Fear Less

For every second of a mountain bike video where there is a cyclist perched on the edge of a cliff, there is a MTB chic like me.

A babe on a bike who’s scared and sweaty; gripping the handlebars with white knuckles under purple gloves even as she gears down so she can chase her badass Fear-less friend through the forest trails. 

That girl?  You know the one? 

That girl, who is so totally focused on not crashing that she sometimes she forgets she is having fun?  The one who is concentrating on every single root, bump, rock, dust mote and mole hole as she negotiates her way through the trails? 

That girl is me.

And you know what?

I don’t even mind being that girl.

I’m not particularly good at the sport, but every time I go out and do it, I love it.  I find it to be invigorating and so unlike anything I’ve ever done before in my life.  

Even though it’s just like riding a bike, and I used to race BMX as a kid, this is not like riding a bike.

It’s dangerous feeling, but it’s empowering too.  It’s dirty and sweaty and all the things that we are taught that girls shouldn’t be.  There are cuss words and giggles, at the same time.

My tires pop and crunch on the roots and rocks.  They slip on loose gravel when I don’t expect it, and when that happens on a hill, it feels like the back end of the bike is vanishing from under me.  At least two or three times today I caught a root and it caused my front wheel to turn in a direction I wasn’t expecting.  That was a little frightening.

I could hit a tree.

I could wreck.

I could trust myself.

I could fear less.

And that’s what I did today. 

I hate being scared as much as the next girl, but I must love it too because I had to try to do everything I came upon today.  Every obstacle vanished behind a giggle or a muttered curse word.  Even better, I successfully “didn’t die” while trying to put it together into something that looked and felt an awful lot like FUN.

I’m sure that there was a wrinkle in my brow for a lot of today’s ride.  I know I was so focused on what was in front of my tire that I likely missed much of the beauty of today’s adventure. 

I am just as certain that I was smiling throughout the ride, even when I had to put my foot down so I could just keep going.

~savor~

MTB OBX style

Yes, it's true.  Tall socks are
a MTB uniform requirement

Today was fab.

Remember that time my son rode his MTB down a flight of stairs?

uh huh. 

True Story.

No pictures though, because I was coaching, but Hellz to the YEAH!

I’m proud of this kid.

Then we hit the trails around Buxton, N.C. which have sand patches in them that will shut you down in a hot second. BOOM. 

We rocked them.

We crashed through homes, leaving a trail of destruction in our wake that could only be rivaled by a 1950's Godzilla movie. Or, at least, that's how the spiders tell it.

With our faces and helmets coated in sticky thread, we burst out of the woods in the shadow of a giant, and we dropped into the Cape Hatteras Light House Welcome Center for a water refill.

A whopping 8.35 miles on the Kona I got from Richmond Bicycle Studio. Love this bike. And love how it gives me such an opportunity to spend time with my klingon.

This ride was a great experience for him, and for me to see it through his eyes.

 

In a 57 minute MTB ride he became elated, discouraged, tired, frustrated, and ended with a smile high on his second wind.  He never quit though, even when his bike came to a hard stop in a pocket of sand on the trail. He kept it upright, but I could tell how much he hated starting from a dead stop on a climb.

It reminded me, when I feel discouraged as I rehab my Achilles, I need to remember that becoming frustrated is not a reason to quit the process. Like a bad patch in a race isn't a reason to quit the event, it's a reason to press forward in the hopes that there might just be a second wind in me yet. 

Moments of frustration are just part of the road of life.

Or trail.

I guess it depends on where you are at the time.

Flying Pirates & missed opportunities

"it's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack
of  cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses ..."

Obviously anyone who follows my blog knows I've been unable to run enough this spring to get trained for a Half Marathon. The Half Marathon
was exactly 5 weeks and 2 days after my pneumonia diagnosis.... so... yeah, about that. I am out and about, and getting my fitness back one step at a time, but running 13.1 miles would have been a death wish.

All that drama didn't stop me from spending the weekend with a posse of giggling women who seem to appreciate mocking themselves as much as I enjoy mocking myself.

We went down to the race venue, picked up bibs at the surprisingly good expo, and admired the GIANT costume contest trophy.

I made eye contact with T right then, and I'm pretty sure we were thinking the same thing... well... I was thinking, "I wonder what it takes to win this hideous trophy..."

We drove the rest of the way down to the cottage and did some touristy things ... ok, ok, we did all 4 touristy things you can do at the beach this time of year.

1) We visited the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

2) Drive past a known Osprey nest to see if the birds are home (they weren't, sorry T, Kim & Erika)

3) Got our feet into sand and take a photo on the beach that should be an album cover for our next CD, which will be named "Hill Repeats" and the first single will be "Flat Sand Running", which will be UBER appropriate because I'm probably going to be off key. "We'll put the band back together, do a few gigs, we get some bread. Bang! Five thousand bucks." Blues Brothers

4) Admire the inappropriately young HOT surfers <~ seriously, this is actually an acceptable tourist activity.  holy carp....

Still, I think this is a post of Important Safety Tips:

Important Safety Tip: Check the race location in relation to the cottage you own before offering to host everyone for the weekend.  not that it was a major problem, but I thought the race was on the Manteo side of OBX, not on the Kitty Hawk side of OBX... right.... so after an hour and a twenty minute drive to the start I parked the car.

Important Safety Tip: When snuggling your friend in the porta potty line, make sure the guy behind you  understands you're joking when you tell her, "I don't know you but here let me hug on you". .. unless of course you want a hug from a RedShirt named Daniel. In which case, go ahead... #seriously #HuggedARedShirt

Important Safety Tip: Take a photographer with you on the cool parts of your MTB adventure... otherwise all the photographs will be of you MTB on PAVEMENT. I assure you, I had a wicked good time exploring the trails on the way to find the girls out on the course, and I am TOTALLY looking forward to MTB in OBX ASAP...

Important Safety Tip: Be a bad ass.... oh, wait. seriously though, I had a great weekend and pulled some ridiculousness, like cycling while spectating, taking photographs while cycling, and convincing another runner to take our photo while he was running...

And finally:

Important Safety Tip: If you're planning on running with us next year at this race, be prepared to share that hideous trophy for 1/5 of the year, because we are so going to win it.

Uh yeah. Cos that's how we roll.

I'd guess it's about 18" X 24"... maybe 30"

8 Days Till Tomorrow

Tomorrow when I wake up, I will feel better.

Tomorrow when I wake up, I will feel better.

Tomorrow when I wake up, I will feel better.

Tomorrow if I wake up, I will feel better.

Tomorrow when I wake up, I will feel better.

Tomorrow when I wake up, I will feel better.

Tomorrow when I wake up, I will feel better.

Tomorrow when I wake up, I will feel better.

That’s probably true, by the way. Tomorrow I will feel better... but I probably won’t feel well.

Today I got out of my apartment of almost 4 hours. It took a 2 hour nap to recover from it, but that’s just a detail. It happened. I got dressed and everything.

I know that it’s going to be a long time before I’m where I was...

They don’t know what “got” me, by the way. Lots of badbadbad stuff got ruled out. I’d like to say it was the Bat/Pig Flu, right T?, but the truth is, it was probably just an opportunistic pathogen that was in the right place at the right time that led to a series of events that no one, not even The Good Dr, could have predicted.

In short, I owe my life to a Md at Patient First.  After I left her office, she said she was bothered by my condition and kept thinking about me. So she called to check on me right as everything in my life kinda took a badbadbad turn. 

I try not to think about that too much...gives me nightmares.

SO anyway, moving on to running stuff. In 8 days I went from being nearly marathon ready, to knowing that when I run again, I will be starting over from scratch.

In some regards, don’t we all wish we could do that? If you could go back to when you started running and start again with all your current knowledge, don’t you think it would be easier?

In others, I know it will be frustrating as all heckfireandshoot.

What do you mean I can only run XYZ pace for Y amount of time before I collapse into a pool of misery?

Also, let’s visit with the idea that I had finally gotten this whole bike plan down pat. I was cycling on my MTB so that when The Season started on the Road Bike I would feel fit and ready to roll.

Wheels f’in DOWN; I was going to be FIT.

Only, I’m so.no.fit.n.anything.

I’m weak. So weak that writing this has made me tired, and I think I’ll go get ready for bed. It’s 4something pm.

But that’s okay. It’s going to be fine, because tomorrow when I wake up, I will feel better.

What to wear MTB in the WINTER

There is NOTHING I hate worse than being cold.
Except the trainer. I hate the trainer worse than I hate cold. I mean seriously, why would I want to sit on the trainer in my living room when I could sit on a super comfy MTB in the woods while snow falls on me?

But every week that I go to ride my sweet whip, I suffer with the same dilemma...

Gah! What do I wear?

"There are flurries drifting down, coating the grass like powdered sugar, but it’s actually going to be a balmy 37 degrees. That’s nearly 40! If this was running I’d be in a skirt."

Grrr. What do I wear?

"BUT this isn’t running, this involves a bike. It’s cold. It’s going to be a frigid 37 degrees! Do you have ANY IDEA of how COLD 37 degrees is on a BIKE? It is cold."

I recently read a blog that was the opposite of helpful, written by some a$$ dude who obviously thinks people ask these things because it’s a FASHION STATEMENT.

Thanks yo'.

You go ahead and talk about the lycra and #junk looking nice on our cute girly figures. Over here in central VA, I’m much more worried about not over or under dressing (shudder the thought) for a 20 mile MTB ride.

Unlike running, where you become warm very quickly and typically dress for 20 degrees cooler than the forecast temperatures, cycling is different.

On a road bike you dress for 20 degrees colder than the outside temp. This is because you make your own wind child. It’s awesome. I’m kidding. It’s horrible. I’m not a fan of having cold feet. Or cheeks. Did you know your chin can get so cold you can’t talk? DeNiece and I experimented with that earlier this winter season right before she put her bike in the garage where it has sat ever since.

But MTB is warmer than road cycling. The speeds are typically cut in half. Typically one is negotiating obstacles, so there are points when a MTB may be sitting still while the rider is sweating bullets with adrenaline PUMPING and heart POUNDING.

Also, the trees shelter the MTB riders, and on the road in VA there is relentless WIND that bites... metaphorically and metaphysically. 

So this weekend I wore wool socks, running tights over bike shorts, 3 layers on top, a camel back w/ H2O, a hat, gloves and a helmet... aaaaaaannnnnd, my toes were so cold at the end of the ride that they were white, and they turned purple when I revived them in a tub of warm water...

~speaking of things that sound awesome but are not~

so.

next time I will dress my feet like I am going road riding. And my tip would be, dress for 15 degrees cooler than the forecast. Or, if the temp is going to be 40, dress for running at 5 degrees. Or, put your bike on the trainer next to DeNiece's & TMBs.

Stare Climbing & Cross Training

I've lived in Richmond for 12 years.

Twelve.

And today was the first day that I really REALIZED that this James River Park System everyone is so excited about, is something to be excited about. Not sure if I should be embarrassed about this or not.

I'm going to stick with, "or not", cos embarrassment lends itself to awkwardness, and I'm too bada** today to be awkward.

Yep. It was like that.

not a terrible view...

I've always been an outdoor girl, but I'm not a hiker. I rode horses & ran road races, but neither of those things brought me to the JRPS. I ran past the park system parking lots. I ran near the parks themselves. I ran beside little strips of brown trails cut into the grass, without any knowledge or understanding that I was looking at single track.

So the thing is, if you get a mountain bike as sexy as my Kona AND are galactically badass AND ride it on trails in RVA with Gentlemen of the Roads Trails #GoTTrails, eventually you're going to have to go play in the JRPS.

PLAY is so seriously the RIGHT WORD.


That was a
FREAKING
AWESOME
way to spend almost 2 hours of my life.

I mean, it was a pleasant way to pass the morning, if you like riding a mountain bike over a fallen tree log/jump the size of a small pony!

ok ok... albeit a small sleeping pony... but why worry about semantics now? It was a pony sized jump. And it only took me 2 tries... the first one, yeah, well there may be a slight bruise... AND did I mention it ONLY took me TWO tries!

And after that, I tackled some rocks, a ditch, a few trips through the skills park, and some other silliness, and I wasn't too terribly timid. I did a lot of it. I 90% rode and 10% walked my bike through the sticky spots. Sticky spots are narrow and slick or too steep and I was in the wrong gear and couldn't get to the top... I mean, it could have happened that way.

TGL called back, "Just Keep Going and Don't Look Down!"

That's What She Said we echo'd from behind.

Considering I've been mtb on *this* bike for only a few rides, and only been mtb for a few weeks longer than that, I was pretty stoked about how I was doing.

I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'

And then...

TGL had a brilliant plan to carry our bikes up a flight of stairs to get to the Buttermilk Trail. Kona isn't particularly heavy or anything, but the stairs never ended. -->

Our instructions for large portions of the Buttermilk Trail included TGL's wisdom:
"Shift your weight back, lean forward, and Don't Look Down".
That's what She Said we echo'd from the rear.

At one point though, I got stuck. I stood there on my bike, frozen in space, staring at a treacherous looking descent, and I couldn't move. Like a deer in headlights I watched as the others took the hill. TGL took on the role of the professor, but even then, I just couldn't do it. Maybe next time. I was having a cleat issue/clip issue, which dissolved my waning confidence in the moment, but I can't blame the equipment.

I blame the lack of experience. And the only way to get experience at this, is to do epic shit...

Well, seriously though, I think in order to really enjoy mtb I need to learn to let go and just be. There's a level of self trust that has to happen in tandem. I'm not very good at being in the moment, I'm an over thinker by nature, but sometimes mtb gets me as close to just being as... moving on.

The buttermilk trail was mad crazy FUN. Obviously someone with a LOT more technology than me made that video. 

This isn't me, but
this IS SO what I did today.

From there we rode elsewhere and it's very very possible that I RODE MY BIKE DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS TODAY...
my new wise feme mtb hero, who's name is too cool for words aka Fear-dra, yelled out, "It's just a flight of stairs GBA GF, you can do it!"
as
TGL called, "Just go for it, keep your eye on the finish line and don't look down"
That's what She Said I echo'd as I rode my bike down a short flight of stairs....

and this too.

Our ride ended with a race against the clock, bolting at top MTB speed (so, not relatively fast, but loads more fun than road riding because there was mud flying EVERYWHERE) back via the Fire Roads to drop me at the sucktastic beige minivan so I could go to my 13 year old's birthday party on time...

BEST DAY EVER on a bike.

I like this Cross Training so much that it's starting to interfere with my running... er, and training... um.

~Savor the Ride~

There's Kissed, and then there's Kona Kissed

Kona

It sounds delicious doesn’t it?

Kona makes me think of something decadent.

Something I want to taste. Something I want to savor intimately for hours on end until salty sweat trails in rivulets down the contours of my lush body and breathless gasps of pleasure escape my parted lips.

Oh for sure, I’ll be out of breath in the company of Kona.

How we got from no action at all to something as truly sexy as Kona is a long story. I really can't tell you for fear of boring you all to tears... it's generally about deviant minivans, ridiculousness, clumsy sweaty afternoons at Poor Farm, “that’s what she said”, and one charming 21 year old.

“Hey, what do you think of this one?”

I borrowed this photo from KONAWORLD

“It’s a sexy bike, but...”

Just before the holidays I found myself standing in Richmond Bicycle Studio talking to the ridiculously charming lead mechanic about the merits of a women’s specific Kona versus the 29er I was trying out from a competitor’s shop.

SO...

I kept comparing it to driving a tank. I mean, seriously, I drive a fecking sucktastic beige minivan 99% of my time. For once I'd like to have something agile to tool around on...

After riding the 29er for a week, I concluded that it was too much to handle. Every time I rode it I nearly damaged the parts of my body I would seriously prefer NOT to damage. (there’s a TACO post out there on the internet somewhere that can clarify that, but I’m SO not going into details).

...and ultimately, the 29er was too big to enjoy.

That’s what she said.

Once I tried the Kona there was no going back. It was love.

seriously, this is the
end of the grip...
The 21YearOld says
it's called the
Kona Kiss

This isn’t going to turn into a Kona ad. I swear it’s not, but the attention to detail on the women's specific design warrants a closer look if you're looking at mountain bikes. The stock saddle is freakishly nice... I mean, if you're into Tacos & #junk. 

And I don’t mean to turn this into a RBS ad, except it could become one pretty fast. There are lots of nice places to buy a bike in RVA, but if you want to know WHY I ended up at RBS, go here, and click around for about 14 seconds until you get here.

Now, TRY to give me a good argument to buy anything cycling related at another shop? I’d be hard pressed to do so.

Also, even if you over look that they give 100% of the proceeds of their sales to a non-profit that actually does good, they tossed in a free sticker for my whip.

The sucktastic beige minivan never looked so sexy in her life. 
I think my street cred is up a solid 2%. 

Maybe... 3%.... 

~Savor the ride~