling career a joy, like Javaun Moradi and Jen (thank you so much for managing my bike at the start area and making sure my number was attached!), John Moorhouse, Eddie O'Dea, Heather Mosley, Brian and the Charlotte Dirt Divas (my hair stayed braided the entire time, and your cheers really kept me going!), Matt and all the other singlespeeders out there (you folks just plain ROCK!), and all the other solo riders including Bob Anderson (you're just amazing, always with a smile and a kind word to every rider on the trail, all day and all night long, even when you've been in the saddle for nearly 24 hours yourself!).

Of course, extra special thanks have to go out to some people who made it possible for me to even do this race.

Tyler Benedict
Race Director and Source Burn President. You really know how to put on a race, and are truly one of the heroes of our sport. Thank you for all you do. And your son is precious!

Matt Adams
One of the "main men" of the Brushy Mountain Cyclists who maintain the Dark Mountain Trail System. You folks have worked very hard and the results are obvious to anyone who rides this awesome trail network. You and Ellen and the rest of the volunteers were also just a delight at the checkpoint. You really kept me going when I wanted to just give up. Thank you for posing for this picture with me, and for all your hard work and dedication.

Condiments
Steve's team (Regina, Steve, Mike, Pete and Will). You folks were the best support crew I could ever ask for, even all the while racing yourselves - and pulling off a third place finish among some very tough competition! You took care of everything for me, and even kept me laughing the entire weekend with all your shenanigans.


Charlie Storm
(photo courtesy of Fit To Be Tried Bikes)
My coach and constant source of focus and encouragement. It meant a lot to me to be able to talk with you near midnight on Saturday when I was feeling lost and hopeless. You brought me back and kept me going. It made the last few hours of the race so much easier to have you call me again first thing in the morning with those last few words of advice and support. You make me feel equally as important and worthy of your time as your elite clients and it's my privilege to call you not only my coach, but also my friend.

And my husband Steve
As always, you are my foundation, my heart and my love.

Steve also has a gallery of tons of photos from the race Here