Racing Green: The Pioneers go to Snow Basin

Last Saturday, the Pioneers traveled to Snow Basin to compete in the second-to-last National Interscholastic Cycling Association race of 2014.  We left Pocatello before dawn the morning of the race, and rolled into the resort parking lot with just enough time for the kids to pre-ride the course.
I rode with the team's only female racer that day, shouting tips and encouragement that hopefully wasn't too confusing or annoying.  The course was roughly five miles long, with some rocky sections and lots of flowy switchbacks in the second half down to the finish line.  Aside from a loose access road at the start, the climbs were not too challenging, but a couple spots funneled the riders into steep gravelly switchbacks that would quickly turn into bottlenecks if even a single rider stalled out.
The first heat of racers, the freshmen, gathered for a pep talk from Coach Dan:

And prepared their high-tech on-trail nutrition-access systems:

Genius.

The first wave of riders rolled out shortly afterward in a cloud of dust, and while they climbed up the back side of the slope, I hiked over toward the downhill section to find a place to set up for photos.
First I found this spot, where I captured our first racer looking a little bobblehead-y:

And the second racer, unfortunately taking the slower line around a small root:

I chalk this behavior up to the kids not looking far enough down the trail.  But we're working on it.

Then I shifted to a section that had better potential for carnage and interesting pictures, where a chipmunk was playing 'chicken' with the racers:

I got one shot of a Pioneer coming through on his first lap:

Then attempting to overtake another kid in this seemingly straightforward switchback that nonetheless caused several dismounts and amusing slow-motion falls:

'ON YOUR LEFT!!!' - future Trail Fred

But the light wasn't great there, so I came down another couple of switchbacks and made a somewhat successful effort to take an 'artsy' shot:

close focus = art

Then I was attacked by a semi-clothed Sasquatch:

He tried to steal my camera but I kicked his ass.

After the freshman boys were done, it was the girls' turn.  I joined our one female competitors' mom at the start line to cheer her on:

Then hiked to a different section to get a photo on the second lap, and to provide encouragement  yell things vaguely related to biking:

The majority of our racers had finished by that point, so I ditched the camera and joined the parents and other coaches at the finish line to cheer on the last couple groups.  There were a few terribly exciting sprints to the finish line, with racers narrowly cutting each other off to gain the lead.  I've never experienced that in my races, because the enduro format puts 30 seconds to a minute between each racer instead of using a mass start.  The XC system is particularly favorable to racers that have performed well in previous races, because they get to start at the front of the group, thereby largely avoiding bottlenecks that hold up racers farther back.

Helping out with the Pioneers has piqued my interest in trying out an XC race, just to see how I would stack up.  Pedaling is certainly not my strong suit, but having the motivation of a timer could theoretically speed me up.  There tends to be a larger field of female competitors in XC as well, and judging by the surge in interest of lady participants in enduro races this year, the field will only get bigger.  So I have my work cut out for me this fall and winter: pedal harder and take fewer breaks!

Maintenance Day!

Poor Machsie has needed some TLC for over a week now, since being ridden in the rain and mud and sand in Boulder two Mondays ago, but having my 29er as a backup made it possible to procrastinate on the maintenance.  So today I finally buckled down, watched a quick YouTube video on the procedure to refresh my memory, assembled my tools and got to work.
First, some scrubbing.  Machsie was caked with trail debris from Peaceful Valley, so a thorough chain bath was in order.  I adore the Park Tool cleaner for this job:

easy as pie

Next, it wasfinally time to deal with the bit of rubber frame protection on the drive side seat stay, which had started coming off a while ago and was being held on (not terribly effectively) with electrical tape:

no bueno

This required pulling off the frame tape that was protecting the rest of the stay, which was unfortunate because that stuff is pricey.  After scrubbing and drying, the rubber piece was ready to be slathered with Shoe Goo (the adhesive of choice for bike frame purposes, according to Mojo Wheels) and stuck back on.  Easy enough:

Then, since I had everything nice and clean and exposed, like a patient prepped for a vasectomy, I went ahead and applied additional frame tape to areas that seemed to be showing some wear, as well as a bit of black nail polish for aesthetic effect:

scandalous, like an upskirt photo

Time to take a break and indulge in a beer while the polish dried.
Then, on to brakes!
After prior experience with dropping and/or misplacing critical hardware, I thought ahead this time and laid a light-colored towel under the bike stand before starting (naturally, once I took this precaution, I didn't drop anything).  The whole procedure is really straightforward, just messy, since the Shimano mineral oil seems to magically get everywhere.  I started with the front, because why not.  Caliper off, check.  Pads out, check.  Pistons pushed in, check.  Bleed block inserted, check.  And so forth:

Under Ellie's diligent supervision, there were no problems:

On to the rear! As you can see, I'm using the highly advanced "hang a bucket from the handlebar and let the old fluid drain into it" technique, because I didn't feel like hunting down a special Shimano threaded reservoir funnel, and also because Mike failed to tell me that he had previously jury-rigged a device for bleeding XT brakes ("just watch a YouTube video and you'll be fine" were his exact words).

High-tech

Things went smoothly again until it was time to adjust the pads by doing the wheel spin-brake-tighter caliper bolts maneuver, when the brake failed to stop the wheel's motion and, in fact, did little to slow it. I quickly went through the procedure again, getting a couple more small air bubbles to come up through the reservoir.  Same story: no stopping.  So I took a closer look at the brake pads themselves:

Oops.

Yeah, they're probably done.  Quick trip to East Fork Bikes on Stella Seahawk, my intrepid sticker-festooned cruiser, and I was back in business!

Just in time for Pocatello Pioneers practice!  To prepare for the race on Saturday, which will take place at a ski resort near Salt Lake City and involves lots of switchbacks up and down the face of a ski run, we rode a trail that takes us up a jeep road and then traverses over to the top of a hill way west of the city, and drops us down a bunch of tight, loose switchbacks.  I was sweeping towards the back of the group, so I only got a shot of the last two kids and the other coaches, Dan and Troy.

We finished up right as the sun went down, and everyone is looking forward to throwing down in a couple of days!

Two-Ride Tuesday!

I have been having serious trouble with the sun coming up later and later each day.  This morning, I woke up when hubby Mike got out of bed to do some studying before class.  It was still pitch black outside, and every fiber of my being railed against consciousness, so I assumed that it was an obscene hour like 4 or 5am.  Not so: it was 7, and I had to get up and fix Mike's lunch for school. (Side note: I think I understand now what it is like to be the mother of a teenage boy:  I pack his lunch, occasionally drive him to school, pick his clothing up off the floor, do his laundry and take care of his pets.  However, it is a small price to pay for temporarily being voluntarily unemployed and getting to ride my bike a whole lot.)  Back in the summer, I had no problems being out of bed by 6:30 so I could walk the dogs before leaving for work.  The shorter days certainly play a part, but I think I'm also just getting older.
In any case, I decided that today, instead of reading in bed for a while after Mike left and then getting my day started, I would do some yoga and then take the dogs for a ride.  Paddington and Ellie have decided that my recent change in employment status entitles them to lots and lots of outside time each day, notwithstanding the amount of TV I need to catch up on through Hulu. So whenever I sit on the futon, they stare at me, and whenever I am preparing to go somewhere, they follow me back and forth across the tiny rental house.  It's cute, I suppose, but also very disconcerting.  So, to forestall the staring contest and attempted Jedi mind tricks, I put on a chammy, loaded up the 29er, and drove the 15 minutes through nonexistent Pocatello rush hour traffic to the West Fork trailhead, which was deserted as usual.
And off we went!  While my Giant Anthem X is a little less plush and not 100% ideally sized for me, it does climb very well, so I moved along at a good pace with the dogs.  About a mile from the trailhead, there is the remains of a female moose that had been struck by a car down on the highway and made it up to her final resting place on the side of the trail.  The unfortunate creature is now scattered in thousands of bits around a small crater, because the Forest Service, instead of dragging the carcass away from the main thoroughfare with an ATV, decided to pack it with dynamite and blow it to smithereens.  Why? No idea.  But some evidence remains in the crater, a large hank of fur that did not travel far from the detonation site, and a disagreeable smell that has persisted for a few weeks after the moose's passing.  My dogs have an inconvenient habit of rolling in whatever nasty things they find, so I had to hustle them past the spot and thus could not document the scene with a photo, but it looks pretty much like you would expect it to.

Not like this.

The remainder of the ride was smooth sailing.  We emerged from the singletrack onto an ATV doubletrack that probably sees a lot of traffic from hunters during deer and elk season, but today we had it to ourselves.  I was inspired by the surroundings to take a few self-indulgent photos:

(Thanks to POC for the blue-M&M helmet and BME for the bubblegum Smith Optics sunnies!)

Once I felt that the dogs had gotten enough exercise to save me from an hour or two of relentless staring, we turned around for the descent.  Ellie, being younger and relatively injury-free, is better at staying with me, but I have to stop frequently to wait for Paddington, with her old ACL tear and pulled groin, to catch up.  They also enjoy dunking their tummies in every available bit of water, wallowing like fuzzy alligators, which never gets old:

I also had to stop twice to put them on leash so that equestrians could pass, because they have the alarming habit of attempting to follow behind horses and sniff their butts, which the horses in question may or may not be cool with.  And then, of course, I had to dodge large piles of fresh horse poo in the trail.  Thanks guys.

Back to town to drop off (now tired-ish) pups and run errands, then back in the chammy for the Pocatello Pioneers high school mountain bike team practice!

When I moved to Pokey, I planned to take some time and relax after a stressful summer of working, racing, and preparing for the relocation to branch out and see what there is to see.  I've been wanting to get more involved in coaching-type activities for kids for a while, because getting more kids, especially girls, into biking is good for everybody.  So I Googled "Pocatello high school mountain bike team", and voila!  their Facebook page turned up.  I sent a message to the coach asking if I could help out with the team in some capacity, and received an invitation to come to the next practice.  In short order I started riding with the team, helped out at a race in Ogden, UT, registered with the interscholastic league as an assistant coach, and ordered a team hoodie with "Ladyshred" printed on the back.  I think the kids and their parents are still a little unsure what to make of this random girl yelling at everyone to stop braking so much, but they have been very welcoming and I am learning a lot about coaching teenagers.  It's also great exercise and training for me, because the kids, being half my age, have approximately twice my stamina and energy.  It makes me terribly jealous that they are getting an early start with mountain biking, whereas I didn't take it up until I was 24, but I am still very excited for them and inspired by their motivation.
Today's practice: intervals, in preparation for another race in Ogden this weekend.  There were 4 of us adult/ass coach types, so we divided the kids up into groups and started hammering.  I was the mean one; on the third interval loop I dragged my gaggle up a steep gnarly climb that most of them wouldn't attempt in full.  They were absolutely capable of conquering the climb, all being as they were on 29ers with full 3x9 gearing, but for the most part they are still learning the finer points of shifting, body positioning and pedaling efficiency.  I have designs on having them session another, shorter steep section until they get their butts off their saddles and start cranking like they mean it, but today was not that day.  We finished up our last couple intervals, briefly discussed what we should work on at Thursday practice before the race, and went our separate ways.

Me + My Bike = Love

Hi!  I'm Meredith.  And this is my blog!

I love mountain biking.  I've loved it since my husband put me on his sister's old Trek Fuel and dragged me up a trail in Lyons, Colorado in the fall of 2007.  It was my first time on a real mountain bike, using clipless pedals, and riding a for-real mountain biking trail, with rocks and everything.  Of course I did the slow-motion fall during my first foray at the trailhead, and since I grew up at sea level my lungs only got me about a mile up the trail before I felt like I had to turn around or die.  My husband (then sort-of boyfriend) realizes that he is extremely lucky that instead of kicking him in the shins and chucking my borrowed helmet at him, I caught the bug and wanted to try again.
First I needed my own bike.  Back when I was a freshman in high school, I got a brand new Schwinn Mesa for my birthday.  It was orange, and a little too big for me, and it cost a whopping FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS, which was a mind-boggling sum to me at the time.  It was also a large enough investment in my parents' view that they preferred that I not take it to college with me, because of the possibility that it could be stolen.  I had no inkling at the time that really good mountain bikes could easily cost ten times that much; in fact, I did not realize that bike tires had tubes inside them that could be punctured or degrade, among many other details I now take for granted.  So it was something of a shock, when I began searching for a bike on Craigslist, that much better technology was available for not a great deal more than my Schwinn had cost.  I ended up with a 2005 Giant Anthem with 100mm of travel in the front and 80mm in the rear, and although it was a little reachy for me, it gave me a good start on the less challenging trails along the Front Range.  I put bar ends on it because I thought they looked cool, and I outfitted myself in stretchy roadie clothing because that's what everyone else was wearing.  I joined the Boulder Mountainbike Alliance's Thursday night women's rides, and in addition to befriending and learning from some badass lady shredders, I gained a connection to a local Specialized rep.  He let me test ride one of the Safires from his personal demo fleet and I ended up buying it from him at cost when he sold off his 2009 stock.
I loved that bike to bits.  It fit like a glove, climbed like a dream and descended like butter.  Here it is on Raider's Ridge in Durango:

My Safire ultimately took me to 4 podium finishes and the Big Mountain Enduro series win for Amateur Women in 2013.  At my first race, in Angel Fire, I hadn't actually planned to sign up, but a good friend talked me into giving it a shot, and to my great surprise, I ended up on the top of the podium!

"How did I get here?!"

As with my very first mountain bike ride, I was hooked.  Racing against the clock made me take chances and ride better than I did when on a regular ride, and the supportive and encouraging community of female racers made me feel like I had finally arrived to where I belonged.  The boys at the races just waited in line and dropped in without much fanfare from their fellow racers, but the girls swapped tips and cheered each other on.
The remainder of the 2013 season was a blast, but as spring rolled around it became apparent that I would need to upgrade my equipment to be able to compete in 2014.  For one thing, the poor Safire had been through an awful lot.  Scratched all over the frame and with a couple gouges on the stanchions, it was time to put it out to pasture, but it was still solid enough to be a great first bike for another lady just getting into riding.
For another thing, there had been a sudden surge in the number of women competing in enduro races from 2013 to 2014, and it seemed like everyone was jumping on the 650b bandwagon.  In my limited experience, 650b is the ideal wheel size for enduro formats: faster than 26" on the climbs, and more stable than 29"on the descents.
I had a few bikes in mind as possible contenders: the Pivot Mach 6, the Santa Cruz Bronson, and the Intense Carbine all seemed to have geometry that would fit my stature and style of riding.  The specs for all three were amazingly similar, in fact, and when I tried a Bronson and a Carbine on the same day I couldn't tell a significant difference between the two.  The Mach 6 proved more elusive; only one shop in a 300-mile radius of Denver had a frame in my size, and they had to built it up for me to try (I brought them beer as a thank-you).  The moment I planted my butt on the seat, I knew we were meant for each other.  Conveniently, the shop had a connection with a women's biking group in Denver, Dirt Divas, and I joined the club so that I could get a pretty decent discount.  I put in my order and was told it would be a week before it came in and could be assembled, which was unfortunate because I planned to go on a trip to Fruita with friends for biking and beer drinking in only a few days.  Perhaps the beer I had previously brought to the shop gave me good karma, however, because I got a call on Friday morning that the frame was in and would be ready by 5pm.  And sure enough, I arrived to see them putting on the finishing touches:

Thanks Golden Bike Shop!!
As for the new ride, I named her Machsie, and she is the best bike in the whole world!
Incidentally, the Fruita trip was documented by the founder of Enduro Mountainbike Magazine, Robin Schmitt, in online issue #010.  I'm the one in the orange shirt and bright blue POC helmet.

Anyway, this blog will chronicle our adventures together, hopefully in a way that will amuse and gratify.  Thanks for reading!