I finished the TOE!!!

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Warning for the boys ... there's a tiny bit of girl talk ahead.
But if I can live it, I'm confident you'll live through reading it :)
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I slept a little better than I had Friday night, but I still tossed and turned all night. Mostly nerves I'm sure, but I wasn't as rested as I was hoping to be on the morning of the race. My knee is aching, and I'm already getting cramps (mm hmmm ... perfect timing ... I couldn't have planned this better). All of this just makes me a little more nervous about tackling the challenge ahead.

But this is my one big goal for the year, and I'm ready to suck up the aches and tiredness and "kill it, kill it, kill it" as advised by my hero Heidi.

Gregg made us some very tasty whole grain french toast, with strawberries from mary's garden. Tasty, and a perfect breakfast for today's ride. We pack up the car, and drive out to Blodgett. And as I get out of the car I hit my head on the roof rack hard enough to give myself a lump on the head. Awesome. I'm so smooth. And apparently determined to add a concusion to the situation.

I pop some ibuprofen and sport legs before we unpack the car. We're early enough that there aren't many people there yet, but we see a few familiar faces and spend a little time socializing before I head off for an easy warm-up ride.

The TOE has a rolling start from the school. Similar to the Mudslinger, except that in the Mudslinger we stop to re-group at the bottom, and then get sent off according to our racing category. This time we're really racing from the beginning, so the pace is a bit quicker. But it's a 50 mile race, so nobody's sprinting either. Still some jokes and conversation along the way, which makes it feel more friendly and social than the shorter races.

But as soon as we hit the singletrack, I can't seem to pace myself. I'm looking at my Garmin, and I can see I'm working too hard. I just can't seem to make myself slow down! Melissa is right there with me, and we chat the whole way. The pace feels manageable for a 2 - 3 hour race, but I know even in the moment that I can't maintain this for the duration. And yet I just ... can't ... slow ... down. I do this for about an hour and a half before I'm finally able to get control over that adrenalin and start managing my efforts again. I manage to do pretty well for about the next three hours, and after that my legs were lead (like they each weighed 100 pounds!) and I don't think I could have done much to increase my heart rate if I'd wanted to.

I wreck a couple of times too in the first couple of hours. Nothing significant ... a new bruise where I fell into a tree going about a mile per hour, and another scrape and bruise where I toppled over at about two mph. And while it's fun to push myself when I'm riding recreationally, I decide I'd better start riding a bit more cautiously for the race.

So finally, about two hours into the race, I'm pacing myself to last for the duration. And I'm also trying to ride within my technical limits and avoid injury.

In the first half hour of the race my knee starts screaming. I'm getting shooting pains whenever the elevation takes a steep climb. I've figured out pretty early that will-power alone may not take me through to the finish, so I take the Rx provided by doc for the swelling knee. I take more ibuprofen at the mid-point too, and try to stay about as doped up as I can without causing myself to vomit. I still end up getting shooting pain in my knee on every climb (and there was a lot of climbing), and on the bumpier descents. And for about the last 15 - 20 miles I wasn't able to keep my left leg bent while supporting body weight. It kept shuddering and collapsing. I had to totally over-compensate by making my right leg do a lion's share of the work. Now a smarter person might have been convinced to give up ... "know when to say when", as they say. But I'm not a smarter person. This is the ONE THING I'm absolutely going to accomplish this year, and if I can move I'm going to accomplish this. So instead of being a smarter person, I'm being a goal oriented, focused, committed person. "It's a blessing ... and a curse".

The cramps also kick in within about the first half hour, and continue to pop up every hour or two throughout the race. It's aggravating, uncomfortable, a little painful ... but nothing compared to the knee pain, and surprisingly also nothing compared to my body's usual behavior. I'm halfway to being a believer in the crazy new diet I've undertaken to manage my "girl" issues. In past rides, this alone would have had me on the ground unable to move. So despite the little extra aches and tummy issues, I'm feeling pretty lucky! Seriously, you should see me on a bad day!

And this really was a great day. The weather couldn't have been better. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the wild irises were in bloom all over the place, the forest smelled wonderfully "forest-ey", and there were beautiful meadow and mountain views all around. There were so many times I wished I could just snap my fingers and get a photo of what I was seeing. I wish I could share with you all just how amazing it was. And it had been dry for days, so the trail conditions were the best I've ridden out there. There was some fantastic new singletrack, and since I was riding near the back, all the new singletrack had been "established" by the first 145 or so riders before me. Some of it was brand new and pretty rough before they came through, so they really did me a huge favor.

The guys at the Peak Sports aid station did a great job of cheering me on. It felt really great to see some friendly faces out there cheering for me during the race. And after Gregg finished his race (at about 6 hours) and changed clothes, he got back on his bike and rode back to the aid station to cheer for me and take photos, at about mile 40 for me. What a guy, huh?! He also showed up later on the course, and then rode in with me to the finish. My biggest fan :)

By the end of this race I had been so exhausted for so long, and in pretty much constant pain in those last couple of hours, that i just about broke down crying a couple of times. Not the shedding tears kind of crying. More like the "I'm having a breakdown" hyperventilating crazy laughing/crying thing. First trying to talk to Gregg on the way to the finish (Oh no ... no pictures of this please), and then trying to respond to the woman pulling my number at the finish. I'm a girl, and I'm also old enough to not care so much what other people think, so I guess it's probably okay to admit that I just about lost it! And and I managed to mostly hold back the sobbing and hysterical laughing when there were people around, so I think I might have pulled off acting like a normal person ... and I don't believe there's any photographic evidence that I was being a freak.

I was one of the last riders to roll in to the finish line, and most of the rest of the riders were seated on the grass waiting for the awards to start ... and facing the finish line. So I got a bunch of cheers when I came in. I felt like a bit of a dork, but loved the comeraderie, and gave a big wave to the crowd.

Everyone was amazingly supportive. Gregg knows "everybody" (a very small exageration) in the local mountain biking community, and I've met and spoken with a number of them. So several guys came up to me to shake my hand, congratulate me, and talk for a few minutes. It felt awesome to hang in there, do my best, and finish! And even though I was really just doing it for myself, it felt really great that they recognized and respected the effort they knew I put in to get there.

I really enjoy the 50 mile race distance, and if there were more of them around I might specialize in that kind of race. There's a unique feeling of comeraderie. Racers have the time to talk to you for a minute or two, because most of them are in a position where they know they need to pace themselves for a long day. It's not like the little two hour races where it's every man for himself. For the most part, I prefer to ride for the love of it. And I don't see myself every really "being" a racer. But I do enjoy the mountain bike race scene too, and committing to racing is also committing to improving my fitness and technical skills. The Test of Endurance combines a little of both ... a long ride out in the woods, just (wo)man and machine, but with the adrenalin and motivation that helps you to push yourself a little harder and stretch your limits.

I LOVED IT! It's a great event, and if I can't race it, I'd love to at least help to put it on. I'd love to race the TOE every year. But next year is already setting up to be unlikely, as I'll be back to studying for an actuarial exam and unable to put in the training time necessary to prepare to race the distance. But I want to try to stay at least fit enough to volunteer to ride the sweep.

'twas the night before the TOE ...

... and I'm freaking out!

My knee (the "good" one) has started bothering me recently. It started getting achey a couple of weeks, but it wasn't really bad. Before one of my training rides I was concerned about it, so I tried to tape it the way my PT had shown me. I'm pretty sure I made it worse. So I started icing, elevating, and taking Ibuprofen.

And yet, despite all that TLC, it persists in being a problem. Now I'm getting shooting pains when cycling or clutching the car. Bad news. So, three days before the race, I show up on the doctor's doorstep in an urgent state, and say "I need a miracle!" Well, there are no miracles. I got a prescription, and some worried looks, and he tells me to come back if it continues to be a problem. I'm pretty sure he knows I'm going to be getting myself into trouble with this knee.

But I take it easy. I skip the Thursday training ride.

On Friday morning I take the Rx, which makes me jittery, messes with my stomach, and seems to contribute to a sleepless night Friday night. Just what I need, to be sleep-deprived, jittery, and unable to eat before my biggest ever endurance event. But it does seem to be helping with the swelling in the knee, so I'm giving it a serious shot.

But because of the side-effects, on Saturday I decide to skip the meds and just stick with icing and elevating. I also pick up the neoprene knee brace recommended by the doc. I take it easy in the morning; going down to the Farmer's Market, picking up coffee and a home-made danish at the local coffee shop, stopping in at the bike shop for some quick conversation. And then I get ready to head out for a nice easy spin on the road.

I slap on the knee brace, get geared up, and head out the door. Within 12 minutes of riding my HR monitor completely quits! Damn. I've been relying on that thing for training, so this kind of sucks. But I've got all my other data (mileage and time), and I need to finish my ride, so I keep going.

I'm still a little twitchy, now just from a sleep deficit rather than the meds. So when the little creeps in the station wagon lean out the window and yell (or rather, bark) in my face as they pass by I just about end up going off the road. Nasty little buggers.

About halfway through my ride the knee brace starts sliding down, and the "doughnut" starts pushing my kneecap down and out of position. That's the opposite of better!

And shortly after that I start getting cramps. Yeah, that's right. Looks like I'm going to be starting some unpleasantness tomorrow. Perfect timing.

Okay, this all sounds like a bad "start" to the race, and it certainly isn't the stress-releasing easy pre-race spin I was looking for. But I'm determined to do my best with this race ... so we're all about silver linings here:

• I replaced the battery in my chest strap which, if it hadn't died today, might have failed during the race tomorrow.
• I'm going to bed early, and without the side-effects of the Rx hoping to get some good my sleep tonight!!
• I know the brace is out of the question for the race, and better to find that out now than during the race.
• The cramps? Well I'm having a harder time spinning that, but with my normal weight fluctuations, this is my "lightest" point ... so I'm carrying a pound or two less up the hill. That's good news, right?

Now, I'm off to brush myself off and get busy looking forward to the task ahead of me. Time to start packing for tomorrow morning!

Two last TOE "pre-rides"

It must be old news by now that the Test of Endurance 50 was my only personal goal for this year. My one, giant, monumental achievement for 2008. So I've been doing a ton of training to get ready. And since this is also a local race I wanted to take advantage of having the home-court advantage. I'm a terribly slow climber, so I need to try to make up a little time on the descents. And since I'm not a super fast descender either, I need to get to know the trails ... as well as I can, anyway.

Naturally though, the course is dynamic until the last minute ... always in a state of change. Winds blow down trees. The logging company comes through some areas. New trails appear (with a lot of hard work by the promoter and some friends). So really, the only way to do an honest pre-ride of the course is to be involved in trail work up to the last minute. But Gregg was able guide us on a route that had similar distance, elevation gains, and some of the singletrack I'd be riding in the race. So it was enough to give me a good sense of where I stood, and gain some level of "comfort" with the challenge ahead.

In mid-may we invited a couple of friends from Portland to come down and ride with us. Heidi and Sal grabbed a Portland Velo teammate of theirs, Javad, and we grabbed another friend, Melissa, and the six of us went out for a pre-ride.

And after all that training I've been doing, this is how the ride started out ...
(Heidi) "Hey, where'd Stephanie and Melissa go?"

(Gregg's voice, echoing down to us from the top of the mountain) "There they are."


Naturally, all that work and I'm still getting dropped in the first mile. And poor Melissa had just done a race the day before, and was really feeling the fatigue from that. Bummer for her, but good for me ... I had myself a riding buddy :)

The conditions were about perfect; mostly dry with a few muddy spots, and a little overcast and cool but not raining.

The ride had a little of everything. Several of the trails are now well established and hard-packed. Some of them are barely recognizeable as trails, and a little tougher for us less-skilled riders to navigate. There was some hiking over down trees, Heidi's favorite part. And lots and lots of climbing. (Heidi's second-favorite part, I think).

We had some getting separated in the woods shenanigans, preceded by a little trailside bike maintenance.

So the day had practically everything you'd expect from a day of mountain biking. Including a well-earned post-ride feast at the local McMenamins. Yumm! Cajun-ized tater tots!

I really wanted to get out one more time though, without all the stops, so that I could get a better idea of what it would feel to ride constantly for the 25 miles. Can't really be taking so many breaks on race day. So I invited Carrie to come out with me again in June.

Originally Gregg was going to come along as well, and possibly bring another guy from work. But Gregg ended up having to work. so it was up to me and the Garmin to navigate. That was challenge number one.

Challenge number two was the spring weather. It had also been raining since may, so things were a little wet. It's surprising how much more work it is to ride in the mud, even when it's just a little bit of mud. It's like running in sand ... it just absorbs your energy. Not so noticeable if you're doing a ride that's well within your limits, but if you're riding at the edge of your physical limits it can make a significant difference. And even now, a week before my 50 mile race, a 25 mile mountain bike ride with about 3,700 feet of climbing is a challenging ride. So there were some fairly muddy spots, which should have slowed us down.

The logging company has also been in there, and it looks like they're getting ready to do some work. Some of the stuff that was part of the course is now torn up from a CAT, and there are more down branches on the trails. Navigating the now horribly muddy CAT tracks, and removing down branches should have slowed us down a bit too. Check out the wall-o-mud on the rear tire, and the remains of the pine tree in my chainring.


But the third, and most significant challenge for me, is pacing myself! I find it difficult enough when I'm staring at my heart rate monitor. And when I'm staring at the course on the GPS unit and can't see my HR, I really tend to let work too hard. So although this was a much more difficult ride, we finished in almost exactly the same time. Seriously, fractions of a second different than the much more casual May pre-ride. My average HR was 10 bpm higher today, and at the end of the first lap I was not feeling like I could have turned around and done it again. No way.

Good news ... Mike changed the course to avoid the newly torn up stuff, add some singletrack, and take out a couple of road out-and-back sections ... it sounds like a great course, and the weather report is looking promising. It should be fun!

I've just gotta remember to pace myself!

(pictures from both rides)

Finally, my best MTB ride in quite a while!

I've been trying to keep up with my training, but the weather's been pretty crappy. I've tried to keep up with the mountain biking, but many of my rides have been during the rain or snow, and at night. So I've done a bunch of road rides, a few sessions of "Cycling" class at the gym, and other general exercise (mostly lifting and swimming). But what I really love, and really miss during the gray, rainy, dark days is the mountain biking.

Finally, we had a long break in the rain, giving the dirt plenty of time to dry out. And Gregg and I managed to get one beautiful sunny day off ... at the same time! So we went out for a ride.

The dirt was perfect. A little hiking through 1 - 2 ' deep snow, a tiny bit of mud, but mostly perfect, dry, dirt. Later in the summer the dirt will get too dry and traction won't be as great, but on Sunday, it was ideal.

The weather couldn't have been better. It was still cool, but easy to dress for. And it was beautiful and sunny all day. We had amazing views of the mountains from the top of McCulloch.

And I'm stronger now than I was at the end of last summer. Yay! The training is paying off! I'm still such a very long way from being able to finish the TOE, but I've got more time to train ... best make use of it!

Here's a post, with the GoogleEarth image and elevation profile of the ride.

Sadly, it's going to start raining again this week. Messing up the trails and making my night rides wet, cold, and a bit less fun.

Can't wait for the sun to come out again!

Fall rides

The weather's been changing. It actually hasn't been very wet at all, but it's been pretty chilly. Combine that with schedules getting busier, and I'm having some trouble finding riding partners! Even with 30 women on an email list, I'm lucky to have one other person show up for a ride. That sucks!

So a quick "YOU ROCK" to Sara and Vonda for showing up for a couple of rides recently. And to Kristy for showing up to bike polo with a friend. Abe was great. I hope you both had a good time.

Vegas, baby! (part 4 of the working holiday)

Vegas is always a bit of a misadventure. Neither of us is well suited for Vegas, but this is where Interbike is, so here we go again.

I was super excited to see Gregg again, after a week and a half of roaming around. And I have to admit I was a little sad to touch down in rainy, dreary Portland only to fly out again without ever leaving the airport. A little sad to leave home I guess, even when the cold gray weather.

Anyway, we had a pretty comfortable and uneventful flight to Vegas, easily and quickly got our luggage and caught a shuttle to the hotel. Too good to be true, right?! Totally!!! They booked us into a room on the strip, directly over an incredibly loud, open door dance club. I got so desperate to sleep that I was trying to hide out on the bathroom floor with the door shut. Still no good, and I was about 30 seconds from sleeping in the hall outside my door before the noise finally went out around 4 am! Grrrrr.

I really wanted to come to Interbike again this year, so that I could get out to Bootleg Canyon for the outdoor demo. I want a new bike. I love my current bike. I really do. In fact I attribute my new-found love of mountain biking to my lovely Niner ... but I'm ready for some squish. I was completely exhausted for Tuesday's outdoor demo day, but totally looking forward to trying out some FS bikes.

The first booth we hit was Salsa. I checked out a Dos Niner, and Gregg picked out a scandium frame Mamasita. I can't speak for Gregg, but I really liked the Dos Niner. I felt totally comfortable on it instantly. It took a little bit to warm up my legs, but the trails out there are great! Clearly designed to make you fall in love with whatever bike you're riding. And I did love the Salsa. But I didn't think it much (if any) of a step up from what I've already got (again, really love my Niner) ... If you're in the market though, I'd highly recommend a ride on a Salsa.

We realized we were going to run out of time if we tried to hit up everybody, so we went 'directly' to the Niner booth. I've been dying to try out the R.I.P. 9 for quite a while now. The guys at the Niner booth were incredibly nice, and I got a lot of sympathy while I waited for HOURS (I do think I was waiting for at least an hour and a half) for a RIP 9 in my size to roll back in. Apparently the shorties who'd already checked out the small RIP 9's were out there having a great time! And I can see why. What a blast! I'm not used to FS bikes, so the travel on the Niner was a little plush for me ... it felt a little weird. But it practically pedaled itself, and the fit was instantly near-perfect. And on those rolly, banked trails, the plushness was juuuust right. Since leaving the demo I've thought more about it, and I'm not convinced that I actually want that much travel and plushness for the more slow and technical stuff that I'd normally ride. Now I'm thinking I'll wait another year, save my money for New Zealand, and check out the J.E.T. 9 at next year's outdoor demo :)

I barely had any juice left, and it was getting pretty hot, but we both wanted to get out on another bike before we left the demo day. So we hit up Lenz for a couple of FS bikes. I really hated the geometry. Felt like I was perched up over the handlebars. I think it's pretty typical for a DH/Freeride position, which I think is their typical audience. But it makes me feel totally unstable on the bike. I really like my seat to be further from my bars. I was totally impressed though with the feel of the rear suspension. And Gregg totally loved the bike.

I'm really hoping to get out on a Titus, and maybe the Specialized and Gary Fisher. And next year, fingers crossed, I'll ride the JET 9 at the Bootleg Canyon demo day. So, all that effort and I still don't know what I want. But it was an awesome day, and I can't wait to do it even better next year.

The other major highlight of our trip was Wednesday night's Cross Vegas! (Check out this cool YouTube video) It was a great race for Oregon. The Kona duo of Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks dominated the whole men's race, with Ryan taking first. And Molly Cameron was in great form. Not great cycling form, per se, but she put on a great show ... beer in one hand, bike in the other, hopping over barriers. We were ringing bells and shouting like crazy during the entire thing. We were also lucky to get a ride back to the strip with some friends of friends ... saving us about $25 in cab fare. It was a great night.

Other brief highlights of the Vegas trip

• Meeting up with Chip and Andrea (friends from Denver) before their Cirque show (Ka) Thursday night. They taught us how to gamble :)
• Seeing Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity at New York New York, Friday night
• Hanging out with Chip & Andrea in their fantastic room at the Bellagio, overlooking the water show in the lake ... and then winning some $$ in the penny slots downstairs before heading back to our hotel. I actually won $15! Can you believe it?!

As usual, Vegas was a mixed bag. Noisy, smelly, and too many people. Good shows, overpriced bad food, great bikes to ride, bike events, huge amounts of cool bike stuff ... I still wish it weren't in Vegas, but I can't wait to go to Interbike again (wherever it is).

Hansel and Gretel & Bombs Away

Last night's ride was totally awesome! For a couple of reasons.

We had a really good group; five of us in total, very similar fitness and technical skill levels. Melissa kept a quick pace in the front, but didn't leave us in the dust. Michelle was dragging a big after volunteering until 1:30 am with Extreme Makeover Home Edition and then working all day. Carrie was making a huge effort to not do anything stupit that would aggravate her already injured shoulder, so she was taking it a good bit easier than normal.

Mary came along with us, and showed us how to get around a couple of 'new' trails. I'd been on both before (Hansel & Gretel, and Bombs Away) but couldn't have managed to connect them up with the ride. It'll take me quite a long while to get familiar with the mass of available trails. Bombs was great! There were several bits I couldn't ride, which is a great learning opportunity for future rides.

And, my fitness has improved SO MUCH over the last couple of months. Finally I'm getting to the top of Dimple with energy to spare for real riding. My knees are still giving me grief. And my old shoulder injury. And I'm still running low on oxygen on the way up ... but it's remarkable how much better I'm feeling now than I was when I started riding again in late May/June.

So next week I start seeing the PT. Maybe she can help with the knee and shoulder issues. The heart and lung issues are all mine, but should continue to improve with consistent riding ... but it'll be great when the other stuff isn't slowing me down!

A new bike for Stephanie!

Well, Gregg's getting a new bike too. But he does that kind of thing a lot. It's a much bigger deal for me.

We tried out some 29ers quite a while back. And I really loved it. The 29" design feels more stable to me, and was therefore a LOT more fun to ride. I could ride quite a bit faster and still feel more in control. So Gregg's decided that a niner would be just the thing for me. The e.m.d. ("eat my dust" ... yeah, right) isn't out yet, but there were some early pic's posted in some MTB forum. So here's an early look. Pretty, huh? And the "pedal damn it" message is pretty inspiring. Not sure when I'll get it yet. It's on order, but Gregg will have to build it up for me when it arrives, because we're getting the frame only. Still, maybe about the time it quits raining for the season, I'll have something to ride!

Australia~ Mtn Biking & Melbourne

Sunday morning Gregg (Me) and Loren got up to go mountain biking. Of course it turns out to be the ONE day it rains...Loren had borrowed a Specialized Epic from his friend Marcus, who was also gracious enough to toss in some clipless shoes and helmet. We drove about 30 minutes to Lysterfield Park, the sight of the upcoming Commonwealth Games Mountainbike Race. There we met up with Loren's buddy Jason. Since they were both riding singlespeeds, I tried to be fair and match their gear size, (but still shifted occasionally). The trails were rolling, twisty, and lots of fun. Kangaroo hopped and lounged nearby, most were hardly bothered by our presence. And despite the drizzle, it was so warm I had to ditch the light jacket. Some say no ride is complete without a little blood...Loren complied with a quick fall on the loose dirt, resulting in a scraped-up elbow and calf. Didn't look too bad, but then I didn't have "Grid-Iron" (American Football) practice after the ride like he did.

Getting back home, Loren made the mistake of mentioning we saw Kangaroos. Stephanie was a little jealous that I saw 'roos in the wild, so while he went to Football practice, Yvette took Stephanie and I back to Lysterfield Park for a hike. The rain had stopped, but the 'roos were hiding. We walked some trails and on the return loop we finally found some hangng out in the woods. They were very casual, just laying around and not jumpy like deer.

Hmmm ... last post not so clear?

I know, most of you aren't mountain bikers. So here is the response to some questions I've already gotten:

• 29ers are mountain bikes with 29" rims, instead of the more typical 26" wheels.
• A hardtail is a bike with no rear suspension, but usually (or often) with front suspension forks.
• Genesis geometry (I used Gregg's post, misspellings and all) is the Gary Fisher brand name for the geometry of the frame.

Testing out the 29ers (also Labor Day weekend 2005)

Gregg and I have gone on three mountain bike rides together recently, to try out some loaner mountain bikes. They have 29" wheels instead of 26" wheels. Anyway, it's been a fun few rides. Gregg is as excited about me loving the 29ers as I am about him going back to school. Here's a post he wrote on MTBR about one of our rides:

Have been researching/lurking on 29ers for months, and was already pretty much convinced of the benefits. But what I really wanted was an opportunity to ride one. I usually ride a 2005 StumpyFSR100disc, whittled down to 25 lbs ( and disc hardtail winter bike-27lbs ). In addition, my wife recently got back into mtnbking, and has always complained about technical and/or steep(to her) trails. She rides a pretty light rim-brake hardtail. This past weekend I was able to get my hands on a pair of '05 GF X-calibers... 17.5 for me (5'8"-with 31" inseam), 15.5 for her (5'5") and now we are both believers!! Genisis geometry does not fit me that well, (top tubes too long, even with short stem) so I swapped the 90 for a 70 mm stem (inverted), and removed a spacer.

The demo bikes were a bit heavy, but they rode like much lighter bikes. I noticed immediately the extra traction climbing steep/loose stuff, and when cornering the tires stuck like glue. The bikes picked up speed fast, and I could carry it through corners with ease. My wife was less wow-ed, so the next day we went to a small area she likes and took her bike AND the demo. First lap (30 min) she rode the 29er, and I could tell she was riding these trails faster than usual. Then she got on her old 26"bike...she liked that it was lighter, but felt less stable right away. She was also slower everywhere, had rear tire slippage on the loose climb, and felt the front tire was less planted. I followed her down one straight stretch of downhill, that ends with a right turn . On the 29er she was doing 17.3mph down the straight, and went through the turn at 16.8mph. On the same stretch of trail,( on her regular bike, 30 min later) she only hit 16 mph in the straight, and slowed to 13mph to make the turn, and felt a lot less in control. Oh, she also noticed that the 29er hardtail was more compliant than her 26" with shockseatpost, very important with her bad back.So now she doesn't want to give the demo back...(does not like the orange '06 color), and I need to sell some of our bikes quick ( I'm getting a RIG first, then Paragon ) . I'm just glad she feels more in control on the big wheels, she's always liked riding, but only easy stuff. Now she wants to try harder trails. I liked the extra speed, she liked the stability, same bikes and we're both happy. I'll try to add some pics later...late for work, thanks for reading ( those that made it this far).

Cream Puff ~ 2005

I only got 3 posts on the old website before I discarded it for Blogger, so I'll copy those posts here. First, the Cream Puff.

After many months and hundreds of hours of training, Gregg recently finished 71st overall, 12th in his class, in the 2005 Cascade Cream Puff 100 mile mountain bike race. It's a VERY difficult endurance mountain bike race. Gregg's goal, and the goal of many other riders, was just to finish within the 15 hour time limit. If you don't finish within 15 hours you're not considered to be an official finisher. That's what all the DNF's mean at the bottom of the results table. Anyway, Gregg finished in just under 13 hours, 2 hours faster than his bottom-line goal. Great job baby!