part 2

After napping for a few hours, we got up and got going around 11 pm. We had some oatmeal for "breakfast" and another cinnamon roll before leaving the cozy cabin. On a funny side note: As we were preparing to leave, the phone rang. Cindy was outside helping another racer getting comfortable in the bunkhouse, so I answered the phone thinking it must be an emergency if someone was calling this late.... Oh no, it was just a friend calling to chat about Cindy and Allen's upcoming wedding the following Saturday. Allen was taking the snow machine to Willow "airport" to help his elderly relatives get on a bush-plane to fly out for the wedding. He then was turning around to drive the snow machine the 60 miles back- in horrible weather off course. They had planned on getting married on the frozen river, but with the storms and snow where going to have to change plans and get married inside. Surreal!!!! I hope they had a fabulous wedding!!!

Anyway, Eric and I got back on the bikes, happy to only have 12-14 miles to Skwentna. Part of the trail was ridable, but it was challenging with the "powdered sugar" snow and lots of tracks from walkers. My right leg was really starting to protest and I had to use my arms to lift it every time I got back on my bike. Eric's knee was also hurting from all the uneven walking... Sometimes the foot-steps in the snow were wide and sometimes it was like walking a tight rope and pushing your bike way out to the side!!

After a while I couldn't really put any pressure on my leg when getting started on the bike. Luckily, Eric is trained in high velocity, low amplitude SI joint mobilization (in addition to being a general contractor he is a great physical therapist :-) In the dark, I laid down on my stomach (since my camel bak was under several layers of clothing, and impossible to get off) in the snow and Eric popped my SI joint back in place by pulling on my leg. What a relief, I was able to walk and ride again!!!

We reached Skwentna roadhouse around 4 in the morning. After an enormous plate of biscuits and gravy we decided to sleep for a while before making up our minds on whether or not to continue on. After a few hours of sleep we got up and started chatting with Jeff, Heather, and Jay. The weather prognosis called for more snow and we found out it had taken Pete over 12 hours to get to Shell Lake, only 2o miles away. We were all tired of pushing our bikes though the snow and the thought of continuing to push for several days was not very appealing. We also knew that the further in to the race we got, the harder and more expensive it would be to fly out. Cindy at Skwentna called a bush-plane service but they weren't sure if there would be a window in the bad weather to come and get us. As we were having pancakes they called back and said they would be at the airstrip in 30 minutes. We quickly packed up our stuff and rode/walked to the airstrip!

Me and Jay in the back seat of the 4 seater plane

Packing up the bikes in the back of the plane

Not exactly the outcome we had hoped for, but it was still a memorable adventure, as always!! Congratulations to the 18 racers that did finish the Iditarod Invitational this year. Pete Bassinger won the race to McGrath for the 6th time, Anne ver Hoef won the women's division on foot, and Ausilia Vistarini was the only woman to finish on a bike this year!!! Geoff Roes (current record holder of the Western States 100) won the walking division!

Thanks Bill and Kathi Merchant for making this race possible and for all of your hard work before and during the event!! A big thank you to all of the volunteers, especially Cindy and Allen for opening up their home and taking care of all the racers!!!

Iditarod Trail Invitational 2012

Me and my fully loaded bike at the start

For those who don't know, Eric and I bailed out of the ITI after almost 3 days of pushing our bikes through the snow. This year, there was so much snow-and no trail to speak of- that we only got to Skwentna Roadhouse, the 2nd checkpoints at 90 miles in those 3 days. Amazing to think that we reached this checkpoint in only 14 hours last year. It is different each year, and always an adventure!!

Looking back, I know we made the right decision for us, even though it was pretty disappointing at the time.

We started out at Knik lake at 2 pm as usual with 46 other runners, skiers, and bikers. We were able to take a paved road for a few miles but when we reached the trail, the pushing began. We ended up post-holing with a group of about 10 "riders" and at 4 am we finally decided to stop and bivy in a spot with some trees. It was quite warm, so I was pretty cozy in my sleeping bag and was able to sleep for 3.5 hrs or so.

We packed up our gear in the morning and continued on towards Luce's, which is a little lodge right on the river. We reached Luce's some time in the afternoon and were pretty surprised to find all other riders who were in front of us, hanging out and eating. Pete B and a couple of other guys had just stopped to make some water where we bivvied, and then continued on breaking trail all night until they reached Luce's.

After a cheeseburger and fries, we rented one of the small rooms to get some sleep before the next section. We were hoping the snow would set up as it got colder at night and that we might be able to ride a little bit. It was about 100 degrees in the room and we kept the window wide open. I slept like a rock on my upper bunk, and didn't wake up until 2:30 am after 7 hrs of sleep! I had a Snickersbar and a cheese-cookie (thank you Janice!) before taking off for some more pushing toward the first checkpoint which is Yentna Station, another "lodge". Here, we stopped for breakfast with Jeff Oatley, Heather Best and Jay and had a plate of yummy pancakes and eggs as well as a couple of cups of coffee.

When we got back on our bikes, the sun was starting to come up, but the light was really flat so we had to keep our head-lamps on to try to find the track from the riders in front of us. We were able to ride short sections, but continued pushing for the majority of the time. Our pace averaged about 2 mph, not exactly flying.... We had been told that someone had their house open to all racers 10 miles or so from the Skwentna Roadhouse, the 2nd checkpoint. It was a long day of pushing along the river and we were very happy to finally see a handmade sign that said "Alaska Ultrasport". It was early evening when we reached Cindy and Allen's small home on the river. Allen told us to come in and make ourselves at home.

One of Cindy's cute dogs outside her house

Cindy's awesome cabin on Yentna River

Cindy and Allen were AMAZING! Several other riders were resting in the small cabin, and before we even sat down at the kitchen table Cindy had served us bowls of homemade chicken stew and bread. There were a giant jar of cookies as well as cinnamon rolls on the table as well, and it all tasted wonderful after a long day of pushing. Both Cindy and Allen were so welcoming and generous opening their home to all of us. Not only did they feed us, they also offered us to catch some sleep in one of their 2 guest-cabins. We found sleeping pads and blankets under the bed, where Jeff, Heather, and Jay were resting/sleeping, and got pretty comfy on the floor.

To be continued.....

On her way to the Counting Coup.....

Cancer survivor Cheryl P is training hard for the Counting Coup in April

Follow my client/athlete Cheryl P on her blog as she trains for the grueling mountain bike race "The Counting Coup"in Southern California. The Counting Coup is a 44 mile race with over 8000 feet of elevation gain.

Cheryl is truly an inspirational woman who started biking in her late 40s to literally save her life from cancer and serious alcohol addiction.

Check out her blog at: www.rideforlifewarrior.blogspot.com and read her story below:

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1989 when I was 30 and lost both breasts, followed by six months of aggressive chemotherapy. Seven years later, at 37, I was in for a regular check-up and after a bone marrow biopsy, I was told that 98 percent of my plasma cells were cancer and that I had six months to live, that I had a rare cancer called multiple myeloma. I was hospitalized at once and I lost everything. From 1995 to 1998 I was on high-dose chemo therapy and had two bone marrow transplants back to back. My life was over, as I knew it. I worked hard for six years to finish court reporting school and being a single mother of one daughter. My little girl was only five when my hair fell out the first time. All she knew was her mommy was going to die. I have lost too many good friends to cancer. I had no medical insurance and fought for everything I could get. Several doctors in Newport Beach teamed together and treated me for free, getting the chemo donated to me for the breast cancer. There was Dr. Burns, Dr. Barth, Dr. Long, Dr. Harvey Heinricks, all who took care of me on their own dime. I started a cancer support called the Walking Fish Society, for young adults with cancer from 18 to 40. Why? Because people think fish don’t walk and they think we don’t live.

The doctors are not sure why I am alive today. I am in the 3% survivorship of my diagnosis. I had five years of interferon and 13 years of monthly Zometa, which they are now discovering can cause spontaneous femur fractures.

I had just ordered a new bike for Sea Otter in 2009 and my leg started hurting on my left femur. They could not find out what was wrong. After lots of tests, they said the multiple myeloma was back. Right before a scheduled surgery, they changed their mind and said that it was a mistake. They said maybe I have a stress fracture from trauma and there was nothing they could do. (that trauma was from a mt bike crash) Zometa is a drug that won’t allow your bones to heal. I have been off that drug since March of 2009.

In June of 2009, I was visiting a friend out of town. Somebody knocked at the door. I answered it and my dog run out. The man at the door was very drunk and would not move out of my way. As I stepped around him, I felt something strange and my body just froze in the doorway. Then I could hear it. I said, “Oh my God, I think my leg is breaking”

And it did. My femur snapped in half. 15 hours in the ER – months of recovery, nursing home and painful therapy and the titanium rod on my leg, I got back on my bike!

A friend of mine is Colette McFadden and she rode the Vision Quest in my honor, when the doctors said the cancer had returned. My goal and dream is to finish Counting Coup on my birthday on April 7, 2012.

La Ruta de los Conquistadores 2011

The 2011 version of La Ruta de los Conquistadores was as eventful and adventuresome as ever!

Day 1 from Jaco to San Jose was a little rough for me. I felt good going through the jungle and mud, but had a major bonk on a long paved climb during the middle of the day. It was very hot and humid and I had a hard time getting enough calories in. Rebecca passed me on this climb, and all I could do was watch her ride away as I was going in slow motion :-) I ended up finishing in 3rd place behind Adriana Rojas and Rebecca Rusch, quite a ways back.

Day 2 is only 45 miles, but has about 11,000 feet of elevation gain, much of it very steep. At times my Garmin was showing 30 percent grade. I felt a bit better this day and Rebecca and I rode together for about 30 k during the middle of the race. It was really nice to ride with her as it kept our pace and motivation up! Rebecca left me on some flat and rolling sections and I ended up about 8 minutes back, finishing in a down-pour weaving in and out of San Jose traffic.

Day 3 is the volcano day! It's a 32 km climb from San Jose to the top of Irazu, topping out at 3015 meters. I was feeling pretty strong and was in 2nd place at the top of the volcano. At the 2nd checkpoint, I was told I was 7 minutes behind Adriana and I was hoping to use the technical downhill to my advantage. After a bit of a traverse, the trail gets quite rocky. It was wet and muddy in spots, but it was really fun. At some point the journalists were on the trail, telling me I was 3 minutes behind Adriana. The day ends with a HUGE drop on a road followed by a few km of a flat section. It is quite sketchy with lots of cars, people, and dogs on the road. I think I lost a little time in the final stretch as I was riding by myself and it would really help to have another rider to work with. I finished about 5 minutes behind 1st place Adrianna. Rebecca came in only a couple of minutes behind me. Jane Rynbrandt with Carmichael Training Systems had a really strong ride and was not far behind us.

The final day of La Ruta features about 4000 feet of climbing in the first 40 km, followed by a paved downhill and then lots of gravel roads as well as the infamous train trestles. As usual, I started out slowly as it takes my legs a while to warm up!! I was hoping to catch some fast riders toward the top of the climb, so I would have someone to work with for the downhills and flats. A mile or two from the top, I did catch Rebecca and we decided to work together to see if we could catch Adriana. We stopped briefly for fluids at the checkpoint and ended up flying down the descent with Adam Pulford from CTS. As we descended we picked up several other riders and soon we had a fast group of about 8 riders as we hit the flat bumpy gravel roads. We were setting a really fast pace and were told Adriana only had 2 minutes on us. It was very hot and very humid and I was working HARD to keep up with the group. There are lots of sharp turns, rail road sections, and stream crossings that are potentials for losing the group, and I knew we had to stay together if we wanted to catch the first place woman. Riding with Rebecca was great. She is a super strong rider who races very honestly and fairly. Adam (CTS) and a Scottish guy were doing a lot of work for the group.

When we hit 83 km someone mentioned that we hadn't seen any signs for a while..... the checkpoint was supposed to be around km 80. We slowly came to the horrible realization that we had missed a turn and were completely lost. As we reached a dead-end with a few buildings we saw some people and a couple of the spanish speaking guys in our group asked where we were. It was all VERY confusing. As I don't speak spanish, I had no idea what was going on. Someone in the group remembered the name of the town with the next checkpoint, and after stopping several times to ask for directions, we were told we were 11 km away. We were all out of fluids, tired, and deflated, but determined to get back on course so we wouldn't be disqualified. Rebecca and I also didn't want to lose our 2nd and 3rd positions in the race.

At one point we stopped at a small store. The Scottish guy had been smart enough to bring money and he bought us all ice cold coke and water!! We continued on, and FINALLY we popped out at the checkpoint. I had 103 km on my Garmin at this point, we had taken a 22 km detour, BUMMER!!!

We were now on a mission to get to the finish. It had been a long, hard, and hot day, but there were still more adventures to come! As we were riding down a long flat gravel road we spotted a large group of riders standing in the middle of the road next to a support vehicle. When we reached them we were told that a rider had been bike-jacked at gun point and that we should all ride the next section together for safety. How scary!! There was also the bee-section where several riders were stung (some 30 times) and 1 rider ended up taking a 30 foot leap off the railroad bridge and into the water below to avoid the angry bees....

The final 20 km we did a lot of beach riding. The group had dwindled to me, Rebecca, Adam, and a guy from Costa Rica. Although it was great to finally finish in Limon, it was a bit deflating since we lost so much time. Oh well, that's all part of the adventure!! I was happy to keep my 3rd place at least.

Still had a great time as always in Costa Rica. It was super fun hanging out with Eric (racing on his single speed), Mark Jeffery, and Dave Engelbrecht who did awesome their first time at La Ruta!!!!

Tahoe Sierra 100- Another Epic Race!

Jim Northey and Global Biorhythms did it again!!! This time, Tahoe Sierra 100 (ok, so it was a little short for a century) was even more epic with more technical single track and fun riding than in the past! Jim has worked hard all year in order to get permits to ride on the famous Western States 100 trail and this year's edition of the event was a point to point race.

We started at Icelake lodge in Soda Springs just like previous few years. According to the newspaper, Truckee (10 miles away) has been the coldest place in the country for the past several days, so I was prepared with all my cold weather gear. After a slight case of hypothermia in Italy, I wasn't about to freeze again. Luckily, it had warmed up a fair amount; temps were in the low 40s at the 6 am start. A few days before the race, Eric decided he was going to race too. We were both pretty beat up from Ironbike, and hoping that 2 weeks was going to be enough recovery.

The race started off on some fun single track (cross country ski) trails and then did a long drop on a loose gravel road. I was taking it pretty easy, was not in the mood to slide out and crash in the first 10 miles. I skipped the first 2 checkpoints, I had plenty of sustained energy and a camelbak full of water. There was plenty of fun, rocky, and pretty technical single track, but Jim had said that the race didn't REALLY start until 65 miles, which is when we finally got to ride the Western States 100 trail. I stopped to refill my camelbak, mix some sustained energy and lube my chain at the 50 mile checkpoint, and then again at 65. It was getting quite warm, and I was drinking Nuun, eating Margarita flavored cliffblocks (4 times the sodium), and had to take several thermatabs to avoid cramping. I could feel my calves twitching and my hamstring was threatening to cramp at one point, but with my massive sodium intake I was able to avoid a full blown cramp.

The Western States 100 trail was AWESOME!! We went down a really fun descent followed by a 45 minute hike-a-bike section! I was glad to have done all that hiking in Italy, it felt so NORMAL to push my bike up a rocky, steep trail!! I passed a couple of guys on the way up. I was happy to get to the next checkpoint for more fluids. All the volunteers were super helpful and friendly as usual at this race!! We kept on following the WS100 trail, with more fun descending in to a canyon, and some more hiking mixed with a bit of riding back up again.

I was pretty happy to hear that we only had 6 miles to go at the last checkpoint. I had counted on 13!! There was a really steep climb on single track- glad to have my granny gear- and then we finished on a couple of miles on the pavement!! I ended up in 1st place in a time of 9:20, I think I was 12th overall.

I would highly recommend this race to anyone who is in for a bit of adventure and is not afraid of a little hiking. Rumor has it that there might be even more single track on a longer course next year. See you there!!

Thanks Jim and your hardworking family, friends, and volunteers for another EPIC EVENT!!!

IRONBIKE PICTURES!!

7 days, 450 miles, 88,000 feet of climbing- IRONBIKE 2011

Many hours of steep hike-a-bike

Amazing views of the French/Italian Alps

Lots of long climbs and high altitudes....

Checkpoint at top of one of the high altitude climbs.

Traversing lots of shale and boulder fields, left-overs from avalanches

WWW.LOUKOBIN.COM

Recently published the website for my "real job"; physical therapy, personal training, massage, and coaching!!

www.loukobin.com

My PT studio on Mountain Charlie

Alaska Ultrasport- 2011

During my 4th attempt at the Iditarod Trail Invitational it felt like things finally came together. I had my new awesome Fatback, the weather was agreeable, the trail conditions were good for the most part, and I had my eating under a little better control!

The temperature was pretty mild when we started out at Knik lake, and the wind that had been so brutal the day before, had died down quite a bit. Unfortunately, my legs felt super tight and tired and my knees ached at the very beginning... Having done many long races before, and knowing that the body can do a complete turn-around, I tried to ignore how I felt....

Eric and I stopped a few times in the beginning playing with our tire pressure. Not having much experience with the snowbike, it was difficult to know how much pressure to run. We pedaled along at a conservative pace until we reached the first checkpoint at 9:30 pm. At Yentna station we stopped briefly to fill our water as well as eat some of the food we had brought. It is really hard to find good and tasty foods that are eatable in the cold as well as can tolerate being shipped 2 weeks in advance from California.

The next 33 miles to Skwentna Roadhouse took about 5 hrs and we were pretty happy to ride almost the entire way the first 90 miles and make it there in only 13 hrs. Off course the lead guys were long gone, but there were a couple of guys still sleeping. After some tasty lasagna and sourdough bread we slept in a real bed for 2.5 hrs. I had taken an ambien in order to get some sleep, and it hadn't worn off, so I was really groggy when I first got up., but after a cup of coffee and breakfast that seemed to resolve. We took off at the same time as Lance Andre just after 7 am.

Again, the trail was great and we were making good time. We passed Shell Lake lodge about halfway to Winterlake Lodge without stopping. At 1:55 pm we reached the 3rd checkpoint, Winterlake Lodge on Fingerlake. This is where we got our first dropbags. We stopped long enough to eat the fajita-plate they served there, as well as resupply our food, batteries, and hand/toe warmers. Since the weather had been so cooperative, we still had plenty of food on our bikes, and left most of our drop-food behind for other racers to pick through.

The distance from Winterlake lodge to Puntilla is only 35 miles, but this is where the trail gets tougher, with lots of ups and downs. Last year, we pushed our bikes the entire way, but this year we were riding a lot more, even though your are still on and off the bike a lot. This section is where you encounter the Happy Steps, which are a few hills coming on and off the river. They are so steep, you can only push your loaded bike a few steps at a time. You push a couple of steps, put your brakes on for a brief rest, and push again.... My legs were burning from the effort!!!

The final stretch toward Puntilla seems to take forever. The trail is very windy and the milage ticks of extremely slowly. We reached Rainy Pass Lodge just after 11:30 pm. The little log cabin used as a checkpoint was manned by Steve who is one of the 5 brothers of Alaska family Perrins. The Perrins own and operate the lodge, and there is actually a reality TV show about the family's day to day life called "Our 5 sons". After Steve checked us in, he handed us a can of ravioli and told us we could use any of the bunks in the cabin. He put some wood in the stove and then left to get some sleep. I woke up freezing as there was only a sheet on my bed, and I had stripped of all my cold weather clothes. Apparently the fire had gone out... Since I was up, I thought it would be a good idea to wake Eric up so we could take off together with Greg Matyas.

After some oatmeal and coffee, filling our water, and getting everything back on the bikes we left to go over Rainy Pass at 5:40 am. The northern lights were lighting up the Alaskan mountain range with a soft green glow. The first part toward the pass was nice and ridable. It was chilly, but once the sun rose it warmed up. After about 8 miles the trail gets steeper and we had to start pushing. I kept stopping to eat, fiddle with my jacket and goggles, and Greg was getting further away from us.

A safety cabin on the way up Rainy Pass

Close to the summit of Rainy Pass

As we got closer to the summit, the wind picked up, but it was still a beautiful sunny day and the views were spectacular. It only took us 8 hours to reach the top. In the past, the downhill has been completely unridable. We have post-holed, bushwhacked, and carefully negotiated water trying to avoid falling through the snow and getting soaked. This year was a completely different story. The trail was perfectly groomed by snowmobiles, and the landscape was like a winter wonderland. We had a really fun ride down the Dalezell Gorge and reached Rohn in a record 2.5 hrs from the summit.

Coming down the summit

Our favorite checker Rob was manning Rohn as usual! Only Greg was at the checkpoint getting ready to go to sleep in the walled tent. The tent in Rohn has the same distinct smell each year. It is a combination of burning pine, wet clothes, and smelly socks. My glove liners carried that smell the rest of the trip... Rob served up canned ravioli and then brought us our dropbags which were sitting in a big pile outside. After loading up our bikes with new food, changing batteries in headlamps, and grabbing more hand/toewarmers, we took a 4 hour nap. The combination of ambien and earplugs put me in to a coma. It was a great and I felt really rested when we woke up! I knew I was going to need the rest, because the next 90 mile section can be brutally long.

We left again with Greg at 10:15 pm. Lance Andre had come and gone without getting any sleep. I had forgotten how tough this part of the trail is. The snow was deep and it was really hard to ride many of the steep hills. Getting on and off the bike gets tiring after a few hours. While it was still dark, we reached the Post Glacier. It was hard to assess which way would be the best to get up and over it. Even with the screws in my boots, I felt like Bambi on the slick ice. It was almost impossible to get the boots to grip. We could see where someone had lost their footing and slid partway down the glacier. After carefully negotiating the steeply slanted ice we were able to drag our bikes up in the snow on the side of the glacier. Our next obstacle was some minor overflow we had to cross in the dark. It was probably not that big of a deal, just an inch or 2 of water on top of the ice, but I got nervous thinking of breaking through the ice or getting my feet wet. I think the darkness made it a bit more nerve-wracking for me.

It was nice when the sunrise finally came. It gives you a bit of a boost when you have been out on the trail for hours in the dark. About 35 miles from Rohn there has been a walled tent in the past. The tent was used by the Runkel family for bison hunting and was always stocked with wood, a white gas stove and other supplies such as soup and Top Ramen. We asked in Rohn if Bison Camp was still there, but rumors had it that the tent had been torn down by bears and no longer existed. A couple of hours away from the former Bison Camp we ran in to Lance on the trail. He was sitting on a log eating some trailmix, looking a bit dazed. When we rode by he asked if we thought it would be OK to shoot some Starbucks instant coffee and chase it with Tang. Sounded painful on the stomach to me!

At 10 am, after 12 hrs of riding we reached Bison Camp and were happily surprised to find that it was still standing, AND had a white gas stove in it! Jay P got there right behind us and Lance also turned up as we were heating up some water. We made some food before getting back on the trail. Lance decided he was going to sleep for a while but Jay said he was taking off right behind us.

Cold weather gear

After Bison camp the trail gets somewhat easier. After 18.5 hours on the trail we reached Nikolai at 6:45 pm, just before dark. Nick and Olene Petruska along with their grand daughter Stephanie open their home to the racers as a checkpoint every year. I had felt pretty good up until this point, but I was exhausted when we got to Nikolai. It was difficult to eat the spagetti and meat sauce as I was feeling bloated and swollen. Bill Flemming was sleeping when we got to the checkpoint, but got up and sat at the table and chatted with us. We found out that Pete Bassinger was in the lead, with Jeff Oatley just behind. They had not yet reached the finish in McGrath, so we assumed the last 50 miles must be a slow trail. Greg had blown in and out, spending only 10 minutes in Nikolai, apparently still chewing his spaghetti as he sprinted out the door. That is one long push with no rest!!!

I decided that if I was going to be able to make the last push to the finish, I was going to need some sleep. I set the alarm for 12:30 am and slept for 4 hours. Bill was about to leave when we got up, Lance and Jay were asleep on the 2 couches. After our "usual routine" of an oatmeal breakfast etc etc we took off at 1:50 am. It's amazing how long it takes to gather all of your things, make food, and get out the door.

It was a nice night out on the river, but quite cold. My thermometer didn't work, but Eric said it was below -20. We spotted footsteps right away, and shortly thereafter we saw the faint glow from the headlamp of Bill Flemming. We stopped briefly and Bill was clearly not feeling super energetic, but he still had a great attitude and said he was going to "walk it in". 50 miles is a long way to walk... I knew there was just a matter of time before I was running out of energy myself, but I was trying to prolong "the bonk" by eating cookies, a bite of salami, and some nuts. I guess I got lazy and didn't feel like stopping to eat "real food" so instead I tried some sugary brownies. To make a long story short; the last several hours consisted of several bad bonks and a frostbitten right thumb, but we finally made it to McGrath. It was quite emotional to see Bill Merchant on his snowmachine and to reach the finish where Jeff and Greg along with Peter Schniderheinze (Finish-line host along with wife Tracy) were waiting for us. Eric and I got there in 4th place and I was pretty excited to have set a new women's course record of 3 days, 22 hrs and 20 minutes. Pete took his 5th win with Jeff Oatley only 25 minutes behind. Greg (owner of Speedway Cycles) had ridden all the way from Rohn on no rest and took 3rd place!!

Me at the finish on my awesome FATBACK from Speedway Cycles

http://fatbackbikes.com/

As always it was great to see our wonderful hosts Peter and Tracy! They are so generous to open their home to us, feed us, and take care of us when we arrive. Eric and I spent 2 nights at their house hanging out with other racers as they finished. It was great to hear everyone's stories about the adventures they encountered along the trail.

To the Caribbean Ocean- Day 4

On the last day of La Ruta, we actually got to "sleep in" since the stage didn't start until 7 am. We still had to be up for a 5 am breakfast of rice, beans, and scrambled eggs. Yum yum, just what I crave in the morning!! It was absolutely pouring when we were standing on the starting line, and the controlled start was pretty sketchy on the wet pavement. We still had some pretty steep dirt-road climbing for about 40 km, before the final downhill and flat 80 km section.

The standings were pretty much set for the general classification, unless there was a major mechanical. There was about 30 minutes between me and Angela, and another 30 to Rebecca, but you never know what can happen, so I still worked hard to make sure I stayed with Angela on all the climbs. She is a really strong rider, and does most of her climbing out of the saddle. We crested the final climb together and had 2 other guys with us, one was her teammate....

On the downhill it was again pouring rain, and it was hard to see with and without glasses on. from all the dirty water splashing. The rest of the race was pretty slow and easy for the most part. I clearly had no chance of breaking away from Angela and her teammate, so we pretty much rode the rest of the stage together. At one point I left them behind on the railroad tracks, but as soon as we hit a dirt road they worked hard to catch up again. It was quite annoying that they had 3 support vehicles next to them, handing her buddy drinks and food... She couldn't take any, but apparently he didn't care that he was breaking the rules. It was kind of funny when one of their cars got stuck in one of the rocky rivers :-)

We finished off the last hour riding on a dirt-road paralleling the Caribbean ocean. After the hurricane some of the puddles were so deep the water covered my whole tire. Luckily I only fell over once!!

Rebecca and me with our cool hand carved trophies and La Ruta coffee

It was great finishing on the beach. After parking my bike, I went straight in to the ocean!!

I think the La Ruta organization did a great job this year trying to make sure it is a fair race for ALL riders. I am sure by reinforcing the rules, this race will continue to attract high-level international riders as well as Costa Ricans.

Lico (3), Ben (winner), Alex (2), Rebecca, and me.

Cracking Down on Outside Support

The start of Day 3 was very interesting. After the presentation of the leaders' jerseys, Pipa announced that one of the top riders would be disqualified from the race because of receiving outside support. According to the rules, riders are not allowed support except for at some of the checkpoints. No more handing out drinks or food through car windows or even having a support vehicle following racers... I think this is a fair rule. Part of mountain bike racing is taking care of yourself as well as of your bike. It makes a huge difference if someone is there to hand you food and drink or clothing the whole day, you don't have to think at all... This has been a big problem in the past, and it seems part of the culture of La Ruta, but in order to make it fair to international racers, the organizers are finally cracking down on racers breaking the rules!!

The announcement started a big uproar, and some of the riders in the front, including Angela Parra (whose husband was getting DQed) turned their bikes sideways, blocking all racers from crossing the start line. SO LAME!!! After a couple of minutes, Ben Sontag, in his leader jersey, dropped his bike and grabbed the microphone. He was clearly angry and stated that he had come La Ruta to race a fair race and that people should follow the rules and not cheat. AWESOME!!! So, the race was on again!!!

I had forgotten that Day 3 also has some pretty steep hills. I felt pretty good going up the volcano and reached the top (almost 10,000 feet) in just over 3 hrs. It was misty and windy at the top, but pretty mild compared to previous years! I found out I was about 4 minutes behind Angela at the top. I stopped briefly at the checkpoint to fill up some water and grab a banana, I knew there was still more climbing to come.

The down-hill of the volcano was in surprisingly good shape. The weather had been dry the past few days, which made the rocky sections easier to ride. This day finishes with a really long paved descent which is super fun. You still have to be somewhat careful, because there are cars, dogs, and people all over the roads. I was very close to running over a chicken coming around a turn at one point.

Interviewed by Wendi Johnson at the finish of Day 3

I finished less than 1.5 minutes behind Angela Parra today, so I was really happy with my effort. Rebecca was in 3nd again.

Day 2- La Ruta

Had a really good race on day 2 of La Ruta. Today's stage was 47 miles with about 10,000 feet of climbing. A Costa Rican won the men's category followed by Ben Sonntag and Alex Grant riding for Cannondale. In the Women's category, Angela Parra from Colombian won again, but today I was only 3.5 minutes behind. Rebecca Rusch was in 3rd, 10 min behind me.

Today's stage involved some extremely steep climbing, over 30% grade for 2 miles straight. Part of the steep climbing was on concrete with big rocks thrown in so the cars can have some traction. It is super bumpy and hard to climb, even in your granny gear. The course was changed within the last few days, because the hurricane Tomas has damaged the original course and it was unridable because of slides. It was a little tough with the course change, because we had no map, so no real idea of where the checkpoints or climbs were, but that is part of La Ruta :-)

Checkpoint officials Eric is in charge of managing a check point each day with the help of 3 volunteers. 2 of his guys attend the University that sponsors La Ruta. It seems like a very challenging but fun job. They have to shop for the CP food the morning of the race (which starts at 6) and drive out without a map to find where their checkpoint is supposed to be set up. There seem to be a lot of locals around, and little kids shyly come up and ask if they can have a piece of fruit or a PB and J sandwich. When they are finished with the checkpoint, the locals are so thankful to get the left-over bananas and peanuts, nothing goes to waste here....

La Ruta de los Conquistadores 2010

Some of the Locals Asking for a Treat at Eric's Checkpoint

Day 1

Had a great (but very hard) time during Day 1 of La Ruta today. There is a strong women's field this year and the organizers are really trying to promote women's mountain biking, which is nice as women's sports in general receive very little attention in Costa Rica.

This stage is typically the longest, 69 miles with about 13,000 feet of elevation gain. After a bit of dirt road the race takes you through the Carrara, which is a jungle preserve. It is always very muddy, and this year was no exception. There is one section of about 12 km which is unridable for the most part. This year there were also many slides because of Hurricane Tomas. I was staying right behind Columbian Angela Parra, the winner of the Pan Am games as well as Costa Rica's Guanaride. Right before Checkpoint 2 Angela, myself, and 2 guys took a wrong turn where there was no marking. We just made a guess where the road split and we where wrong. After some hiking we noticed the other riders were going the other way and turned. It wasn't that far, but still annoying!! After CP 2 Angela disappeared in the distance. I was getting pretty tired and a little crampy so I settled in to my own pace.

Eric was managing the 3rd checkpoint so it was nice to get to see him while filling up my water. As all of my saltpills had turned in to powder, Eric poured a bunch of table salt in to my camelbak. Didn't taste great, but kept me from cramping the rest of the day!

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Some times it felt super hard, and other times I was feeling pretty good. Angela Parra put some serious time on me, 23 minutes to be exact. I finished in 2nd with Rebecca Rusch about 9 minutes behind me. I'm pretty happy with how the day went overall. My bike worked descent besides some minor shifting issues and a minimally functioning rear brake, but that is to be expected after the jungle!!!

There are some new rules for La Ruta this year which actually seem to be at least partially followed and enforced. No outside support besides at some of the checkpoints. Riders taking outside support on the course are supposed to be DQd.

Tahoe Sierra 100 2010

BEFORE...

Had a great time at Global Biorhythm Events' Tahoe Sierra 100 again!! I had been checking out the weather prior to the race, and was not especially happy with the cold temperatures in the areas around Soda Springs. Luckily, the forecast changed the day before we left, and it looked like it was going to be sunny and quite warm!!!

Eric and I stayed at the awesome Ice Lake Lodge which sits right on a beach at the Serene lakes. After going for a short spin, checking in at the race, and having dinner at the lodge, we borrowed one of the ancient VHS movies from the lodge and laid in bed and watched it. Perfect pre-race routine!!

5 am came way too fast. After eating some PB and jelly toast for breakfast we drove to the start of the race. There was ice on the wind-shield of my car but the temperature showed 39 degrees. It could be worse. Since the couple of miles of ski-trails were followed by an 8 mile descent, I opted for starting out in my jacket. The ski-trails spread most of the riders out quite a bit, which made descending the dusty fire road downhill much easier than last year. At the bottom of the hill, I dropped my jacket at the first checkpoint. I was never really cold, the temperature was definitely coming up as we dropped below 5000 feet.

I felt fairly strong and had a good ride along the Redstar Ridge. It is just technical and fun enough to keep you on your toes. I didn't need to stop to refill my camelbak until the "Dusty Corner" checkpoint at 51 miles. I also dumped my Ziploc baggie of Sustained Energy into my water bottle and grabbed some Endurolytes. I could feel some twitching in my calves, and wanted to make sure I didn't cramp. The 5 mile single track loop before getting back to Dusty Corner was really fun. At the checkpoint I was told I had about 15 minutes on the next woman, but it's hard to know how accurate that information is, so I kept going at a descent pace.

I kept riding consistently and passed several guys on the climbs. When I stopped at the second to last check point to refill my camelbak again, I was told I only had 5 or 6 guys in front of me. That was a bit of a surprise!! On the last climb, I could see 2 riders ahead of me and worked pretty hard to catch the first one. He was super encouraging and yelled at me to go for the next rider too. The next guy spotted me though, and he wasn't going to let me catch him. When we finally got to the ski-trails, I knew there was only 2 miles left. When I cam up on the really steep climb layered with about 4 inches of dust, I had to push my bike. The rider in front of me was nowhere to be seen. Did he ride the hill???

I was happy to finish in 9 hrs 24 minutes. I ended up first woman and got a 6th place overall!

.....AFTER

Jim Northey put on a first class event as always! Jim is so positive and genuinely wants everyone to have a good time, and his great attitude spreads to all of the racers and volunteers.

HEY MOM, I'm on the BONE!!!

I think it is time to write about something other than, and maybe more exciting than, mountain bike riding and racing... Well, maybe not more exciting, but certainly DIFFERENT!

Today I actually got the chance to be a guest DJ on San Francisco rock station 107.7 the BONE with awesome REAL DJ Steven Seaweed. On Fridays he has a lunch-time show called "Hey Mom, I'm on the bone" and Steven invited me a while back to be on the show.

I had to pick 12 of my favorite songs, and then someone at the radio station edited my list down to 7.

La Ruta Lou on the BONE

During the hour I announced my songs:

22 Acacia Avenue with Iron Maiden

Beautiful Day with U2

Holy Diver with Dio

Whiskey in a Jar with Metallica

Jukebox Hero with Foreigner

Still of the Night with Whitesnake

We will Rock You with Queen

Jail break with AC/DC

In addition to reading a few adds and chit-chatting a bit, I also got to play the timeline game when listeners have to guess a specific year based on several clues and a song. We played Space Truckin' with Deep Purple.... The year was.........take a guess or go to www.1077thebone.com to find out!!!

Had a fabulous time with the Weedman, what a cool experience!!! Thanks Steven!!

I got Creamed at the Puff

Not sure what I can add to my previous race reports from the Cascade Creampuff 100. It is still hard, long, hot, and has a lot of GREAT single track!! The course this year was a bit different with slightly more fire road as well as some really steep single track climbing.

I had my first flat ever at a Creampuff, which is not bad since I have been there 6 times now!! 600 miles with only 1 flat, you can't really complain about that!

Here are some other stats from my 6 years of Creampuff:

First year: 2004

Hottest year: 2008 with 103 degrees at the bridge

Missed year: 2007

Best overall place: 9th in 2008

Worst overall place 32nd in 2009

Longest time: 11:55 in 2008

Fastest time: 10:18 in 2010

After 100 miles and 15,500 feet of climbing I ended up in 3rd behind speedy Rebecca Rush and Sonya Looney

Here are some pics of me on the fun single track!

8 Hrs of Cool

Me, the Summit Chuters, and all the other racers had a great time at 8/24 Hrs of Cool last weekend. Eric was racing on an 8 hr corporate team (the famous Summit Chuters, sponsored by CB Hannegan's of Los Gatos). I was actually racing for Global Biorhythms, which is the organization putting on this race.

The course was almost the same as when I raced there in the fall (the Knickerbocker), but it was definitely less dusty, and there were several spots where the mud was quite deep. The solo racers took off at noon and the relay racers left 3 minutes behind. The weather was really nice, a bit warm, but there was a nice breeze. I felt really good from the start and my lap-times were 56-58 minutes. I was trying to hold off the Summit Chuters as long as possible. On my forth lap Mark Jeffrey came flying by me out of nowhere. I guess you don't get those rainbow stripes for nothing!!!

I was hoping to get 8 laps, but on lap 5 an 6 I sort of lost my motivation, and slowed down a little bit.... I decided 7 laps would be a good ride. I was also looking forward to hanging out at the pit area and especially to eating some of Alex's Ceviche. He had brought all the ingredients and was chopping everything up to make a huge bowl of shrimp ceviche to go with all the beer the guys had brought. Tough racing I have to say....

Happy to Cross the Finish-line

Dave Hokeness doing his pre-race ritual before taking off on one of his laps

When I finished my race shortly after 7 pm, the Summit Chuters were leading the corporate category by over 25 minutes. Even though they were having plenty of refreshments, they took their race very seriously as you can see from the picture of Dave on the trainer above.

After the night laps, the Summit Chuters had pulled ahead of the 2nd team. Apparently this lead made a certain rider feel like he didn't have to race his last lap but could continue drinking beer and bail out early to go to the Sharks' game instead. Alex took his role on the team very seriously and pushed hard to try to get 24 laps and missed it by only a couple of minutes. Good job to the Summit Chuters!!!

The Summit Chuters and me (replacing the missing Shark's fan)

More Ultrasport..

Rob, the long-time checker in Rohn is awesome. He takes a week of his vacation time to volunteer and help out with the Alaska Ultrasport. To get to Rohn, he has to drive a snow mobile for a couple of days, over the same mountain pass we crossed. Then he gets to sleep in a tent and take care of a bunch of smelly racers who haven't showered for several days. Talk about dedication!!!! Rob has a lot of experience with winter racing, so he know exactly what we all need when we get to Rohn after a 20 hr push!!

Rob fed us more raviolis and after we got rehydrated, we put our sleeping bags on the thick layer of twigs covering the ground. It was nice to be only 3 racers in the tent, plenty of space. Just as I had fallen asleep with the assistance of an ambien, a group of 11 riders came in all at once. We were quickly reassigned new sleeping spots, outside in the snow. Luckily it was really warm!! I was so tired, I didn't really care how long I slept, and we didn't get out of our sleeping bags until 7:30 the next morning. Many other racers were getting ready to leave, but we didn't get on our bikes until 10am due to some minor mechanical issues with my bike, having to dig through our drops for more food and replacement batteries, and me just moving really slowly!

Once on the trail, I felt good. Time seemed to go by really fast. We had to cross some more open water, but in general the riding was fun, fast, and fairly easy. We were making pretty good time.

It was getting dark when we hit the Farewell burn with its infamous tussocks. Some of it was ridable, but sometimes it was faster to get off your bike and walk. All of the sudden we spotted a tail light in the dark and after about an hour we finally ran in to Brij (the super funny guy who moved from India to FAIRBANKS about 10 years ago). We chatted with him for a couple of minutes while taking a little time to eat and drink. As we were getting closer to Nikolai, I was calculating in my head that we could probably just keep riding all the way to McGrath without stopping in Nikolai at all. I can EASILY do 24 hrs, I kept thinking, I feel GREAT!!!! NOOOO problem!! Somehow the low bloodsugar crept up on me. I looked at my GPS and noticed I was going slower and slower. Better eat a few Swedish Fish to get some energy, I thought.... Unfortunately, no combination of food seemed to work. I was getting the tunnel vision, feeling weak and dizzy, wanting to lay down in the snow and pass out. My brain was working in slow motion, and so was my body. The last 3 hrs were torture (especially for Eric) as I was pedaling at a snail's pace, trying not to fall of my bike.

When we finally reached Nick and Olene's house in Nikolai at 2 am, a big group of riders, including speedy Tracey Petervary were taking off. I could barely make it in the door. I'm not quite sure how I got my clothes off, but somehow I made it to the table and had some of Olene's delicious moose-stew and bread.

After refueling, we planned on sleeping for 2 hrs and then taking off to see if we could possibly catch the group in front of us. We got to share one of the bedrooms with Dave Prahmann who was also looking a little rough. I used the little cot, and Eric laid down on the floor to try to get a little bit of rest. As exhausted as I was, sleeping wasn't easy, and after a couple of hours of tossing and turning I got out of bed to see how I felt. Hoping my stomach would cooperate, we decided it was time to get going. Chris Plesko who had been sleeping on the couch got up and was taking off with us. Dave got up too, but as we were leaving, he decided to rest a little bit longer. We were definitely not in a hurry to leave, it was too hot to put our all of our clothes on inside of the house. Chris, Eric, and I were joking around, talking about the race, and taking our time getting out the door.

Once outside, the chilly air seemed to wake me up. I felt ok for the first few hours, but then I started having problems with my blood sugar and stomach again. None of the muffins, cookies, danishes, or candy bars seemed to do the trick. I felt nauseous, and had trouble keeping food down. I tried the last of the mini sausages I had brought and that seemed to work a little bit better. Chris generously shared some peanut butter and cut-up summer sausage, and that was definitely better than all the sweet junk food.

Almost there...

It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day, warm enough I even had to take my hat and gloves off. With about 10 miles to go we spotted 2 riders coming toward us on the river! It was Peter Basinger and Jeff Oatley coming to meet us!! Peter who had been in front the entire race, ended up winning over Jeff by only 33 minutes. We rode together, talking, but with 7 miles to go, I decided I was tired of eating cookie dough and was ready for some man-cakes, so I picked it up for a little bit. After a couple of miles I couldn't see the guys anymore, so I decided to take a nap on the side of the road. They finally showed up 20 minutes later, Eric had gotten a flat tire!!

Peter and Tracy's house was as great as I remembered. Peter was serving man-cakes, coffee, and omelets. The table was covered with home made cookies, brownies, cakes, and bread. We spent a 2 nights there and had a great time. Tracey (who finished about 6 hrs ahead of me AND set a new course record for the women), Jay, Phil, and walker Tom Jarding took off the next day to continue their trip to Nome. Tim Hewitt is also on his way on foot to Nome.

One of the highlights of the trip was when Dara and Kevin, next door neighbors, took us dog-mushing, and show machining. Dara and Kevin have 2 sled-dogs. Together with 2 of Peter's dogs as well as the indoor Chocolate Lab Leo we had a 5 dogs pulling the sled. It was so much fun!! Maybe next year I will just do the Iditarod sled-dog race instead..

Dara showing me the ropes in dog-mushing.

Thanks to everyone who made this incredible trip possible.

Bill and Kathi and all the Ultrasport volunteers for putting on a great event.

Rob and Neeraj at Physical Therapy of Los Gatos, for fixing me up before the race.

Matty (Eric's mom) for modifying our pogies to keep our hands warm.

Peter and Tracy for opening their home to all the racers and feeding all of us.

Dara and Kevin for showing us such a good time while in McGrath.

Peter, Rose, and Jon for your hospitality and help before and after the race.

Eric; Thanks for being the best "team-mate" anyone could ask for!!!!