All Blog Posts (398)

Going into the race, I was excited that I had been having some good training rides and this would be by my first time testing myself in the expert division. The age group categories were 35-44, and 45-54…I am actually 44 and didn’t fully understand that I would be racing in the 45-54 as my birthday is later this year…I’m babbling…let’s get to the race.

Fortunately, I was able to…

It rained most of the day before a little unexpectedly, and some at night and in the morning. So the course was pretty muddy, but not trashed in really anyway. It was a great day to race weather wise. Mostly foggy, beautiful and even a bit warm.

I've done the race something like 7 or 8 times and it's a great one. Was bummed a bit to see the turnout real low, especially in the Pro class, but hey, I have the day off work and I'm alive and it's a great day to ride, etc.,  so was still…

Lined up mid pack, cuz I'm always fussing w/ something before the race. Weather was perfect, overcast, coolish and gonna get perfectly warm in a few hours.

I was relaxed on the climb and sifted through most of the folks to the front pack of 30-35?  We went across the bridge and hit the climb to the single track and I put in an effort to get around 3-4 guys (i remember passing Bartels).  We entered the single track super fun minutes long section. Now I'm behind some folks that are…

OK Race Fans, So this is my first blog posting, on anything, ever. Unless Facebook counts? I'm a 46 year old mom from Marin County in the Bay Area...sheesh you'd think I would have given my opinion on something on some website along the way. Anyway, this was my 2nd time racing SoNoMas. Last year's SoNoMas was my first real mountain bike race ever. Last year I raced Women's Open Beginner category - short course - and came in 2nd - Podium!- and suffered. Bad. It hurt. This year, for SoNoMas…

Advertised as the thoughest MTB race and I would agree. I set up my '16 Trek Top Fuel 9.8 with a new set of carbon Raceface cranks and a 30 tooth single ring. I stayed with my Maxxis 2.2 IKON's that performed real well out here last week at the Lake Sonoma race. After a 30 minute warm-up ride, I lined up with teammate Mark Ingwersen in what I felt was a good spot (about a 100 deep). The start was an easy climb at a good pace up a paved road. When we hit the dirt things changed quickly. The…

I have been wanting to ride SoNoMas for a few years now and finally mustered up the nerves. 7000 feet of climbing over 34 miles reminded me of hill repeats up Queenstone here in Marin. Turns out the terrain was completely different. Not surprisingly, much like last week's Lake Sonoma race. Only much longer, several more than the advertised 1 water crossing to make sure feet stayed cold and I kept rocks in my shoes, and countless ups, downs, turns and fallen trees to hurdle.

Greg and I…

Since this would be my first race of the season and on a course I'd never even seen, I was unsure of what to expect. Greg and I drove up early and had plenty of time to check in and do a leisurely warm up/recon lap. My initial thought after seeing the narrow first decent, slippery bridge and nearly impossible to ride muddy uphill singletrack was  that the first lap was going to be a win or lose decider.

I was glad I set up my Pivot Les 29er with wider carbon rims (Thanks Ken!) and WTB…

This was to be my first race in an Acme jersey- I didn't know what to expect in a junior field consisting of who knows who. It was different then a NorCal race, where I knew exactly who I would be competing against.

Preriding the course an hour before was good- if I hadn't, I may not have realized that walking my bike in places was more beneficial then trying to ride.

The race started and I was in the first row on the inside. The fire road hole shot to the start of the…

The Lake Sonoma XC course is super fun and difficult. The Bike Monkey guys have been using the same loop for a number of years now. Despite that, it hasn't grown old and boring for me and I've done it almost 10 times in the last 5 years. In 18 miles, one gets worked pretty good. 3,400ft of climbing? A great taste of what SoNoMas will be like.

The course had some muddy spots this time, so that shook some things up and made times slower.

On a mini pre-ride, I got pretty muddy and…

Last year's series is now just a single race. I did this race twice last year, winning my first race ever. A fun fast course of about 4.5 miles of mostly single track. What I learned last year is to get up the first hill as fast as you can. The first downhill is not too steep, but very narrow and winding. A slower descending rider could hold you up and allow the bulk of your start group to bunch up. I was lined up with my teammates Dave Benjamin and Mark Ingwersen and knew if I could stay…

   So after getting worked at a fast paced CCCX mtb race at Fort Ord in February and crashing hard (but finishing) at the Bonelli Kenda Cup two weeks ago, I decided to tackle the only Lake Sonoma race of the year.  After a short pre-ride before the race, I realized the course had some muddy and slippery descents and a not so fun hike-a-bike mud hill to deal with.

   My son Carson (Bear Development), along with Acme teammates, Stephen Flynn and Danny McNaughten were part of the first…

The first lap started at a brisk pace, and I pushed my way into the top ten. I stayed in a pack of about 15 guys for the rest of the lap, and the pace settled in.

When we hit the flowy roller section on the second lap, Topher Lewis broke away from the pack, and easily put almost a minute into the main group. By the time we hit the rocky half of the course, all that was left of the big group was me, Clayton…

From which direction will the winds blow? On the days leading up to the Solvang Spring Double century, I focused intensely on the weather reports for the central coast. If the coastal breeze came from the northwest as it often does this time of year, then our return southward leg of the race would be a rocket sled ride back to the start. If the winds changed direction and blew from the southwest, our return leg could be a grueling 100 mile crawl into a coastal gale. I had the same sort of…

This "race report" is a little late.

I was given the day off work to go up to NAHBS (handmade bike show) in Sac. Sunday Feb 28th, so I figured I'd race the TBF Granite Bay Folsom Lake XC race that morning. It was called "Mountain Bike Madness". The TBF people have different names for all their races on the same course-madness, celebration, classic, gold rush, etc..

I was able to get a whole 8.5 mi lap in before the race and it reminded me that the course is really fun…

Fort Ord- NorCal #1 3/6/16



I could start this race report from when I was a sixth grader, watching my brother in his first race as a freshman for the Drake MTB team. But, the boring anticipation for the next three years would fill up the Bible, so I'll skip straight to the most exciting and nerve racking moments.

The 5 mile lap never fluctuated more than 100 feet or so in elevation, and I didn't think that a rider like me, who thrives on long climbs, would survive such a…

The grasshopper races are awesome. Really tough, but a great atmosphere, nice people, beautiful roads, etc..

I thought I had a great bike setup, trek/fisher paragon 29er alum hartail w/ salsa cromoto rigid fork on stans crests w/ 1.9's. And it was, the start climb went well and the descent down Willow was fun until I hit a drainage rut that I didn't see AT ALL and dented my rear wheel and it turns out cracked a rail on my saddle and broke the plastic body in half.

That rattled…

50+ miles of mostly road and some dirt, gravel, mud and a river crossing. If I'd actually prepared myself for this event, I would have known about the river crossing before the start. Fortunately, that one detail was not nearly as much of a hold back as the bike I rode. Old Caz, despite it's blazing fast descents on loose trails, is clearly cyclocross territory. Not having one of those half-breed rigs, I joined the ranks of mountain bike riders ready (or not) to endure pavement on heavier…