It's been awhile since I have caught up and written some sort of blog that is remotely entertaining! The last two weeks have been full of riding, some racing, and some relaxing at home. As you probably know, the Cascade Creampuff 100 was a tremendous success and a great launching pad for me going into Leadville. There are some race details and results posted on their website , as well as a few nice photos. From there I catapulted into PR world in Keystone, CO for the Specialized dealer event. This is one of the most fun trips for me ever year. Seeing, riding, and just hanging out with the dealers is a great little mid-summer vacation. The riding in Colorado was epic, the new Epic 29er was epic, and the well you know what I mean! The boys from Bicycle Therapy have quite a photo gallery up on Flickr to check out too.

Today is probably the first time that I will be racing at home that I can remember. It is the annual Whit Henry Memorial Galena Grinder race. Whit was a local mountain biker who passed away in a car accident at a very young age. The whole valley comes out and races and enjoys the trails at Galena Lodge. The marathon race is 46 miles, and has tons of climbing and some pretty stiff out of town competition. I'm really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed, making breakfast at home, and then swimming in my favorite swimming hole afterwards!

I am also working on a new website as well. A new design, more features, and a better more functional layout. We will be continuing the giveaways, adding gear reviews, and adding some more video features too. So keep an eye out. Until then, make sure to get your entries in for the Ask Reba July Giveaway for some sweet Smith Sunglasses.

Happy Trails

Two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to get to attend the SRAM 2 x 10 product launch in Ashland OR. They organized a multi-day ride camp with full tech support, a bunch of media, shuttle service and the full line of SRAM 2 x 10 for everyone to sample. I've been riding 2 x 10 for about 8 months now, but it was the first time for many of the riders. The SRAM engineers and designers also broke things down and explained the technology behind the designs, the reasons why this stuff works so well and how it all goes together. I know it works like a dream from my own riding and racing experience, but it was really cool for me to understand why it works better. The camp took place in Ashland, OR and we were hosted by United Bicycle Institute for all our class room sessions and bike tunes. SRAM arranged multiple shuttles and rides every day and it was a big change for me to get driven up the hill, dropped off, then ride down.

I left the Era and the 29er hardtail at home and instead had a Safire and Enduro that I was playing around with all week. It was a totally different style of riding and really good skills session for me to ride with Rad Ross Schnell, Kirt and Lindsay Voreis, Greg Herbold and Nathan Riddle. I was definitely schooled, but loved watching and learning some downhill skills from them. The graduation from our 4 day riding camp was to race the Ashland Super D. It's a 13 mile descent with wicked fast single track, a few little jumps and lots of tight switchbacks. The riding was not as technical as a traditional downhill, but you could definitely scare yourself and the speed was only limited by your own fear. I rode the Safire for the race and it was the perfect choice for this course. I entered the women's pro division and ended up finishing a respectable 4th place in a strong field. I was a couple of minutes off Kelli Emmett's winning time. I was elated to get down in one piece, but as soon as I was finished with my run, I wanted to head back up for another one to try to go faster! Even though these Super D races are not my forte, I love taking part in them and pushing myself to get out of my comfort zone. Thanks SRAM for a really great experience!

After a month filled with a five day stage race in Australia, a seven day stage race in Pennsylvania, a week long product launch, riding camp and race in Oregon with SRAM, I am finally home in Idaho to regroup and recover. It was an intense training block, with some important work thrown in and some of the most amazing riding I've done, but I was so ready to get home to my own bed and some down time. I've only been home 10 days but I already feel rejuvenated.

Lately, I've spent my time at the bike shop getting my rigs back in top shape, gardening at home, baking bread and riding on my favorite local trails with friends. Summer is officially here after a cold, wet spring. The flowers are starting to bloom and the dirt on the trails is in perfect condition. I never get tired of the 360 degrees of breathtaking scenery. This is my favorite time of year because there is still snow on the high peaks, the mornings are cool and the afternoons are warm. Flip flops and shorts are coming out of storage and I can ride without shell gloves and knee warmers now! Everyone in town seems to be in a happy summer mood. Being a pro cyclist living in a ski resort town is often a challenge. I cannot ride outside year round and there are many really cold spring and fall days where I'm cursing the weather and it takes a healthy dose of motivation just to get out the door. However, by the time summer really arrives, I am so motivated to ride and so inspired that the memories of the sacrifices I made in the winter melt away.

The two long stage races this month have taken a toll on me physically and I'm pretty tired right now. That was the plan though. My coach, Matthew designed the early part of the season this way on purpose. It's always mentally a struggle to do the building up and breaking down to gain peak fitness later in the season. I know from experience that this process works, but it still always smacks me in the spring and self doubt hovers around this time of year. I have done four long stage races already this season and they have been incredible experiences. The plan now is to focus on some shorter events, stay in the country and ramp it up for the Leadville Trail 100 in August. The next race on the roster is the Firecracker 50 Miler USA Cycling Marathon Nationals on July 4th. Until then, I get to stay home and focus on training and recovery and enjoying Ketchum.

Don't forget I also host a monthly sponsor gear giveaway called "Ask Reba " on my website. All you have to do is ask me a great question and you will be entered into a chance to win a great item of gear each month.

Finally, this is your last chance to enter "Ride With Reba" mountain bike sweepstakes! Click here to enter to win free lodging, bikes, gear and rides with me on my hometown trails in Idaho! The lucky name will be drawn this Saturday.

Happy Trails

The TSE wrapped up on Saturday and I struggled through another day of being allergic to Pennsylvania. I finished the race in 3rd, which was a bit disappointing for me. Not because of the placing, but because I did not ride like myself last week. I wasn’t really able to race like I wanted to and had to limp through a few of the stages just to finish. The race itself was one of the best stage races I’ve done in my life. The organization was spot on. The prizes were incredible and every single racer got a sweet jersey in their race bag. I was blown away with how good the trails and the course design were. We rode on new trails every day and every stage was completely different. Staying in the scout camp with the mice and lots of other racers added to the ambiance. I got to know some great East Coast riders and work my skills on their trails. My asthma and performance issues were a disappointment, but the race and the experience definitely were not. Thanks to Greg’s parents, Glenn and Brenda for showing up and to my Mom for coming out to volunteer.

Recovery from the hard week is underway, the millions of mosquito bites are healing and I’m already on the next trip. I had about 24 hours at home to clean all the musty, swampy stench out of my clothes and head back out the door. I’m in Ashland, OR this week for a SRAM product launch and media rides. We’ll have four days of fully supported shuttled riding on the sweet downhill trails here. SRAM has invited a bunch of media and set up everyone’s bikes with XX, XO, Avid and other sweet parts. My role is to ride with the journalists and have fun. My accommodations are a huge step up from the scout camp and I doubt my hotel has mice or bed bugs! The riding experience will be completely different and mostly gravity fed. I’ll be riding a Safire and and Enduro this week and learning how to sit back and let the bike do the work instead of my legs. At the end of the trip, I’ll be racing the Ashland Super D and see if I’ve learned how to go fast this week. I’m sure we’ll have some great video and photos from the event, so I will post some of that stuff later.

or anyone reading this, our new Ask Reba monthly giveaway for June has started. All you do is write me a question that you’ve been dying to have answered. At the end of the month, I answer some of the questions and the BEST question wins free gear from Adventure Medical Kits and Beyond Coastal. To check out the answers to last month’s questions and the winning question, scroll down the blog posting! There were some great questions. Thanks to everyone who wrote in.

What fun week of racing. Spending 7 days in a cabin wasn't nearly this fun when I was a kid. I made so many new friends, re-connected with old friends, and can't wait to do this race again next year. Pennsylvania has incredible riding, so ignore those people who make fun of the Amish.

Stage 5 was fun mini XC racing, while Stage 6 was back to the asthma attacks, struggling to breath the thick, soupy air and just survival riding again for me. It was really disappointing because the stage was really technical riding that required power and effort that I did not have. I was flat as a pancake and could not put in much effort without wheezing and gasping. So, I did a fair bit of walking, struggling, and a bit of falling on slippery rocky terrain. I was basically riding like a grandmother. I could not really race and was again just trying to get to the end of the day in one piece.

I'm a bit baffled by my intensely adverse reaction to the air here. I can ride in Leadville at 10,000 ft and not feel a thing. Coming down here where the air is thick, warm and moist would seem to be easier, but for me it has the opposite affect. The locals are all saying this is a really bad pollen year. The medics also tell me that when it rains, like it did last night, it makes the pollen worse. Stage 2 and 6 seemed to be similar weather combinations and were the hottest, most humid days and the two days where I had a huge amount of trouble with my breathing. I have not felt super fast the whole week, but those two asthma days were beyond anything I've ever felt before. I made it into the finish, so I'm still officially in the race and solidly in 3rd. There is still one more 25 mile stage tomorrow, but for me it will have to be a casual social ride. The men's GC is hotly contested and 2nd - 4th are separated by seconds, so they will have an intense horse race. Greg is solidly in the lead for single speed and the women's GC is also fairly settled, so it seems as if tomorrow will be a fun ride for many people and a nice cap to the week of hard work.

11 AM seems like a very civilized time to start a bike race. It was a remote start, so we all had to drive about an hour to get to Raystown State Park for some sweet IMBA built trails that were made specifically for mountain bikes. The description was 35 miles of fast, flowy, 90% single track. Greg and I packed up the land yacht rental car and left the scout camp at 9 AM to allow plenty of time to get there and warm up. About 40 minutes into our drive through beautiful, peaceful, green Amish country, Greg remembered that he had forgotten his cycling shoes. We busted a U turn and I called the race director to tell him that we had to go back to camp. All the other cars and bus heading to the start passed us as we headed back. Greg apologized, I settled into the fact that I would not get to warm up before this stage if we made it at all. He drove like a mad man back to the camp, got the shoes and turned it around again. Most of the drive back was on two lane country roads with many, many Amish horse and buggies on the road. The speed limit was around 45 and Greg was ranging between 90 MPH on the open parts and about 15 MPH when a line of cars would get caught behind a horse and buggy. I had to laugh at the different lifestyles that were coming into contact on that road. Us risking our lives in a huge gas guzzler to get to a bike race and them just wanting to live a peaceful life and deliver their eggs. We kept calling the race director with reports of our progress and he kept announcing to the racers to keep waiting.

We peeled into the parking lot and ripped our bikes out of the car. As soon as they saw we were there, they announced 5 minutes to start. I rolled to the start line and realized I did not have my helmet on and ran back to the car and slapped it on. No warm up, no time to take a breath, but at least the race directors and all the other athletes were relaxed enough to wait for us and let us start the stage.

The riding was probably the best cross country type course I've ever done. It was almost all smooth, fast single track and reminded me of my home trails so much. I felt really comfortable with the style of riding. There were tons of whoops, bermed corners and pump track style riding. The trail was the type of trail you could ride up or down and have just as much fun. There was climbing, but it was all fast, short power climbing, so you could carry speed over most of the crests. I passed Karen, who is in 2nd overall, about 10 minutes into the stage. After that I was mostly alone for the next hour until aid station 1. Someone told me that Selene was just 45 seconds up the trail. I had been riding fast and having fun and not really thinking about the race. I was still going as hard as I could, but the trail was so great that I wasn't thinking about my placing at all. I was just grooving and feeling one with my bike! I caught up to Selene after she took a brief wrong turn. She made up for that by barreling past me on an uphill. I caught her back at aid station 2 about 10 miles from the finish. At that point, I started to take a few more risks on the high speed trail and see if I could open a gap and go for a stage win. It was such fun riding that I figured I had nothing to lose. I ended up winning the stage by less than 2 minutes. Selene was 2nd and Karen was 3rd. The overall standings did not change, but I was able to pull myself about 7 minutes closer to 2nd overall. I'm still not feeling 100%, but the asthma is under control at this point and the super fun trails are making up for the lack of spark in my legs.

After stage 2 where I thought the medics might have to pull me off the course, I felt much more like myself in stage 3. The weather gods smiled on me and gave us 15 degree cooler temperatures and rain. It settled the dust and pollen that have been wreaking havoc on my lungs and made the temperature much more bearable for me. I started conservatively on this 45 mile long stage because I was fearful of more asthma attacks. After about 30 minutes, I started to feel like I could put a bit more pressure on the pedals, so I amped up the speed a bit. I was also unsure of what a whole day of oxygen debt had done to my muscles. Most of today's stage was fire road riding, so it was much easier for me to meter my efforts and ride consistently instead of the punchy, aggressive style of riding from stage 2. I was able to catch Karen, the race leader about 45 minutes into the stage. I was really happy to see her and felt like I was at least racing a bit today instead of just surviving. I was absolutely not 100%, but I also never considered lying down in the dirt in the fetal position. So that's a big step up! I ended up pulling away from Karen, but never did catch up to Selene. I finished the stage in 2nd for the women. Despite a better effort today, I am still in 3rd position due to all the time I lost yesterday. I'm about 15 minutes out of 2nd and 25 minutes out of 1st. It's a huge gap, but hopefully consistency will pay off. Mostly, I am really thankful for the rain, the cooler temps and being able to see a glimpse of my racing self again.

Today's stage is 38 miles of fast, flowing single track. They told us to wear hydration packs because the trail is so fast and fun that it's hard to find a place to reach down and grab a water bottle. Greg had an awesome day yesterday and took back the single speed category lead. He also loved the rain and cooler temps and did not have any of the cramping he suffered from yesterday. I will keep you posted on today's event when I get done! Thanks to CyclingDirt.org for the interview as well.

I will tell you that I was thinking about the great "Ask Reba" questions while I was in the pain cave during the second stage of Trans-Sylvania Epic today. I cannot remember having a more challenging and difficult day on the bike. There were quite a few times that your questions of "how do you keep motivated" kept popping into my head. So, I want to thank all of you for motivating ME today. I needed the help and in a strange way, your questions came to me while I was out there feeling all alone. The bottom line is that today's stage was a 40 mile, mostly single track stage with lots of climbing. It was REAL mountain biking and gorgeous trail. However, I knew from the very first hill that I did not have a lot of punch in my legs. I was

OK with that and settled into a pace I felt I could sustain. The top two women passed me and I struggled to hang on, but could not. I felt very flat and very hot. About 45 minutes into the race and on the 2nd climb I started to have trouble with my asthma anytime the trail turned upwards. I had forgotten my inhaler this morning, so I had to stop and get off my bike multiple times just to catch my breath and settle down. I was in survival mode and really scared without an inhaler. I pulled my pace way back and tried to ride as smoothly as possible when I could. I had to let the downhills rip because I was so hopelessly slow on the uphills. Aid station 1 was at 15 miles and I made it there and got an inhaler from the medics. I also took time to put water on my head, fill bottles and was in survival mode much more than race mode. 15 more miles of hard single track lay between me and aid station 2. Even with the inhaler, I was wheezing anytime there was an uphill. I walked, tried to pedal, tried to keep my nutrition up and really struggled to get to mile 30 and aid station 2. Chris Eatough, 6 x 24 hour solo mtb world champion was out on the trails filming. He found me out there floundering and shadowed me until the aid station just to make sure I was OK.

I was grateful for the company and the peace of mind that if something really went bad, he could go for help. I seriously considered dropping out of the race at mile 30, but the last 10 miles was fire road, so I slowly pedaled on and limped into the finish after about 4.5 hours. The course was incredible, the aid station volunteers, the medics and all the other concerned racers were awesome today. I finished 3rd in the women's division and lost a bunch of time off the lead. However, I'm grateful that I stuck it out and finished. I do not know how I am going to feel tomorrow. I went very deep into the hole today and am definitely not riding like myself. My bike was perfect, but my body was in revolt. Right now, I'm focusing on a good recovery and getting to bed early. Tomorrow is a new day, a new stage and my brain is still very ready to throw down and race myself back into contention. My hope is that the body will follow the brain's lead. Thanks for reading!

In my last post, I talked about how slick I was with packing my bike and how smoothly my airline bike experience has been for a really long time. Well, that comment smacked me in the rear on the way to PA. Our routing was Sun Valley, Salt Lake City, Altanta, Harrisburg via plane. Rental car from Harrisburg, PA then 90 miles to State College and the Seven Mountains Scout camp. We left Sun Valley at 9 AM Mountain time and finally arrived at camp at 2:00 AM Eastern Time. Our very long excursion for stage 0 included running to more than one plane connection, waiting in the Harrisburg airport for 3 hours for our lost bikes and bags to hopefully show up. They DID, which was a huge relief. We planned to just get a hotel in Harrisburg since it was super late and just head to the race in the morning. The TT stage did not start until 3pm, so that would leave us time to have a good breakfast and hit the road. We drove and checked no less than 15 hotels from Harrisburg to State College and there were volleyball tournaments, weddings and who knows what else, but ALL the hotels in the state of Pennsylvania seemed to be full. We had to forgo a nice shower and clean bed and just head straight to the scout camp and our awaiting bunks. The teeny road sign to Sand Mountain Road was nearly impossible to see in the dark. We made a few passes on the curvy, forested road before we found the turn. Then we began the hunt to find Rimmel Lodge on the hand drawn (not to scale!) map of the scout camp.

The accommodations at Seven Mountain Scout camp are a bit rustic. I'm in Rimmel Lodge with about 15 other athletes from CA, CO, MI and of course PA! It's communal living at it's finest among a bunch of adults who have regular jobs, can afford hotels and would probably prefer to camp outside than sleep inside a bunk house. But we're here together tuning bikes, talking about racing and getting to know each other. We have a shared kitchen, although dinners are provided family style for all the racers in the dining hall. We have one bathroom for all of us in the lodge. I picked up matches today at the store to donate the the group facilities, if you know what I mean. A short walk away are gang showers with cold water only. This is the East Coast, so of course there are bugs here. A multitude of flying, crawling, buzzing things that just want to say hello. There are no screens on the windows in our lodge, so we need to keep the doors and windows closed at night to keep the bugs out. I KNOW there are other, larger furry critters around the facility, so food, gels and other stuff are hopefully sealed up enough. I am definitely checking my shoes before I put them on each time. The camp vibe will definitely add color and camaraderie to the race.

Yesterday's TT was a blast. It was a 10 mile sampling of what we have in store. Some hard fire road climbing punctuated by difficult single track, then some really, really fast single track, followed by some more really hard single track. I started out last of the women's field and starting one minute behind me was the first single speed male. Greg was starting just a few minutes behind me as well and the open men were last. My goals for the day were to not get caught by the single speeders or any men, to test my heart rate and intensity levels to see how recovered I am from Australia and to really focus on riding this technical single track smoothly and efficiently. I was able to achieve all those goals and felt like I had a great ride. I finished the TT in 3rd for the Open Women, about a minute off the lead. While I always race to win, I was still really pleased with how my body responded, how I rode and how I handled the little appetizer for the week of riding. It's a little weird to race a TT because you have no gauge of the other riders, no pacing to go off of and absolutely no idea how you are doing. I am predicting that the top three women will have a good, competitive race for the next six days. It will force me to really be on my toes and make the most of my time here. Greg (Club Ride Apparel ) had a great ride and finished the TT first in the single speed division. The top three in his class are also really close and they have a good race on their hands too. My Era rode like a dream and I kept thinking how grateful I was that it got here on time and I did not have to race on a borrowed bike!

Stage 2 is a 40 miles stage that I'm predicting will take me around 5 hours. The trails here take time and the temperatures are HOT, so I'm taking a bit more fuel and water just to be on the safe side. If the TT is any indication of what this week will be like, I'm stoked.

I'm just done packing all my gear and am flying to PA today to go to college. State College, PA, where the riding is rumored to be "typical" East Coast roots, slippery rocks, and tight trees. So I'm going to school to learn to ride that stuff. The Trans-Sylvania Epic is a brand new stage race in the US and it's 7 days in a row of hard racing, East Coast style.

I was packing my bike last night for the flight. Taking off the pedals, derailleur, handlebar and other bits and padding it up and arranging it like a jigsaw puzzle in the case. After 10 years of adventure racing and 5 years of bike racing, I have taken my bike apart far more than anyone else I know. Most people don't break their bikes down into pieces very often. Most pro road riders and many mtb pros have mechanics doing all of this for them. Me, I always do it myself and I've gotten pretty fast at it. In all the years of travel, I've rarely had a problem with bike damage or luggage loss. Hopefully I'm not jinxing myself by mentioning this, but it's a pretty remarkable track record. The travel and all of the logistics that go along with racing are an art form. It has taken me years to perfect the system and make it as seamless as possible. Of course, every race and every travel experience is different, but the equipment, nutrition and most of the personal items don't change much, so you can sort of mindlessly put it all into bags.

This race coming up will be a bit like going to summer camp. The race is staged out of the Seven Mountains Scout Camp near State College, PA. All the athletes are staying in boy scout bunk houses with shared kitchens and bathrooms. It is much better than sleeping on the ground, but not quite as posh as some of the race accommodations I've been exposed to. I've had to pack a sleeping bag, sheets, towel, my own cup and bowl and, of course, ear plugs! I'm going in with an open adventurous mind, but I am hoping it's comfortable and spacious enough for all the racers to recover and have a bit of peace and quiet in between stages. I am looking forward to this type of race and it is rumored there is a phone and possibly internet at camp, so stay tuned!

As I sat on the floor in the Sydney airport about to begin the super long journey back to Idaho I reflected on this week's incredible journey. The Ingkerreke Commercial Red Centre Enduro is in the record books and hopefully the 5 days of hard racing is stored in my legs for further use in the season. The final stage was a 45 km mass start and might have been my favorite stage of all. It's hard to decide because every single day was unique riding with a ton of single track through wonderful desert terrain. The men's field had changed yellow jersey wearers nearly every day, so the final rankings came down to the last day. The women's race was also fairly close with just about 10 minutes separating 1-3 places in the overall. I was sitting in 2nd at the start of the last stage with just a one second margin over third. Given the crazy terrain and tire eating rocks, it was still anyone's race. I felt strong on the last day, but not fast. I could tell in the first 30 minutes that I was not going to set the course on fire that day. I still rode hard and kept it in the back of my mind that a flat tire would be all it would take to change the rankings. The course was really technical today with some new sections of single track that were really hard to follow. There were also some rocky, Moab-type sections with small drops and some exciting terrain. The race director, John Jacoby, also dealt up a classic hike-a-bike section for a few kilometers at the very end of the stage. Since I know John so well, I knew he was loving giving the racers a super hard finish just to top off a grueling week. I loved the last section where there was virtually no trail and you were running and riding through the desert scrub trying to find a clean line. It definitely reminded me of my adventure racing days and I was loving it. It was one of the hottest days of the week and drank all my water and was still wanting more. We finished the race right near the Todd River and the location of the original spring that Alice Springs is named after. Rapid Ascent had cold watermelon and cheers waiting for everyone at the finish line. Gracie, who is 1/2 my age, won the stage and moved up into 2nd overall. Jodie finished off a super solid week and held onto her first place finish. She will be heading to Europe shortly for the remaining world cup XC races. I finished 3rd and was really happy with my performance. I would have liked to have been able to drum up a bit more top end speed for some of the shorter stages, but I know it's early season and this race is preparation for bigger goals later in the year. I was super impressed with the race organization and the level of competition in Australia. It was also really fun to see the Aussie spirit alive and well. People here just seem unbelievably happy to be riding their bikes and pushing themselves. They have a way of being super competitive, but with a smile on their face and a kind word as they pass you.

Day 2, Stage 3

I'm glad I'm riding the full suspension Era. I was considering bringing my Specialized Stumpy HT 29 and now I'm really glad I didn't. I am using all of my suspension in this race and I'm glad for it. Stage 3 was another 50 km cross country type stage that was at least 50 % rocky single track. It seems relatively flat out here in the Red Centre of Australia, but the riding does not feel flat. The hills are really small, but they are relentless and technical. The single track here is nothing like the buff, smooth trails at home. It's super fun racing that is keeping me on my toes, but it makes it very hard to eat and drink. Before day 1, the medical volunteers gave a speech and suggested taking twice as much water as we expected to need. I figured I knew enough about racing to know how to hydrate so I did not follow her instructions on day 1 and I paid for it. For day 2, I wore a Hydrapak and left bottles at the aid stations. The air here is so dry, it just sucks the water right out of you. I was happy to have the extra water and I raced better on this stage. I'm not sure if it was the extra hydration, getting over the jet lag or just getting into the swing of racing again. Regardless of the reason, I felt much more like myself racing today and had a better result. The stage took me just under 3 hours which was good enough to move me up one space in the general ranking to 3rd position. The afternoon was packed full of bike cleaning, maintenance and packaging it up to be loaded onto the truck for tomorrow's stage. The trucks will drive 80 km out into the desert and drop our bikes off in the sand. There, the race director, John will sleep out under the stars and guard our bikes for the long stage.

Day 3, Stage 4

The 4 AM alarm clock wasn't necessary. I'm normally a hideously cranky morning person who dreads early race starts. However, I think jet lag has hold of me and I've been waking up at around 4 AM every morning anyway. So this morning it was no big deal to be ready for the 5:15 AM bus ride to the start. Our bikes were packed into the trucks and transported the night before. I had no idea this was the transportation arrangement for our bikes, so I ended up using hotel towels and electrical tape to package my bike for transport. Most other athletes had brought bubble wrap or more traditional forms of padding.

My bike survived and we arrived on the start line in time to watch the sun coming up through Trephina Gorge. Today's stage was the 98 KM big daddy. John said the tracks were in bad condition and extremely sandy. I was looking forward to a longer stage in hopes that it would play a bit more to my endurance strengths. The first 90 minutes of the stage were incredibly fun. It was like shopping for a line through really open scrub forest and sandy washes. There was no distinct trail, so it was a matter of quick thinking and watching the people in front of you to see which lines were a go. It reminded me of my adventure racing days of hunting for the quickest way from point A to B. I was having fun during this section and was happy jumping on and off my bike, jumping across huge erosion ravines, then jumping back on the bike. I was in the lead for this portion of the race, but then after about 90 minutes I got caught by race leader, Jodie Willett and U23 Australian National champ, Gracie Elvin, who was sitting in 4th in the GC. At this point in the race, we had more than 1/2 the race to go on primarily jeep roads with head winds and multiple deep sand bogs. The three of us made a great team and started working together, trading pulls and finding lines through the sand. The group effort was a huge benefit and way more fun than slogging it out alone through the sand. We all came in relatively close together with Gracie pulling ahead for her first stage win here. The solid effort also moved me up another placing in the GC and I am now sitting in 2nd. The top 4 women are all close. Jodie has a commanding 15 minute lead and I have about 6 minutes on 3rd, but with 3 more stages still to come and the Australian tire eating rocks out there waiting for us, anything could happen. Many riders finished today cursing the sand and the wind and hating the course. I'm not saying I had fun pushing my bike through the sand, but it was beautiful scenery and exciting racing.

Stage one and two are in the books and I feel really good about my performance. The first stage was about 45 km of technical, rocky, sandy singletrack. It was actually a blast and I really enjoyed the stage. The riding was one of the best XC courses I've ever done. The rains last month made the grass grow really tall, so there were tons of hidden ruts and large rocks jumping out at the last second. It was for sure super focused riding for nearly the whole 3 hours. The scenery was really beautiful and I even had a kangaroo jump out in front of me! I'm satisfied with my placing and now know what type of riders I'm up against. The three women that were in front of me today are some of the best XC racers in the country, including the marathon national champ and world cup racer, and the U23 XC national champ. The women's field is super strong, but I know there are still many more hours of racing and I hope to get some time back in the longer stage. There were multiple athletes carrying and walking their bikes due to flats, broken frames and mechanicals. There were also a couple of broken people who suffered crashes. The desert out here eats bicycles and people, so I feel really grateful to have made it through the day with no crashes, no mechanicals and in a decent overall position. I was about 8 minutes back from the leader, so it's still anyone's race.

I felt relatively good for most of the stage and was super happy to be racing. I had a fun day, but definitely had to throttle it back a bit due to the heat and the early season racing. I ran out of water and the last hour I was making sure not to go too far into the tank and save a bit for the rest of the week. I spent the afternoon in my room, pounding fluids, drinking Hammer Recoverite and getting the nutrition back in. The Skins compression tights went on and I joined many of the racers for a leg soak in the cold pool at the hotel. I also spent a fair bit of time using tweezers to pick multiple thorns out of my tires and inspecting them for cuts and wear. The Specialized Armadillo Elite's had multiple sidewall scuffs and thorns, but they've survived so far.

Stage two was in the afternoon. It was a 300 meter TT hill climb and it hurt! It was a traditional countdown and just over a minute of pain. It was sort of fun because spectators were lining the road and cheering the whole time. I finished up 3rd in the hill climb and got myself a 5 second bonus for that! I'll take whatever I can get!

You can find the Rapid Ascent race story for the day here:

Cheers Reba

Since I've written last, there have been a number of happenings. First, I made it through another frigid Idaho winter, thanks to the great month long break I was able to take in Argentina! It was the first time I've been able to ride that early in the winter season. I am now at the point where I'm hoping to see those early season miles pay off. Only time and race results will tell! It's still variable spring weather at home where it's 70 degrees one day with flowers popping up in my garden, then 45 and sleeting rain the next day. All my ski gear is officially put away, but the cold weather riding gear is not.

The good news is that I have escaped once again and am in sunny Alice Springs Australia for the Red Centre Enduro, a 5 day mountain bike stage race in the middle of the sandy, isolated Outback. I just got here yesterday and already had my first kangaroo siting! I have been to Australia many times, including a semester of college here a long time ago. I still remember my wonderment on that first trip as a college student. I was blown away to find that I could go 1/2 a world away and still find that people are generally the same, enjoy similar things and I assimilated easily into this place. I love the laid back nature, the friendly, funny accent and the fact that most people here seem to absolutely love the outdoors and thrive on physical activity. It seems no different this time. I just landed last night after 30 hours of door to door travel. I'm in the center of nowhere, Alice Springs. I unpacked my gear and dragged my tired butt out for a spin to loosen up the travel in my legs. I ended up exploring for 2 hours until sunset on the bike and it got me really excited about the race. This place reminds me of Utah and Arizona with sandy red rock everywhere and desert type riding. The race starts tomorrow and I'll be posting blogs as much as possible during the event on my website.

Other news to tell you about is the successful conclusion of the Mountain Town Movie Tour that I hosted this Spring. Specialized, Ergon, Hammer Nutrition, Adventure Medical Kits and Buff agreed to support this project and helped me bring the Race Across the Sky, Leadville Trail 100 movie to the Rocky Mountain West. I did five shows with this inspirational mountain bike film. I chose to hit Carbondale CO, Missoula MT, Sun Valley ID, Park City UT and Jackson WY. I chose these five places because they are all places I love to ride and I wanted to support their cycling community and bring the film to their towns. The whole tour was 100% a fundraising effort for the International Mountain Bike Association and the local affiliates in each of those towns. All the ticket and raffle sales went directly to help keep mountain biking open and accessible. With all of our efforts and much group collaboration, we were able to raise about $20,000! The tour was a ton of work, but a great experience for me to connect with other passionate riders and be able to hand checks over to those people who really make a difference. Thanks to all the sponsors and volunteers who made the tour possible!

I also have started a monthly give-a-way on my website called ASK REBA! All you have to do is ask me a question to enter yourself to win free gear! This month's initial give away will feature a Hydrapak Morro hydration pack!

Still want more, then come ride with me in Idaho. I also have another give away happening simultaneously for a trip to Sun Valley Idaho to ride with me!

Thanks for reading! Happy Spring!

This Saturday I was in Payson Arizona for the Whiskey 50 miler. I flew into Phoenix to meet up with my good friends and usual crew members Donna and Charles. I spent a day in Phoenix getting the new Stumpjumper 29er HT dialed in and ready to race. I changed out some tires to a beefier tread and sidewall after quizzing a few locals on the rocky, single track course. It is great to be out in the desert heat riding in shorts, slathering on sunscreen and coming out of hibernation from the Idaho winter. The race was held in Prescott, AZ and has a great reputation for drawing over 1000 people to the race and music festival. I met up with more friends from Idaho who race for a new team from my home town, Club Ride Apparel.

We all pre-rode the first four mile climb of the course on Friday just to get a taste of the opening climb and the local single track. I was immediately happy with my choice of bikes. I was riding up little rock ledges on the single track without even thinking about it. The field was shaping up to be a strong showing with my good friend and 24 Hr National champ teammate, Gretchen Reeves, Sarah Kaufman and Sonya Looney for the women's field. Tinker Juarez and a bunch of other hard men were lined up on the front of the line. The start climbed for 4 miles on road before diving into the single track. I got a decent start and entered into the single track right behind Gretchen. I was happy to be racing with her because she's a super strong rider and would be a good gauge for me to check my early season fitness. After coming off a really disappointing race at Sea Otter, I was anxious to see where I really stood in a longer race with more familiar faces. The fact that I was near Gretchen was a boost to my confidence and I spent the next many miles of fast, technical single track really having fun on my bike. The course consists of two really fun single track sections that are split in the middle by a really, really long fire road climb. At the start of the 15 mile climb and the meat of the race, I was told I was 1 or 2 minutes behind Gretchen. I put my head down and setting in for the long grind. I was feeling pretty good and knew this was the part of the race where I needed to push hard to try to catch Gretchen and extend my lead on 3rd and 4th. About 1/2 way up the climb I felt my rear tire skating around a bit. I looked down and it was definitely low. I stopped for a quick inspection and could not find a cut or thorn, so I topped it off with a C02, listened for any air leaks and did not hear any so I jumped back on and kept climbing. At the top of the climb, I was told I was now down about 5 minutes on Gretchen. I knew I had lost time riding a soft tire and stopping for repairs, but I still had a few more miles of climbing before diving into the last 30 minutes of single track. I pushed hard and was really excited to crest the hill and hit the single track. I was having fun on the bike again, but feeling the affects of the hill. The small rollers on the single track were bringing on some cramps, so I pounded my water and Endurolytes and focused on not scrubbing speed on the descent. I was following another racer and just at the moment I was fumbling around eating and drinking, we must have blown past a course marking and onto the wrong trail. We were descending super fast but I started to feel like there were not enough tire tracks on the dirt in front of me. I stopped as another racer came up behind me.

It felt wrong and it was. We all turned around and rode back up the hill. We got back on course but I had blown at least 10 or 15 minutes and I figured I was now in 4th place. To top it off, my rear tire was soft again, so I stopped and put some more air into it. I finished off the rest of the single track and the race and just rode to enjoy the trail and get a great workout for the day. I was a little deflated about the wrong turn and as I expected, I had dropped two places and ended up 4th in the women's field. I found out later that a few other people got lost on course, including Tinker Juarez, who was about to win the race. This was definitely another lesson to me in paying attention and not letting my guard down. I was focusing on descending and eating a the time where I took the wrong turn, but I still need to keep my eyes open.

The good news is that I still won a cool Whiskey 50 flask, although it was presented to us empty! What's up with that? I also got to gauge myself against Gretchen and get a great 50 mile race under my belt. I know that if I had not ridding a soft tire and gotten lost, I would have been much closer to her pace. That alone gives me confidence going into the next races and training blocks.

This morning, I went for a magical run in the desert along side lizards and rabbits. What a change from the cold Spring training in Idaho! The rest of today will be shopping therapy with my friend Donna, then back home to Idaho. It's always great to travel from home and meet up with friends in the desert. Something is soothing about just riding bikes and listening to music with good friends. Thanks for tuning in and be sure to watch where you're going!

I have received quite a few questions on my Twitter account, and wanted to answer them all individually. Hope this helps, and sorry for the long winded post!

#1: Body position on the bike is key for climbing and descending to maintain traction and stability. Basically, on a steep uphill your body must come forward over the handlebars and front wheel to keep it from popping up and to help maintain climbing grip. If it's technical, standing usually gives you the most control. If it's steep, but non technical, staying seated and crouching your upper body over the handlebars is more efficient and saves energy. One mistake I made early on is seeing a big hill and immediately going into my granny gear. On technical climbing, you need a slightly harder gear to give you the power to push over rocks and other obstacles. If you are in too easy of a gear, you won't be able to power over the tough stuff. Body position for descending is opposite. You need to have your weight back over the rear wheel to avoid stuffing the front wheel into obstacles and going over the bars. A light front wheel on descending helps the bike roll over stuff. Relax and try to let the bike do the work instead of wrestling it yourself. Ned Overend gave me some tips early on and I'm still working on my technical skills, The biggest factor in improving is practice. Find a short stretch of technical terrain and do it over and over again until you learn it. Upgrades for a lower end bike: Drive train and brakes (disc for sure!)

#2 Ha! Good question! Winning's great, but it's not always about that. You never know who is going to show up to a race. Instead focus on doing your best and ignore the competition. It's wasted energy in an endurance race to focus on someone else. I keep tabs on the other racers, but really try to stick to what I know works for me instead of chasing someone else around. You can gain the most time by being consistent in your riding and doing fast pit stops, or not stopping at all. If you have a good crew who can take care of nutrition for you, then you can roll through the pits and exchange food/drink on the go. Even if you have to stop, have your bottles pre mixed and all your food laid out for the whole race so that you don't have to waste time digging through bags and mixing bottles. I have done many races without crew members and I just had my own cooler staged with my stuff in it. Food/drink is very personal, so you have to practice eating on training rides and find things that go down easily, taste good and that you can eat while riding. In a super long race, much of your blood flow is going to your legs, so if you put something difficult to digest into your stomach, your body has to work harder to digest it and it takes energy away from your legs. Simple carbs, proteins and fats are the essential fuel. Minerals and electrolytes are also key. Hammer Nutrition website has some great articles on how much fluid, calories, electrolytes you need in an endurance event. As with the technical riding, you must practice your nutrition as well.

#3 Dressing for different conditions: layering, layering, layering. Over dressing is just as bad as under dressing. Too many clothes and you lose precious fluids in sweat, then the sweat cools and you freeze. Under dressing wastes precious energy shivering and trying to keep warm. I think wool is a great sock and underlayer because it's warm even when wet. I also always ride with a Buff because it's super small and can be used under a helmet really easily. Very thin shell gloves that can come on and off are crucial. I usually have a pair of surgical gloves and a shower cap in my saddle bag or Hydrapak for emergencies. These thin plastic items have been lifesavers many, many times. If your head/hands are warm, it's alot easier to keep moving on a bike. I even stopped by the side of the road in La Ruta one year at the top of a super cold climb and picked up a plastic garbage bag and put it on my head! It was clean and it was so warm! I recommend planning ahead so you don't have to put garbage on your head, but it worked. I also almost always carry a super thin Specialized windbreaker. It's super small and light, so I don't hesitate to put it in my pocket. The bottom line with all this stuff is to find items that are small, but affective so that you will not worry about bringing them with you. In my seatbag: EMT mini multi tool with chain tool, 2 tire irons, tire boot, derailleur hanger, SRAM quick link, Specialized tube, plastic shower cap and surgical gloves for emergency weather, co2 cartridges and co2 inflator head. This is for racing and shorter training rides. If I'm going into the back country for a multi hour ride or doing a stage race, then I use a Hydrapak and have another tube, a Specialized mini pump, Buff, shell gloves, windbreaker, wool undershirt, extra food, cell phone and a small Adventure Medical Kit. I consider this stuff essential and I don't mind the training weight. I use Hydrapak for racing and for long rides because in an endurance event, just reaching down to grab a bottle is too tiring. I will always drink more if I have a hydration tube right near my mouth. The Chute and the Flume are super minimal and light. I use either of these for long races. For more substantial rides, I like the Reyes. These packs are simple and light and the bladder can be turned inside out to clean. The valve on the hose is the best one I've used. If your drinking system is annoying, then you won't want to use is and will not hydrate well, so this was a big research project for me. Cornering/Descending skills. As I mentioned above, you must practice a section of trail over and over again to master the body position. Cornering is tricky because if it's high speed, low speed, good traction or bad traction, you will have to vary your technique to get through it. I have found that my 29er is incredible at making me feel really stable in high speed corners. The bigger wheel surface grips super well and inspires confidence. Tire selection is pretty key too. Sometimes a super light race tire might make you ride more slowly because you lack confidence in your traction. Experiment with tire selection, pressure and speeds on your home trails and go out and practice. That said, I've run up and down many technical sections of race courses and sometimes it's just faster for me to jump off my bike and get through the nasty stuff. There's nothing wrong with a little self

Today I sat down and sort of thought about how fun this last weekend was. After the packed showing of Race Across the Sky we looked forward to exploring the Teton Valley and doing some recreating. Saturday morning we pulled the van out front of the hotel, loaded up our skis and headed towards Teton Pass to do some backcountry skiing. What was a great idea was quickly shut down by a Mercedes running a red light. One wrecked minivan door and a exploded PBR later and we were second guessing our day ahead.

Maybe it was a sign that we shouldn’t go skiing. Plan B was a sweet road ride in Teton National Forest. The road is closed to vehicles during the heavy winter months, but due to the recent sun and mild weather the road was perfectly clear and open for some road riding. Having a paved two lane road to ourselves was nothing short of dreamy, not to mention the Teton’s looming over us. A great way to end a day that started out on the wrong foot.

I would like to once again thank everyone who helped put this movie tour on. From my sponsors, to the local shops, and to my friends in various places that helped coordinate this massive undertaking. It was a great experience and the local cycling communities definitely shared in the stoke for mountain biking!

After what was a long stint of driving in my faithful van from Ketchum to Carbondale, and then onwards to Park City, I jumped onto an airplane for a quick Red Bull jaunt to the Big Apple. The opening of the Red Bull Arena was quite an event, 25,000 people and a MLS soccer game to boot! All the North American Red Bull athletes were flown in and treated to a rock star weekend of parties, eating, and luxurious hotel accommodations. Upon arrival at my hotel, I was greeted to a magnificent view of the city and a custom soccer jersey with my name and the number 13 already printed on. 13 was my race number when I first won the World Championships!

We had a few athlete meetings and presentations, centered around the success of the team and it's really cool to be a part of such a successful program. There are only 83 North American athletes, so it is quite an honor. Meeting Lindsey Vonn was awesome! She is so down to earth, and considering her dominance in ski racing, it's nice to see someone who is a great person both on and off the slopes.

Trying to fit in some sort of training was difficult with the late night parties and events they had planned for us, but like usual the W Hotels had a pretty decent gym for us to use. Luckily nothing really happens early in the morning at Red Bull events so I could stay on track a bit.

One of my favorite things about this weekend, besides meeting all the athletes finally and watching a MLS game live, was riding around in the custom tour bus. Complete with flat screens and drinks this thing was the party wagon all weekend! There were always athlete movies playing, whiched help keep the whole vibe of the weekend going for sure.

I flew home on Sunday night, back to Salt Lake City where I left my van full of swag, and where I will continue to drive on the Race Across the Sky Tour. Jackson Hole is a sweet place, and I can't wait to see some old friends there and do some riding. Even a few days off the bike feels like years for me, and makes my legs feel sluggish. Thankfully, between the cases of Pabst and Red Bull I could cram my Ruby in for training miles. All the essential items are in that photo that I need to train, especially the iPod!

The Missoula screening of my Race Across The Sky Mountain Town Movie Tour was a huge success. Missoula has a strong cycling community that was very enthusiastic about supporting their IMBA Chapter, the Montana Mountain Bike Alliance. At least 300 people attended, and the event raised more than $4,000. Big Sky Bikes, Missoula’s Specialized dealer hosted the pre-party, packed with fans and friends. We noticed more than 100 bikes parked outside the party! Bernice’s Bakery, La Petit Outre, Worden’s Deli, PBR, RedBull and Bitterroot Salsa donated refreshments. Amazing raffle prizes and giveaways from Specialized, PBR, Adventure Medical Kits, Suunto, Salomon, Buff, Ergon, Smartwool, Hammer Nutrition and KT Tape got people excited for the season. While ticket sales totaled 150 before the show, that number doubled at the door. Bret George, the Missoula representative for IMBA and I spoke to the crowd before the start of the film to explain how ticket and raffle sales would benefit trails in their area. The audience seemed to love the evening, and offered laughter, cheers and emotion at different times during the show. And they loved sticking around afterward to win all the great raffle prizes and hang out with each other.

Off to Carbondale, CO and Park City, Utah next week!

Hello Friends-

I’ve been home nearly a month from my great training and racing camp in Argentina. I returned home to snow on the ground, but variable winter/spring weather in Idaho and all I wanted to do was ride my bike! One day I’m skiing in 25 degree temperatures, the next day riding on the road outside as the thermometer hits 50, then back inside on the trainer the next day as the snow falls again. It’s the time of year when I have to take advantage of any little break in the weather to get outside on the bike. Argentina was such a great early season trip for me and now I’m so ready to be cycling. I did head down to the Spa City Marathon in Arkansas so that my race fitness would not wear off. It was a 6 hour race and the #2 stop on the USA Cycling Ultra Endurance Series. It’s a great 10 mile single track loop that you repeat as many times as you can in 6 hours. I completed 6 laps and won the women’s division. It felt really great to be on the Era again breathing hard. There was also the double bonus of getting to see my Mom on this trip. She drove over from Illinois and took care of water bottles and nutrition for me. I guess you never grow out of needing your Mom around every once in a while. Thanks Mom!

March is Media Month for me! I was really honored and pleased to find that both Shape Magazine, Fitness Magazine and Biciclub (Argentina’s biggest cycling magazine) all have feature articles on me this month and some great gear mentions for my sponsors. Check them out on the news stand. If you can read Spanish, the Biciclub article is great! There is also a great article written by my teammate in Argentina on her Outside Online blog. She talks about racing with me and our experience in Argentina for the Tour de la Patagonia.

The Mountain Town Movie Tour is also in full swing! By the time you read this, I will have the Sun Valley and Missoula shows under my belt and will be on the road for Colorado, Park City and Jackson Hole. The first event in my hometown was a huge success with a nearly sold out show and a pre-party that was wall to wall people. All of the movie screenings are 100% fundraisers for the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) and their local chapters in each town that I am visiting. The Sun Valley show raised over $5000 for the Wood River Bicycle Coalition and will go towards keeping trails open where I live. It was a blast to share the Leadville Trail 100 experience with my friends through this film. I received a number of comments after the showing thanking me for the inspiration, for the community fundraising efforts and for showing them what it is I really do for a living! Everyone here sees me out training and riding my bike, but it’s nothing like seeing a real race unfold on the big screen. There are too many sponsors of the tour to list here, but THANKS to all of you who have supported the movie tour.

Finally, I want to share a few great pictures from Argentina with you. All photos in this newsletter are from Michael Darter. He did a great job of capturing the Argentina experience.

Take Care and Happy Trails

Tour de la Patagonia

Stage 1: 02/12/2010

Route: San Martin de los Andes to Hua Hum, along the shores of Lago Lacar

Distance: 49 km

Time: 2:31:51

Day 1

As with most South American races I’ve been to, the start resembles a dance party with pulsing music and a chaotic energy. The race was a mass start with 700 people, broken into two start groups: open men followed buy everyone else 15 minutes later. With that many riders, it was a good way to start the field to avoid unnecessary congestion. The controlled start rolled through the picturesque town of San Martin de los Andes, but within minutes turned uphill as the lead motorcycle peeled off. The hill was a wake up call, and all the mixed teams started pushing and towing just minutes into the race. Heidi’s anxiety was high and she started really, really fast. I had some initial pangs of insecurity about my winter season fitness, but we quickly found a rhythm on the first climb and settled into a good race pace. We entered the single track with the top mixed teams and got really excited about the technical terrain Our flow was disrupted when we quickly came across the back of the men’s field. Our clean, unrestricted lines near the front of the pack vanished and the rest of the stage was a video game of passing and dodging traffic. It made for some interesting riding and even more interesting communications. Heidi and I were skirting around people and moving through the field quickly. I have to admit, it does make you feel ultra fast to pass hundreds of people in a bike race. Neither of us speaks much Spanish, so we threw around Spanglish phrases and added lots of “gracias” for good measure. For the most part, all the guys were extremely nice about letting us pass and were somewhat astonished as two female riders ripped by. There are some great athletes in Argentina, but the ratio of male to female racers is still quite disproportionate. Much of my inspiration for racing in South America is to act as a role model and encourage the local female riders to develop their skills and get out on the trails.

For our first ride EVER together, Heidi and I fell into a smooth rhythm quickly. She hammered hard and we communicated about pacing, passing, and strategies to work the course. We worked the drafting, did a little pushing and got to the finish line sandwiched between the 1st and 2nd place mixed teams. At a time of 2:31, the stage was super short for us, but we were laughing and passing tons of people on the sweet singletrack sections that day. Stayed at a picturesque lakeside camp with 700 other racers and our friends from San Martin who are following the race. Their kids even made special flags with our names on them that they waved at the start. After the stage, the bike and body maintenance began. We washed our bikes and bodies in the frigid lake, got a great massage (a gift), the Specialized dealer, Adventure Store, had mechanics on hand to dial in the bikes so we could just relax, drink mate and refuel.

Stage 2

Route: Hua Hum, Argentina into Chile for a brief time and ending in Lago Verde in Argentina

Distance: Approximately 70 km broken into two stages

Time: 3:59:02

This stage was 12 hours of logistics and travel for four hours of racing. The pre-dawn start was a neutral 16 km rollout to the ferry launch for a 90 minute ride across Lago Pirehueico. The entire ferry was jammed with bikes and athletes trying to stay warm and snoozing before the start of the real racing. After disembarking, we lined up for another mass start, this time with the top 50% of the field. It was a high speed roadie start on sketchy gravel roads with about 350 people jockeying for position. We’d been up for 6 hours already and people were jonesing to get on their bikes and pedal fast. The group was moving along rapidly at about 40 km per hour and Heidi and I were just mainlining position and being super alert. Rocks were flying around and the traction was a bit like surfing around the corners. Add into the mix, occasional bridges with broken boards, tire sized slots, no guard rails and you have a recipe for disaster. About 15 minutes into the race, we’d already had numerous close calls when the crash happened. A couple of riders near Heidi got squirrely, touched tires and took out about 5 other racers, including Heidi. I was in front of here, but heard the mayhem and pulled to the side to see if she was involved. Hundreds of other racers and most of the field flew by and when the dust cleared, I could see Heidi’s red Specialized kit rolling towards me. She was upright, but not uninjured. We rode on and began working to pass people back and get onto a train for this mostly dirt road stage. Her elbow and knee were dripping blood, her team kit was torn and there was blood on her race number. She’s incredibly tough, so we just kept riding and worked through the field. We never regained our position with the top peleton, but we got through the first part of the stage in decent position. This is where the South American culture came in. The 70 km stage was broken into two separate race sections with a mandatory 90 minute break in the town of Liquine so racers could have the traditional giant mid-day meal. It was the strangest thing I’d ever seen and I’m not sure why we did not just keep riding, but it was part of the rules. People were splayed across a park area, buying plates of pasta, eating chips and socializing. I used the opportunity to clean Heidi’s wounds with my Adventure Medical Kit and take stock of our situation. She was bruised and her shorts and jersey pockets were full of gravel. Most of her injuries were not threatening, but the cut on her elbow was deep, wide and would require stitches. However, she could continue the stage. Some of the other riders in the crash were not so lucky. There were multiple injuries including a broken hand, ribs and shoulder dislocation. I cleaned her up as best as I could and put butterfly bandages on the wound to keep it from stretching wider. We wrapped it and then put her arm warmer over the injury to keep the bandages in place. The second stage for the day was about 40 km, mostly uphill. Heidi and I did really well with the multi hour climb and finished this stage just behind the top mixed team. Our camp spot was another beautiful lakeside setting on Lago Verde with volcanic rock and black sand beaches. Our group of friends all went to work on Heidi’s arm cleaning while we waited for the doctor who would be able to stitch her up to arrive. We had some really qualified mountain guides and outdoor professionals among our group and we did a decent job of getting it clean and prepped for her stitches. Heidi never once flinched as we scrubbed and pulled at her skin. She got three stitches from the doctor and the green light to race for the last stage.

Stage 3

Distance: 67 km

Time: 2:45:17

Stage 3 started in reverse order of placing in groups of 25 teams at 5 minute intervals. We were ranked 23rd in the overall, so we started with the last and fastest group. The start was a beach run through the black sand and out to the road. The small start group was a joy for about 10 minutes. That’s when we started catching the slower groups and for about 90 minutes, we again spent our time working through the field and eventually passing about 650 people of varying skill levels. It was a fairly wide dirt road, but packed side-to-side with racers and also sprinkled with those sketchy broken bridges just to keep you on your toes. We spent most of this stage again practicing our Spanglish words for passing. Heidi took a few risks and threaded the needle a couple of times. The dust from being behind so many racers was gathering in our lungs and on our faces. You can see from the photos how much Argentine dust we were really eating. After most of the passing was done, we fell into a good peleton of about 4 teams for a long road section. It was difficult to try to get the group to work together and swap leads. In fact, it was impossible, so Heidi and I just sat on the back of the train for about 30 minutes to eat and recover. One all the uphill rollers, each team would split from the group and begin towing and pushing their teammate. Heidi and I were doing the same. We had a great rhythm down and I was more than happy to do the towing. She thanked me about a billion times for helping her out. I finally had to cut her off and tell her that I am the one who should be thanking her. I came to Argentina for some hard training and these uphill pulls and sitting with my face in the wind is exactly what I wanted to be doing. Those efforts will absolutely pay off in the height of the season in July and August. Once the road turned downhill, Heidi and I cranked into the big gears and dropped our little peleton. We rode the rest of the stage alone and finished with about 5 km of fun single track as icing on the cake. I let Heidi lead for this last part because she rips on descents and because she had been breathing my dust all day. I have a great mental image just before the finish of her riding in her bright red Specialized jersey through a giant field of purple wildflowers. I took a mental picture and was sad to see the race come to a close. We had a great time riding together and an even better time connecting with the cycling community down there. I will miss hearing “vamos Chicas, vamos!!!” when I’m riding.

I was super inspired by the level of riders down there and also the strength of the women’s and mixed fields. We made some great friends and I’m already making plans to go back down there to help organize Argentina’s first 24-hour mountain bike race! Stay tuned for details.

Overall Result

Time: 9:16:10

Placing: 1st Open Women, 23rd Overall

I finally returned from a month long training and racing camp in the lakes district of Patagonian Argentina and Chile. This is my first winter cycling excursion in this part of the world and it has been a fantastic way to get in some early season riding and connect with the ultra friendly and cycling fanatic community down here. I have honestly never felt so welcome in a foreign place and have never experienced such varied riding in such a condensed area. The scenery is a mix of Lake Tahoe and Yosemite Valley all wrapped into one. I was also semi-adopted by a wonderful Argentina family who loves to ride, ski and be outside every day. It's quite a paradise. It was also great to take a trip down memory lane since I was in this area for the 1999 Eco Challenge and the 2004 Raid Gauloises. Both were amazing experiences climbing volcanos, paddling and trekking. Now, being here for mountain biking is like coming back to a familiar place, but seeing it all in a new way.

I completed the Trans Andes Challenge with a Kiwi racer, Jenny Smith. It was 6 days of long and very adventurous riding. We won the women's division and finished well in the overall rankings. If you want to read our daily race reports and see more pictures from our race, click here: http://www.cyclingnews.com/blogs/trans-andes-challenge-rebecca-rusch-and-jennifer-smith

Next up was the Tour de la Patagonia (http://www.tourdelapatagonia.com/EN/programa_EN.html), a three day stage race in the San Martin de los Andes area. I raced with Heidi Volpe, a fellow racer and journalist. She was there with her husband and professional photographer, Michael Darter. I had 10 days to recover from Trans Andes and tour around the local mountain bike trails with some great new friends. I was treated like family here and am already planning ways that I can get back here next winter. It has been the perfect training camp, but also a great vacation. You can check out results from the tour here: http://singletrack.competitor.com/

Immediately following the Tour, I headed back home to Idaho and dove straight into the first showing of my Mountain Town Movie Tour with the Leadville Trail 100 film. It's the first mountain bike film I've ever been in and also the first film tour I have ever organized. I'll be hitting five Rocky Mountain towns and hosting a party, film and raffle in each town. The best part is that the whole tour is a fundraiser for International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA), so I'll be helping support trail advocacy in the areas where I bring the film.

For a movie trailer on these events, click here: http://iamspecialized.com/xc-mtb/video/rebecca-rusch-race-across-the-sky-screening-tour

If you want to donate product or support the Mountain Town Movie Tour in any way, please let me know.

Thanks!

Rebecca

South America Winter Training Camp

Three weeks down, one to go!

I am in my final days of a month long training and racing camp in the lakes district of Patagonian Argentina and Chile. This is my first winter cycling excursion in this part of the world and it has been a fantastic way to get in some early season riding and connect with the ultra friendly and cycling fanatic community down here. I have honestly never felt so welcome in a foreign place and have never experienced such varied riding in such a condensed area. There are bike parks, jumps, sweeping single track and long adventure rides all around here. The scenery is a mix of Lake Tahoe and Yosemite Valley all wrapped into one. I have also been semi-adopted by a wonderful Argentina family who loves to ride, ski and be outside every day. It’s quite a paradise.

However, a month is a long time to be away from home and I am missing Idaho a wee bit. I’ll be home in the snow by next week, but first I have one more race to top off the training. I already did the Trans Andes and won the women’s division for that six day race. Next, I am racing a three day stage race called Tour de la Patagonia . By the time I leave here, I will have crossed the Argentina/Chile border 7 times! They are starting to question me at the border crossings about my wanderings.

I’m competing in The Tour as Los Chicas de Specialized (team #318) with Heidi Volpe from the US. Heidi and I have never raced together and she is not a pro athlete. But she’s fast and experienced and we are doing this event together as a media and training event. We’re both writing a few stories on our adventure and also hoping to keep spreading the enthusiasm for female cyclists in this part of the world. Heidi’s husband and well-known photographer, Michael Darter, is also with us on the trip so we’re getting some great photos and videos to add to the experience. It’s a long way to travel down here, but we all agree that it’s worth the effort.

There are rumored to be nearly 500 two person teams signed up for this race. It’s only the second year for this event, but it’s already one of the best attended and most prestigious mountain bike races in the country. The format of the race consists of three cross country length stages, interspersed with glorious lakeside camping sites, a ferry ride and two border crossings. The majority of the competitors compete for the travel and camping experience, but there is also a top echelon of serious athletes who will be racing for stage wins and the overall title. We are told that we will also be racing against a Giant women’s team and a Trek women’s team, so it will be the battle of the big bike companies!

The stages are relatively short for Heidi and me and I cannot envision 1000 people in a mass start trying to dive into a single track trail. However, we’ll just take it as it comes. We’ve discussed race strategy, dialed in our S-Works Eras and packed all of our camping gear for three days. No matter how prepared we attempt to be, there are still quite a few unanswered questions about the course, the terrain, the logistics, our competition and how the whole experience will unfold. Part of the excitement of these foreign stage races is the unknown adventure that lies ahead. Of course, we are both competitive and want to ride our best, but there is just no way to be 100% prepared in a situation like this. I think flexibility, a sense of humor, and a few phrases in Spanish will all come in handy.

Stay tuned for our day by day account of the Tour de la Patagonia! We will share our experiences and images from each day, but since we are camping in remote areas during the race, you might not get to read all of the results and stories until we finish on Sunday, so be patient! This IS South America after all. Tranquillo! (translation: take it easy, chill out!?

The adventure of the Trans Andes stage race has come to a close. Jenny has left to head back to Colorado and I have been chilling in a cozy cabin in San Martin de los Andes with the Specialized dealer and his friends. The damp stench is finally washed out of my clothes and sleeping bag and the Era is all tuned up and shiny again. I’m relishing in long, hot showers and casual mornings where I can eat my food at a relaxed pace. The 6 days in the Patagonian wilderness were a fantastic experience and the riding was the best I’ve done in a multi-day stage race. The organization really did serve up some of the best trails they have to offer. In contrast to the thousands of racers in the Cape Epic, the small, multi-national field in this race made for a homey feeling around camp and the ability to get to know some very interesting people from around the world. We all bonded in our suffering and compared stories each night at camp.

Jenny and I got through the week with a pretty clean slate. Jenny had a flat on day one and a mechanical problem with her hub on day 5, but nothing that was race ending. We both went through a set of brake pads each and did the changes and maintenance on our own. Well, we did have a little help from Mike Broderick, our camp neighbor! We each had one rough day physically, but this was also nothing that was race ending. For early season miles, we were both really happy with how our legs performed and how quickly we slipped into pedaling again.

I was really happy that Jenny and I ended up being compatible race partners and camping companions. I can relate to her Kiwi sense of humor and we both have the racing maturity to get through multiple day events. It takes a lot of planning, patience, teamwork and self-preservation to come out the other end of one of these events unscathed. I am a little scathed from a high speed gravel crash on day 6, but otherwise all that remains from the race are some great memories and hopefully some killer fitness.

We both went into this race with the intention of some awesome early season training and a bit of adventure. We got both. Although some of the route information seemed inaccurate, courses changed during the event and my odometer died on day 5, we rode somewhere around 500km this week and an estimated 30,000 ft of climbing in approximately 25 hours of racing. Not bad for 6 days of training in January! I have no idea how we finished in the overall rankings. The race results that are posted do not add up, so it’s difficult to tell. I can tell you that only 18 teams finished day 5, including us, so technically less than ½ the field completed the whole course. It was not an easy task and I feel really good about our achievement. The Virgo in me would really love to see accurate race results and exact mileages and be able to compare our performance against the other athletes, but I’m practicing my patience and just chalking it up to a great travel and training experience.

I would recommend this race, but would caution anyone interested to come with the intention of being self sufficient with bike maintenance, camping comforts, route finding and bring plenty of travel and race experience. This is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world and getting to see it on your bike is the best way to travel.

Just got up from 10 hours of sleeping in a bed! I arrived yesterday at 7am and was pretty much going all day building my bike, getting checked in, going to the 10x offices (the Specialized distributor who is hosting me). I also did a great training ride (and FIRST time on the bike this year) of 45 km through the city with Carlos, an ex-racer and employee for 10x. We rode out to one of the new Specialized dealers for a poster signing and group ride. Luckily Carlos knew his was through the city and is an expert weaving in and out of traffic and finding all the good roads to ride on. Today is a bit more training to wake up the legs from the winter, another shop visit and group ride in Buenos Aires and then packing up for the flight down to Bariloche to get ready for the race.

The Trans Andes is first, a 6 day stage race with an insane amount of climbing. I am racing with Jenny Smith (Xterra specialist and mtb racer). She rides for another large bike company that shall remain nameless, so we have chosen the neutral team name of Las Diosas (the goddesses). I am not one to regularly call myself a goddess, but this is what all the locals were calling my mostly female Eco Challenge team in 1999 when we raced to a historic 4th place finish amongst mostly male teams. This is the first time I will be returning to the Lakes district of Patagonia since that Eco Challenge. It is one of my all time favorite places in the world, so I wanted to honor the name I was given so many years ago by the locals. Also, Jenny and I agree that no matter what bike we’re riding, our collective goal is to encourage and inspire women in all parts of the world to ride, race and explore on a bicycle! So that’s how Las Diosas came about!

The 2nd race is a local marathon near the town of San Martin de los Andes. Just a four hour tune up during the 10 day break between the stage races. During this time I am being hosted by the Argentina Specialized Distributor. I will be sharing a house with the National team coach and some of his riders.

The second stage race is Tour de la Patagonia (3 days) and I am racing with the super fit journalist, Heidi Volpe. I met Heidi at 24 Hours of Moab and she writes for Outside Online as well as other various publications. She’s bringing her a cycling photographer with her, Michael Darter, so we should come away from that race with good pictures and stories in addition to the great training experience. You can check the sites for race updates, but Jenny, Heidi and I will also be submitting race reports to CyclingNews.com and Singletrack.com among others.

The last six days have been incredibly busy. I have been backcountry skiing, packing for South America, and even made a day trip to Chicago from Idaho, and don’t forget the layover in LA too! I am finally on the road for Argentina and sat down in the airport to catch up. We spent three days in a cabin with a great group of friends skiing and relaxing. Outside of Stanley, ID is Copper Mountain which had a great safe snowpack, and some incredible skiing. Even though it wasn’t cycling, hiking up mountains all day is still great exercise, and a good way to get my mind off of racing for a bit. I’ll post all my photos to Flickr, and keep this post simple.

When we returned back from skiing, it was time to load up the bag once again for a whirlwind day of travel. I left at the crack of dawn for a day of power meetings at SRAM with the higher ups of the company. It was great to put some names to faces and discuss our future together. They have been incredibly helplful over the years and am excited to continue down the road with them.

When I returned at a lovely 1am the same day, due to inclement weather. I love that term…which usually means, “Ms. Rusch, we apologize, but we are going to have to bus you home instead of fly.” I ran to bed and crammed as much sleep as I could into five hours. It was time to head off to Argentina.

So here I sit, bags are checked, bikes are shipped, and I am off to South America for what is sure to be an epic adventure. Stay tuned for pictures and results of the racing as the scenery down there is going to be insane!

I’m heading out this morning for 3 days of backcountry skiing in Stanley. The snow’s still grim down here, so we’re heading North for Greg’s B-day weekend with a small posse of friends, including my coach, Matthew. We’re staying at the Sawtooth Hotel, which is a newly restored historic hotel, with gourmet cooks running it and cooking for us. It’s the last getaway weekend before I leave for Argentina for a month of racing and training and the start of the season. It’ll still be great training walking up mountains all day for three days and way more interesting than sitting on the trainer in front of the TV.

I take a red eye flight Sunday night as soon as we’re back and head to SRAM World HQ in Chicago for power meetings with a couple of the marketing guys there. It’s my first time to their offices and I’m only in the city for 10 hours before heading back home to pack. Kind of a crazy schedule, but it was the only time to meet with them before heading to South America. So, this weekend is the last bit of relaxation for a long time! I’ll be back in touch Monday with some photos as well. Enjoy your weekend!

Mountain Town Movie tour.

Official show dates:

Sun Valley ID, Thursday February 25

Missoula MT, Thursday March 11

Carbondale CO, Tuesday March 16

Park City UT, Thursday March 18

Jackson Hole WY, Thursday March 25

I am a busy lady right now! Planning a trip with two races to South America is nothing I am new to, but for some reason it never gets any easier. This time I will be racing in two separate stage races in Argentina, which if you get the chance to visit, take it. The intensity of the weather and the rugged landscape are a photographers dream, and I am stoked to get to race down here again.

Last time I was in this area of the world was for the 1999 Eco Challenge when I raced with the first 3 woman 1 man team to ever place in the top 10 for an adventure race. We were 4th overall among a bunch of mostly male teams. I was really green as an adventure racer at that time and put this team together myself with the best adventure racers in the US. It was the beginning of my AR career. I remember the Argentina locals cheering for us at the finish and calling us "las diosas" (the goddesses!)  This part of the world is still one of my favorite places I have ever been. It's great to be returning for such a long trip, on a bike this time, but still representing female athletes and racing with other strong women.

I will be competing in the TransAndes Challenge which is a five day stage race from Chile to Argentina on some of the most beautiful singletrack in the world. Jenny Smith, an endurance athlete from the USA, who is also an Xterra athlete will be pushing the pace for us. Racing with her will make a great training race for both of us. The race starts in the town of Pucon, which is one the larger dormant volcanoes in the area.

The Tour of Patagonia is the second race on the agenda, and is a three day race back to Chile. I will racing with a journalist, who by all means is not slow! Heidi Volpe is a freelance journalist and mtb athlete from the USA, that will be writing a story for both Outside Online, and hopefully for other publications as well.

Although I leave next Wednesday for South America, I have quite the full schedule for this week. Between training and packing, as well as organizing the movie tour, I am going to a two day backcountry skiing retreat for Greg's birthday. A cabin in the Sawtooths and doing some hiking will be a great way to have a nice active weekend. Then on Monday I do a 12 hour whirlwind business day in Chicago to visit SRAM. I always like getting back to Illinois since I grew up in that area.

I'll keep you posted on the events leading into the race

After seeing the success and enthusiasm for the limited showings of Race Across the Sky I have decided to put together a second tour that brings the movie to small mountain towns, where a lot of the core cycling community lives. Between sponsors and the PR firms I have helping me, I am extremely thankful for getting this show on the road! Yesterday, my best friend and production manager for the movie tour officially confirmed theaters in Sun Valley, Park City and Jackson Hole as stops on the Race Across the Sky movie tour! I just have a couple more towns to confirm and the tour route will be complete. Specialized has come on board as the presenting sponsor for the tour. Ergon , Red Bull and Adventure Medical Kits are also helping make this happen! Official times, locations and dates will be coming really soon.

I also came to the scary realization that in 2.5 weeks I will be starting a 5-day mountain bike stage race in Argentina, called the Trans Andes Challenge . I’m not proud to say it, but I have not touched a bike in about a month. I have been skiing, doing some off-season gym work and sort of staying active, but definitely not training. This race is absolutely a training race, but the thought of that much riding this early in the season is a little daunting. I vowed today that I will not watch any TV for the next two weeks, unless I’m on the trainer. Luckily, my teammate for this race, Jenny Smith, also lives in a really cold and snowy environment so we’ll both be jumping on the bikes for the first ride of the year as we line up at the start!

I’m going to watch TV and spin right now! Probably a bit of Grey’s Anatomy. I sort of feel like I’m studying my EMT stuff when I watch that show. At least I understand most of the medical terms they use! Check out the video trailer below, and I hope to see you at the showings

As I sit here moving into the hectic holiday season, I figured I would take a short break and bake some cookies, write a blog, and relax for a few. My Christmas present to myself is currently in transit from Portland, a little Audi A4 for me! I needed a car to drive on road trips, as the Bronco doesn’t really do the whole freeway thing to well. I must say I am eagerly awaiting the heated seats for the winter.

This weekend marked my first 24 hour shift at the fire department. I spent the morning washing ambulances and engines and mopping the floor at the fire house, not too glamorous but fun nonetheless. I drove engine 1 around for practice driving and fuel. Greg and I gave each other an IV for practice, which was pretty funny. It was a super slow day with only one call for an ice skater who hit his head on the ice, not exactly the dangerous day I was expecting.

After the success we had with the showings of Race Across the Sky in Boise, I am coordinating a film tour for five mountain towns. The movie had a pretty limited release across the country, and most shows sold out. Most mountain communities would love to see this film and I strongly suggest you try to make it to an event. Here is the proposed list of towns: Aspen, Telluride, Bozeman, Sun Valley, and Jackson Hole. I’ve teamed up with IMBA to make each showing a fundraiser for their local chapters. They are stoked and will promote the tour for me through their avenues. I’m trying to pull this 6 stop tour together for late Feb/ early March. I’m going to do PR and media in each town and also host a party with the local retailers. Raffles and ticket sales will raise funds for IMBA so we can keep riding new buffed trails around the country! Stay posted for more info.

Later

Reba

It's been a great week here in Washington D.C. with the family. We did the early Christmas mumbo jumbo, and some birthdays as well. We also did the museums, ice skating, shows, and the typical tourist stuff. Being a tourist is great sometimes, and I needed a little break from training and the racing world! I am however ready to get some exercise when I get home.

I stopped by Conte's in Arlington, VA again the other night to do some training talks, and am constantly surprised by the cycling community here in Virginia. They are super motivated, and don't let the crappy winter weather get them down at all! Whenever I am in this part of the country, I will for sure stop into Conte's when I get a chance.

I'm ready to get home today and get the skis out for good. I've had down time since Ecuador and am now ready to get off my butt and back into some activity again. Matthew, my coach, is already asking me what the key races are for 2010 and getting the training program going again. It's still officially off season, but the groundwork for 2010 races starts to be built right now, so i can't sit on my butt for too long.

I'm still trying to piece together a logical race season for 2010 and I'm finding there are too many good endurance races to choose from. I'm shopping the globe for the best ones and there basically is not enough time to do all the races I want to do. The biggest challenge will be putting together a realistic schedule that won't kill me! On paper it all looks amazing, but I have to juggle travel, speaking engagements, training, and of course being ready to race. I am scheduled to be in Argentina for a month from January 20th-February 20th for two stage races and a bunch of training, which will be awesome. I am also eyeing the TransRockies race in British Columbia for the upcoming season. Either way it is going to be a great season again, and I can't wait to get home and make some turns on the mountain.

Cheers

Reba

I am currently in Washington D.C. for a little early Christmas celebration with the family. Flying here was a bit like the movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. The stereotypical holiday travel image was firmly in place, plane de-icing delays, holiday mayhem, and general chaos across the country. I have to admit though, that my favorite part of traveling is people watching. All the jet lag and discomfort is easily outweighed by the things you see while on the road.

R

ight before I left for D.C. we did a fire department workout that was similar to CrossFit. Although I have done these tire flipping and explosive workouts before, I had never done them with my pullups on. Keith Potter is a KFD member and personal trainer and he’s been designing workouts that are sort of like CrossFit, but that mimic the weights and work we have to do on the fire ground. He has 5 different workouts. The one we did was “overhaul”. It’s only 20 minutes long, but I’m definitely sore! We did the workout in full turnout gear. Got some funny looks from other gym members, but it was really fun! I will check in soon from the road.

Cheers

Reba

I am finally feeling a bit settled in at home after a long trip home from Ecuador and then a long EMT test. For those of you who don't know, I am a part-time firefighter for the City of Ketchum as well. It teaches me all sorts of fun things, like river rescues and emergency extraction techniques, I love it! Anyways, now that the temperatures have plummeted I thought I would compile a cool list of media resources for you to read. The Boise area is one of my favorite winter training getaways and has a huge cycling community. Here are a few links to some good sites that have shown me some love. In the meantime, bundle up next to the fire and read a good book. It's holiday season now, we can all be a little lazy.

KTVB Idaho News

Idaho Statesman Story

Boise Weekly

I am going to get my XC skis ready now that winter is fully on it's way!

Cheers

Reba

Whew! Back on the internet for the first time since the race. The race went great and we won the mixed team division by about an hour. I’m not sure of exact times, but we had about 25 minutes lead each day I think on the next mixed team. We were somewhere between 10th and 15th in the overall classification. Again, i haven’t seen exact results, but we finished pretty high up overall. The high altitude is a kicker and you just can’t race as hard as you want to and the heart rate just does not respond normally. However, Greg did not get altitude sick this year so we were both riding strong and didn’t have to do any pulling or pushing. We also did not get lost this year and had no flats. So overall, a really clean race and great views, great experience. I’ve attached a few pics from the race. I’ll send more later. Cotopaxi volcano is a very magical place.

Right now we are in Cuenca (3rd biggest city in Ecuador), visiting Cikla, the Specialized dealer in this area. We are doing a slideshow at the shop tonight and a riding clinic in the morning. We just got back from a GREAT 2.5 hour ride with a personal escort from Galo Tamayo, the best rider in Ecuador. He’s the shop owner and knows all the private stashes of single track around this area. We’re on our way now to the local thermal baths to soak and relax before getting the slideshow ready for tonight.

Here are some pictures to browse from the race, and I’ll get a more detailed race report up asap. Enjoy your day!

Reba

We are racing today, but I thought I would fill you in on what I have been doing down here leading up to now. This place is awesome by the way, and if you can travel to Ecuador do it! Basic race facts for Vuelta al Cotopaxi : 2 day stage race that circumnavigates Cotopaxi Volcano. It is the most popular and best known mountain bike race in Ecuador that sells out in less than one hour. Teams of two with a maximum of 200 teams allowed in the race. (mixed/coed, male and female race divisions). Each day is about 65 km of double track and single track racing. All the racers camp together after the first stage and re-start again on day two. The entire race takes place between 3000 meters (9800 ft) and 4300 meters (14,100 ft). Last year, Greg and I placed 3rd in the mixed category. We had a rough race that included getting off course on the first day with many other teams and losing time. We were also hit hard by the altitude and Greg got pretty sick from it. Despite all of that, we still won the stage on day 2 and finished on the podium. This year, there are some really good mixed teams including the fastest guy and girl in the whole country! It will be competitive for sure, but now we know the race and have prepared a little better for the altitude.

Cikla bike shop hosted a women’s riding clinic that I taught at the Parque Metropolitano. Local athletes Amanda Purtschert and Diana Marrgraff were there to help with the clinic. Amanda is a well known endurance mountain bike racer and Diana is a world cup downhill specialist. They were able to be the tour guides, translators and also help with spotting and technical skills. The clinic started at 6:30 AM, so I was sure no one was going to show up that early. I was wrong and we had about 15 women of all different levels and even a TV camera crew and reporter showed up. After the riding there was an extension of the women’s clinic at Cikla where I showed some pictures and also spoke about equipment, bike maintenance, training and nutrition. There are a ton of cyclists here in Ecuador and the women’s group is growing. It’s great to be helping get more women out on bikes. I will also be doing another women’s riding clinic in the town of Cuenca after the race.

Greg and I took the tram up Pinchincha volcano yesterday to about 4000 meters and hiked around in the clouds. The tram normally gives you great views of Quito, but we were essentially hiking in the clouds. I could definitely feel more difficulty breathing, but it was a great hike. Hopefully getting up high will accelerate the acclimatization process. The race is still going to hurt, but we are trying to do what we can to be a little better prepared for the elevation than last year.

I will be posting some more photos to myFlickr account from the trip. So feel free to cruise around over there and check them out.

Grabbing some internet here at the hotel in Quito after what seemed like a weeklong flight. I highly recommend not flying with bikes, but sometimes duty calls. Greg and I took both the S-Works 29er and my S-Works Era down to the race, but we are also doing some riding clinics at various Specialized dealers. Cuenca is one of the main riding destinations in Ecuador and that is where we will be doing both riding clinics. Then it is off to the Vuelta al Cotopaxi, the largest MTB race in Ecuador. It is a two day stage race, with each day averaging 70km. The hardest part is dealing with the altitude since the course is between 10,000 and 14,000 feet. Needless to say, your power output is a little lower here. At least when I get home I will feel like a champion at 6,000 feet!

I am excited to see some old friends from last year, Daniel from Cikla Bike Shop gave us the best riding tour ever, and we met one of the closest knit cycling communities I have ever seen. I will keep you posted throughout my trip along with some pictures, Ecuador has some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.

Cheers

Reba

Hello Everyone,

Monday means time to catch up, and it’s a little hard to stay inside on the computer when it is beautiful outside. The new gondola here in Sun Valley is spinning, meaning people are in garages waxing skis and already telling tall tales! Last weekend as most of you know, there was an encore showing of Race Across the Sky in Boise. I wanted to share some photos from last weeks fun.

I threw the party at G Fit Studio where my mechanic Jason holds court along with exercise physiologist, Corey Hart. Fearing no one would show up for the party, I did a media blitz in Boise with an appearance on theChannel 7 evening news . I also did a radio spot with the most listened to morning show in Boise, 94.9 The River. That was topped off with a great story in the Idaho Statesman newspaper. I also cruised around to local bike shops and coffee shops and putting up flyers and chatting with local cyclists. The response has been great from these little, more personal shop visits and the fans are loving it!

The plan worked and over 100 people jammed into G Fit Studio to eat, drink and get prepped for the Race Across the Sky movie showing. We spent a couple hours mingling over food, Red Bull , Pabst Blue Ribbon and Prosecco. I hosted a free raffle with three tables full of great products from SRAM, KT Tape, Suunto, Light and Motion, Hammer Nutrition, Hydrapak, Skins compression tights, Smartwool, Smith Optics and Buff. Free food, free drink and free gear! Everyone seemed very happy!

After the party, the crowd moved over to the movie theater. This was the 2nd showing of Race Across the Sky in Boise. The first showing sold out and this one was no different. I was glad that I had purchased 10 tickets online for myself and a few others. It was actually oversold and a few of us ended up sitting on the floor to watch the film. The Boise cycling community is super active and it was great to here them cheer when I came onto the screen. It was a great night and the film gets me fired up for the 2010 bike racing season! Thanks to everyone who helped with the Boise movie event, especially Jason Bauer at G Fit, Shea Andersen and Outside Media.

You are all awesome! – Reba

Boot camp is going well. Last week was multiple days of long threshold intervals. The last one of those was yesterday and consisted of 8 minute hill repeats, five times on Trail Creek Road. It was brutal but better than the intervals a couple days before. I already feel like my form is coming back a little and my body is being reminded of what it is supposed to do. I did enjoy the casual schedule for the last month, but now it does feel good to get back into some work and feel my legs and lungs responding appropriately. This week will consist of intervals again every other day, but way shorter and way harder. After this week, it tapers down until Cotopaxi. This has been a super compressed training peak, but I'm sure I still have residual fitness from the whole year of racing. I also trust my coach, Matthew. He has never steered me wrong and he's way smarter than I am. The weather has cooperated really well for the training schedule too. It has been cold, but clear. It's the time of year where each day, I look outside and hope that I won't have to do a workout in the rain or snow. So far, so good! I've also been able to rally a few training partners to join me on some of the workouts, so it keeps me honest. Yesterday, the Ipod was the motivating training partner. A friend of mine plays in a disco band called Sparkle Motion. He made me a disco playlist and I must say, I was ripping up those hill repeats to Shake Your Booty, Disco Inferno, It's Raining Men, etc. You KNOW you remember those lyrics!

This week is also full of planning for the encore showing of Race Across the Sky, the Leadville 100 film. This time around, I'm heading to Boise to introduce the film and host a pre-party before the show. Click here: http://georgescycles.com/ for info on the Boise showing and pre party at G Fit Studio.

If you don't live in Idaho, but still want to see the film, click here: http://www.ncm.com/Fathom/Sports/RaceAcrossTheSkyENC.aspx Put in your zip code to see if the movie is playing near you. It's one night only, so don't miss it

Greg and I playing on the new pump track a block from our house. It's so much fun and now makes me realize, I need another bike!!! A friend of ours won this Specialized P3 in a raffle and he's been kind enough to "store" it at our house. We're just making sure it gets a good workout. The track is awesome. I just usually have to wait for all the kids to go home for dinner before I drop in, so I don't embarrass myself.

Cheers

Reba

i wanted to write a short blog and thank everyone who helped make my trip to New York City such a success. I would never have thought that such a short trip could have afforded me such exposure in mainstream media. The crew at Outside Media set up a wonderful trip and made appointments all over for me. Now that I am in planning mode personally for next season, I don’t know how they do it full time, it’s amazing.

During my trip I met with Laura from Travel & Leisure, and she wrote a blog about me and my favorite places to ride . Well lo and behold, it was picked up by the New York Times! You can check it out and share it with your friends, it’s a great feeling to be recognized by a media outlet that usually focuses on baseball and football. Already I have been receiving some queries from Women’s Health looking for bike tips, and Shape Magazine also confirmed an article for March. The trip is paying off.

Thanks again to everyone who made this trip possible, and thanks to all my fans on all my social media sites. That is a new avenue I started this year, and the interaction is really fun for me. I look forward to more to come, and now I have to pack for South America!

Cheers

Reba

Monday’s are great for catching up. Generally early to bed on Sunday night, up early with coffee, and then start crossing off the list of tasks for the day. So it is time for the weekend recap, and it was one of the better weekends I have had in awhile.

Saturday was fire department and backcountry rescue team training with the Blackhawk helicopter crew from Boise. Their pilots and crew came to train us on helicopter landing operations and usage of their hoist line. They work with us as a resource for backcountry rescue and can potentially assist in dropping rescuers to a difficult scene or even pulling someone out of an inaccessible place with their lift line. It was a rare and unique opportunity and fascinating to see this huge machine. As a bonus, we all got short rides in the Blackhawk and I can tell you, it’s nothing like the tin can helicopters I’ve been in. It was an amazing piece of equipment! I loaded all the pictures from the weekend onto myFlickr Account for everyone to see as well.

Sunday on the other hand was a different day completely. Nothing better to shake NYC out of my system than a hard core suffer fest 2 blocks from my house. Crosstober Fest and the Idaho Cross State Championships were in Ketchum on Sunday. Complete with cowbells, giant beer mugs, a little mud, ice and sand and some anaerobic breathing. It was a rude awakening because I’ve done essentially nothing physical to speak of since 24 hours of Moab two weeks ago.

Completely unprepared I began to dig out my Specialized Tricross the morning of the race, only to find it needed lots of love and i could not have it ready in time for the race. So I took my 29er hardtail over to the course a couple of blocks away to see if I could race that. Turns out, I flatted that bike just minutes before the start and a friend from Boise who was not racing did some quick pedal changing and gave me her bike to race. I had essentially 30 seconds to get used to her bike as I rolled over to the start. It turned out the bike worked great and was a decent fit. Not my usual machine, but I got used to it fairly quickly. I was a little conservative on the technical parts because it was not my bike and I was also really tired from a week of walking on pavement in Manhattan. Unfortunately (or fortunately) there was not a great women’s turnout for the race. I ended up racing with one of my usual training partners, Susan Robinson. guess her training with me has paid off because she was on my tail and I couldn’t shake her for 3/4 of the race. I was finally able to open a bigger gap and could focus on clean lines and staying upright. I race cyclocross for my bike handling skills, for fitness training and to support local events. This one was a blast and a really good start to the 3 week mini boot camp that my coach has designed for me in preparation for the Vuelta al Cotopaxi in Ecuador.

Cheers

Reba

New York City, the Big Apple, whatever you want to call it, is where I am spending my week. My good friends at Outside Media have set me up with meetings all over town with publishers from major cycling and fitness magazines, as well as some clinics and group rides at local shops. Also, if you want to see “Race Across the Sky” the new Leadville 100 movie, you better start searching Craigslist for tickets, as most are sold out. It’s going to be a great week, and I am looking forward to meeting tons of new people and making some great contacts. I am working solely from my Blackberry so I will do my best to keep everyone posted.

Here is a flyer for the Toga Bikes gig.

Cheers

Reba

Last weekend I raced the 24 Hours of Moab which was also the USA Cycling 24 Hour National Championship for 2009. After a long, hard, successful season, I elected not to race Moab as a solo. The course is physically very brutal, my season has been going strong since February and I have accomplished more than I set out to do this season. So, I let myself relax a little on this one and teamed up with Colorado mtb pro and good friend, Gretchen Reeves as a women’s duo team. Gretchen has a long, impressive resume in cycling and is a blast to hang out with. My biggest fear was that she’d be significantly faster and I’d be a disappointment. It turned out we were a perfect match up.

The weather in Ketchum turned horrendous, so a group of us headed down to Moab 6 days early for some warm riding and hanging out. It was a luxury to have that much time to settle in, stake out transition territory for the race and hit some classic Moab trails. A big posse of friends from Smith Optics, Salomon and other Idaho friends were also racing, so we staked out a huge transition area for about 35 people. As the weekend drew closer tents, motor homes, campers all started to roll in and spring up to form the city of about 5000 people who turn out for the event.

The course is a 15 mile loop that’s very technical for the first 6 miles and then high speed sand surfing for the remaining 9 miles. The shifting sands change the nature of the course every year and even change the lines from lap to lap during the event. It’s a course that requires a ton of power for the sharp climbs and strong technical skills to stay safe and on top of your bike. Gretchen and I were disappointed to find out that there were no other duo women’s teams entered in the race. However, we did find out that all duo pro teams would be scored together for the prize money, so that meant the men’s teams and the mixed teams were fair game for us. It would have been easy to ride a couple of laps, then just hang out and win the championship jersey. Gretchen and I are too competitive for that, so the race was on regardless of gender. Gretchen was game to tackle the first lap which includes a running start with a horde of people in the sandy desert. As you can imagine, air quality and traffic on that first lap are intense. She ripped a great first lap and came in with the 2nd fastest women’s time of 1:12. We tagged off, exchanged the baton and off I went.

I was amped to not let Gretchen down and rode hard. I passed the first place women’s solo rider on that lap, so I was in the lead for all the female riders. Our team was 7th in the duo pro category after 2 laps and 42nd overall.

The weather was crisp and dropped into the 30’s at night, but it was perfect for riding. Moab has a reputation of serving up sandstorms, flash floods or intense heat. We had none of those things and I was relived. The biggest risk seemed to be the ever-shifting sands and trying to find a way to keep pedaling through it. Each lap, the lines would change or get blown out, especially during the night laps as more riders were walking or missing the narrow path that was established. It took alot of focus to stay on top of the bike without slowing down too much or having to walk your bike.

I was lucky enough to get both the sunset and sunrise laps and some killer views during those times. Overnight our consistency had slowly moved us up and by sunrise we were battling it out for 2nd place in the duo pro category. The first place team was a men’s team that was way out in front. Gretchen and I had been going back and forth for a number of hours with a mixed team and exchanging 2nd and 3rd placing. I started calculating how many laps we could still get in before the cut off time and figured if we were fast enough, we’d just have time for 9 laps each. Gretchen finished her 9th lap at about 11:40, so that meant I had time to do get out for one more lap and try to keep us in 2nd place for the duo pro category. I had no idea how far back the next team was and I knew their faster rider was up next. I churned the last lap as if I was being chased because I thought I was. As it turns out, the other team did not do their final lap, so we had our placing sealed before I even started the last lap.

I was really glad that Gretchen and I made a race of it and battled it out with the men and mixed teams. It’s way more exciting to have some incentive and motivation to ride hard. I was really happy with my performance after a long hard season. I had not geared up for this race and my training leading up to it was less than perfect. Despite that, my times on that course were faster than ever and I was able to ride sections of the course that I had previously walked. Moab is the race that launched my endurance mountain biking career four years ago and it was really rewarding to come back to the same course and use it as a measuring stick for how far my riding has come. It was also fantastic to beat all the men’s and mixed duo teams except for one. Of course, being a National Champion for the third time is also a huge reward!! I now have 24 hour solo, duo and four person National Championship titles!In the end, we rode 18 laps (9 each) for a total of 268 miles and over 24,000 ft of climbing. We were first in our division, 2nd in all duo teams and 24th overall out of around 400 teams. For those interested, you can search complete results and lap times here: http://www.grannygear.com

Next up, I will be heading out of my element and into the cement jungle of Manhattan. I leave Sunday for a media tour of NYC where I’ll be riding with magazine editors, hitting some bikes shops for clinics and getting some face time with the media!

Whew! We finally arrived in Mammoth and have both cell service and internet. We also have a hot shower, which after two days in 100+ degree heat riding is much needed. The days have been HARD and hot. We’re nearly half way to Vegas and the troops are a bit battered, but the camraderie is building every day. The group is really fit and riding well, but we are essentially doing a century or more every day for 6 days!

Temps day 1-2 were 105. Temps day 3 were better, but the barriers were the Yosemite park rangers and then brutal winds on the East Side of the Sierras along hwy 395. We actually got pulled off the road part way up to Tioga Pass and the rangers made us get in the vans and shuttle to the exit of the park. We missed a lot of the climbing, but got in the big descent and rode the rest of the way to Mammoth. Tonight is the first night in a hotel with a hot shower and it feels really good. even though we’re in hotels the rest of the way, Western Spirit is still cooking breakfast/dinner for us, so we still all sit around in a big group a night and tell stories about the day and get to hang out. I was afraid when we made it to civilization that everyone would hop on their phones/computers and hole up in their rooms. The people on the ride are all bike shop owners and journalists heading to Interbike, so they all have a ton of work to do, but I”m super impressed that everyone is able to put that aside and just ride bikes for a week. It’s been awesome to spend so much time on the road with everyone and get to know their stories while we’re sweating together uphill.

Today is another 100 mile day from Mammoth to Lone Pine. It has been strange to be in the Sierras (Yosemite and now the east side) and not be rock climbing. I’ve spent alot of time here doing a completely different sport and experiencing the area in such a different way this time.

had my first true vacation that I can remember in years. We hooked up with some cycling friends who were willing to take our mountain bikes and gear to Oregon for us. So Greg and I hopped on the motos and I had my inaugural long distance trip on the BMW (aka Creampuff). The longest I have ridden before the weekend was 12 miles. This trip ended up being over 500 miles of highway, two lane country roads, wind, rain, darkness, the whole enchilada. I was seriously initiated from the start.

Our trip over to Oregon was super windy, but I learned how to lean the bike into the wind and brace myself for the oncoming blast as semi trucks went by. The first day was just 3 hours in the saddle to Boise, but my upper shoulders and neck were completely spent from being gripped and scared for most of the trip. Day 2 was 7 hours in the saddle and I was forced to learn to relax and got the hang of it by the time we arrived at the McKenzie River campground in Oregon. I will say that Oregon has some really great roads for motorcycles with fresh, black pavement, very little traffic and great scenery. I was driving a bit like a granny on the curvy parts of the drive, but it didn't matter because no one was behind me. I'll get a little faster once I get used to leaning the bike a bit more.We met up with a big group of cyclist friends and camped right next to the river in thick, green forest. It's so lush over there, you expect hobbits and trolls to jump out from behind the trees.

The Alpine trail, near Oakridge, was on the agenda for the next day of mountain bike riding. This trail is well-known for the 100 mile Creampuff race. I've never done the race but had heard about it being the best single track ever. The climb was a bit uninspiring, 2.5 hrs or so on dirt road. However, it was worth every second because the next 1.5 hours was all descending on smooth, swoopy, high speed single track through super green forest. It was amazing. Day 2 of mountain biking was the McKenzie River trail, voted #1 trail in the US by Bike Magazine. I pretty much agree with that too. I didn't think it was possible to top the Alpine trail, but this one had all the super good single track with no fire road climbing. It had a bit of everything from technical lava rock riding to super fast cornering, along with waterfalls and exposed cliff edge riding. It rained the whole day on us for the McKenzie ride, but you couldn't really tell because the trees are so thick they create a roof over your head. I was glad to be wearing wool though. These two trails were truly two of the best rides I've ever done.

The typical Oregon rain continued as we were preparing to drive to Bend. This meant my first motorcycle ride in cold, wet, windy weather. Thank goodness I have heated grips on my bike. I layered up with wool long underwear, rain gear and tried to figure out how to keep my helmet face shield from fogging up. The drive was actually really beautiful with the late afternoon clouds parting for sunset and views of the peaks around Bend. We rode in Bend on the following day and hit some of their really fun built up trails with bridges, log crossings and other mad made features that made you grin. I was away from email and phone for most of the four day trip and didn't take or wear a heart rate monitor or odometer on my bike. I kept no track of speed, distance, heart rate or training. It was just a weekend of riding with friends on some brand new trails. And working on my throttle arm fitness as well!

Next up is the Worlds Party in Ketchum this Friday to celebrate a great season and both my and Greg's repeat 24 hour solo wins this year.

Cheers, Reba

I just walked in the door and settled from our race weekend at Grand Targhee, which is right by the Driggs/Jackson Hole area. We had no cell phone coverage, no computers, just some friends and some tents. It was great! It was almost like being in another place or time. We went to this semi-local 24 hour race at last minutes notice because a bunch of friends were going from Ketchum, the prize money at the race was really good, and the trails there are awesome.

It was the lat minute pack job for Greg and I, and we didn't even know if we were racing solo or as a duo team until about 30 minutes before the start. There is a great cash return if you win one of the categories there, however 2nd place gets nada. Greg and I were weighing the odds based on how many entered each category. We probably could have raced duo and won, but then we had to split the prize money. So we rolled the dice, and entered solo, and believe it or not, we both won the race!

Greg was first solo overall, even on a singlespeed against all the geared men! I raced open women against a well known local endurance guru. We had five solo athletes from Ketchum sharing one pit area, so there was a lot going on in our camp to say the least. We only had one pit crew guy, Tenacious Todd, who was crewing for all of us. It was not the usual scene I was used to for a 24hr race. I took care of my bike, mixed my own bottles, and fiddled with my lights for the whole night. It was hectic, but it was a good hard training day/night. I brought both my Era and my 29er hardtail to do a direct comparison. I love them both but for different reasons. I am definitely faster on the technical descents on the Era's full suspension, but the 29er climbs like a bat out of hell and smooths out all the rollers and bumps. Both bikes weigh about 21lbs and have the new SRAM XX 2x10 drivetrains that I love! It simplifies shifting and makes dropping a chain a non-issue.

We swept the field in Targhee with Ketchum riders. I won the women's division and was second overall. Greg won men's open on a singlespeed, Chris and Mike H were 2nd and 3rd, and Mike S was the first single speed male. It was a impressive showing!

Cheers

Reba

After a great birthday week I thought it was time to post a blog. Today is the 24 hrs of Targhee. I guess it’s our semi-local 24 hr race, and I’ve raced there once before and the course is fun and the prize money is really good too. There is about 800 feet of climbing for each 7.3 mile lap, so it will by no means be easy. There are 5 guys from Ketchum alone who are going to race solo over there. I’m undecided about racing solo or on a duo team. The deciding factor will be how many entries there are in each category. If there are not at least 5 in a category, the prize money drops. So basically, I’m going over there for a great training day and hopefully a decent pay day, but it all depends on who shows up! Either way, it’ll be a great road trip, camping and some good riding.

The week of my birthday was incredible, and was a great start to the year. So many friends came out of the woodwork to play mini-golf at the Sun Valley resort. The best part is that it was $5 and hours in entertaining fun. I am a horrible golf player and will not be trying to reinvent myself anytime soon to dominate that sport.

Last weekend, I lined up at the start line of the Leadville 100, the highest altitude and biggest endurance mountain bike race there is. Over 1500 people, including Lance Armstrong, lined up for the event in the frigid, wee hours of the morning at 10,200 ft. I traveled to the race with Mike Sinyard from Specialized, Blair Clark from Smith Optics and a few other friends from Idaho. We were all Leadville virgins, so I relied heavily on course information from other athletes and the race website. I knew the course was primarily fire roads, so I chose to ride my brand new Specialized S-works 29er hard tail for this event. It was a bit of a whirlwind getting the bike and myself sorted to race so soon after coming home from 24 hour World Championships. I did not want to pass up the opportunity to compete in the Leadville 100. It’s a legendary event, but I did have some major trepidation about how I would perform at such high altitude so soon after a grueling 24-hour solo effort. It normally takes me at least four weeks to feel right again after a 24 and I was sitting right on three weeks for the Leadville start. I spent the 3 weeks in between Worlds and Leadville riding the fine line between recovering, healing my body and trying to milk the season’s peak to last a bit longer than originally planned.

My coach Matthew was once again able to pull a rabbit out of a hat and keep the elusive peak going for an extra few weeks. It’s intoxicating to peak for an event and feel as if the race is almost easy. However, the weeks, months, years leading up to that peak are nothing but suffering, hard work and insecurity about your fitness. After events like Leadville 100 and 24 Hour Worlds where it all comes together on the right day, it’s impossible not to be seduced by that feeling and want it over and over again at every single race. However, fitness peaks cannot last the whole season and what goes up must come down so that it can go back up again. It’s a frustrating process, but oh so sweet when it comes together.

Leadville was one such occasion where everything fell into place beautifully. I was not sure of my participation until just five days before the race. At that point, I scrambled to get hotel, flight and logistics sorted. I also had to get my new Specialized 29er race ready. I’ve packed my gear enough times before and I got myself to the very early morning start on Saturday. The town of Leadville sits at 10,200 ft and the weather Friday and Saturday was cold and dismal. I was flattered to be invited to line up on the front line with all of the big name athletes and past winners of the race. I had not seen a start list for the women’s field, so I was unaware of whom I was racing against. The shotgun start was fairly civilized with a neutral roll out for a few miles until we hit the dirt road and started climbing. I felt the mass of 1500 people behind me and just concentrated on staying near the front pack and staying upright. There are five major climbs on this course and the total ascent is about 13,000 feet over the course of 103 miles. I looked at some past women’s times and used that as a gauge for myself. With the help of another athlete, I put together a race profile with time estimates, distances of climbs and elevations. I taped this mini course map to my top tube and relied on it heavily during the race to keep track of how I was doing.

I led the women’s race from the start. I was not getting time splits, so I was unaware of what sort of gap I might have established. I assumed that someone was probably right on my tail and kept the pressure on the whole race. I imagined that every guy in front of me was a woman and tried to keep catching people. The crowds were insane and they cheered wildly when they saw I was the first female. The first ½ of the race was bitter cold, freezing rain and even sleet. I was barely able to shift or hold the handlebars and had to stop to put on shell gloves. Thankfully I was prepared with a thin jacket, arm warmers, shell gloves and a Buff for my head. I didn’t put the extra clothing on, but was somewhat comforted to have it with me. Instead, I just kept riding harder and pushing the pedals in an attempt to stay warm.

Columbine Mine at 12,500 feet is the 50-mile turnaround and the high point of the race. There is a 3000 foot, 7 mile climb to get up there. The course is an out and back format, so as I was climbing up, I got to see Lance Armstrong, Dave Wiens and the rest of the top men come flying downhill. As I reached the turnaround, the cold rain turned to stinging sleet. Descending Columbine was my one and only chance to see how close the next female was. I looked at my Suunto watch at the top of the climb and tried to look for women in the crowds going uphill. It was a tricky descent with loose rocks, rain ruts and 1500 people all coming up the same way, so looking at the other riders was difficult. I was freezing and focused on going fast downhill, but not crashing. I got a quick glimpse of Amanda Riley Carey who was in 2nd place. At that point, she was probably 15 minutes behind me, but I still had 50 miles to go and plenty more opportunity for flat tires or other problems. I made it down Columbine safely and that meant a big road flat, windy road section and two more monster climbs left in the race.

I was feeling decent, but the cold was making my legs cramp. I took some Endurolytes and tried to make an effort to finish my water. My motivation was elevated every time I went through an aid station by the thousands of people cheering and ringing cowbells. This was by far the biggest turnout I’ve ever seen for a mountain bike race and I felt like I was in the Tour de France as I rode through lines of people crowding the course. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as they were all cheering.

The hardest climb of the course is the Powerline climb at mile 80. I had to walk the steepest portions of it, but was still keeping up with the guys around me. A little group of about four of us had formed and we were silently riding together with only the sound of our heavy breathing and a few words of encouragement between us. Misery loves company, so it was nice to have a little support out there on the hard parts of the course.

After the last big climb, I was smelling the barn and the numbers on my odometer were very near triple digits, so I shifted into the biggest gear I could push and left my little group of guys as I motored toward the finish. The last few miles ticked by very slowly, and the course is actually 103 miles!

The final road stretch into Leadville was a welcomed site. I had ridden this short stretch on Friday and visualized myself finishing the race. You can see the finish for about a ½ mile and it’s the sweetest site with the finish banner, the only stoplight in Leadville and so many people lining the streets. I got one little scare as I crested the very last hill and saw someone in front of me with curly blonde hair and a pink jersey. From the back and in my oxygen-deprived state I was not sure if it was a male or female rider. As I was rolling toward the finish I nervously asked one of the bystanders if the person in front of me was a guy. Thankfully, he was and I could roll into the finish line with my arms up and a huge sense of accomplishment in my heart. It was one of the most exciting race finishes I have ever experienced. I finished in a time of 8:14 and was 30th place overall. The next female rider was 25 minutes behind me. At the finish, the sound of the crowd was deafening and exhilarating. I was immediately given flowers, a medal, hugs, and whisked off to the media room for an interview. In the interview, I was in a bit of shock to quickly try to re-live the moments of the race.

After a quick shower, I went back out onto 6th street to watch my friends finish and be part of the whole crazy scene. At this point the sun had finally come out and the freezing rain from Columbine was a distant memory. I couldn’t help but cheer for other finishers and smile as their families and friends hugged them.

Sunday morning awards were chaotic and extremely entertaining. All 953 official finishers received a sweatshirt with their name and finishing time printed on the sleeve. It was finally warm and sunny and so many people were milling around sharing race stories. I saw a lot of old friends and had multiple strangers come up and congratulate me. Obviously, the highlight was the awards ceremony where I got to share the podium with Lance Armstrong and Dave Wiens. They both had the same sentiment about the race that I did. The sheer number people who came out to race and to cheer provided an intoxicating vibe that just made you happy to be riding your bike. The Leadville 100 was definitely one of the most organized races I’ve done and one of the most spirited. It’s a unique combination of a huge race with a hometown feel. It was honor to be among such strong athletes and to stand at the top of the podium with a legend. It is a day that I will not soon forget and a wonderful cap to an already incredible race season!

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice on the course, cheered for me, sent me photos and gave me motivation along the way. Thanks to Red Bull and Specialized for getting me to the start line!

It’s official! I won the pro women’s Super D event at Crankworx. CO. Just 8 days after winning 24 Hour Solo World Championships, I found myself at the finish of a downhill event that took just a little over 13 minutes. Not the length of course I am used to, but it was a blast. I was hanging out at the Specialized demo booth at Crankworx. I was there signing posters, doing casual group rides and watching all the races. I did not take part in the cross country race because my lungs and legs are still fried from the effort in Canada. With lift access at Winter Park, a sweet trail system, and all the 2010 Specialized demo bikes available, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to work on my downhill skills. I did a couple of practice runs on the Super D course and on a whim decided to enter the pro women’s race on Sunday. The goal was not to hurt myself and to try to follow a few of the better women and try to learn from them. The race started with a run and about a 30 second uphill. I surprised myself and entered the single track first. From there, I just held on and kept waiting for the pass. The girl right on my tail would catch up on the more technical bits and I’d drop her anywhere that had some pedaling. We continued this yo-yo down the course and she was never able to pass me. It was a riot and she pushed me to ride faster downhill than I would have on my own. I finished the race a few seconds in front of her with a huge grin on my face, took home a bit of cash for my efforts, and accomplished a personal life goal of winning an oversized cardboard check. I rode the 2010 Stumpjumper and had an absolute blast on that bike.

Here’s the race results and photo proof that I won a downhill event!!!!

mountainflyer.com

Right now I am at home again in Ketchum resting up and changing gears for the next race, the Leadville 100. That one will take significantly longer than 13 minutes!

Cheers

Reba

The 24 hour solo mountain bike World Championships have been over for just about 48 hours. The pain and damage my body took from the thrashing is going to take weeks of recovery. The glow of winning worlds three years in a row is going to take years to wear off. This year’s training was entirely focused on peaking for this singular day and putting my name definitively in the record books for endurance mountain bike racing. I have to say it was a bit daunting to form a whole year of training and focus around one event. The pressure of

coming back multiple years in a row with a target on my back and the expectation of winning was a heavy weight. I was even given #1 as my bike number plate for this race. The unspoken pressure was thick and anything less than a three peat would have been a disappointment for me.

The preparations unfolded as planned and I stacked the odds in my favor by bringing the best crew friendship can buy. I also brought two tricked out Specialized Era race bikes, a mountain of spare bike parts, cases of Red Bull and duffel bag full of Hammer Nutrition race food. Canmore is a world-class place to ride and the trails serve up the usual Canadian style single track with lots of roots, rocks and technical riding. This course got my attention and Greg described it as similar to operating a jackhammer for 24 hours. I had a few days of pre-riding the course to sort out the technical sections, figure out where I could eat and drink and try to decipher how to race the course to my best advantage. There were no sections to rest and although the lap was only about 10 miles, it was chock full of intensity.

The women’s field was mostly unknown to me with the Australian 24 hour National champ, some Canadian hard women and the US National 24 hour champ, Jari Kirkland. I know Jari from adventure racing and knew she was the type of athlete who would be strong and consistent over the long haul. However, in a race this long, focusing on my own pacing, my

own nutrition and riding the course in my style always works out better than trying to focus on the other competitors and marking their riding. My coach Matthew and I had discussed a race strategy that was rolling around in my head. However, as the gun went off, that primal

instinct that is hardwired in my brain fired and my legs turned over instinctually. I posted about 60 minutes for the first lap and was 7 minutes up on the rest of the women’s field. As I ticked off the laps, my lead steadily expanded by over 5 minutes per lap. I made a mental

pact with myself to keep the pressure on until midnight or until I lapped the 2nd place pro woman.

The course was relentless with very little opportunity to spin and recover. It was non-stop focus and intensity for the whole lap. Even the descending sections required nimble reflexes and upper body strength. Because of the nature of the course, I was taking a little longer in the pits than usual to get a break and try to eat some food. My crew was keeping a sharp eye on the competition and they were also stopping for a few minutes each lap, so I felt comfortable matching their down times. Before dark I lapped Jessica Douglas from Australia

and shortly after that Jari Kirland from the US. At about 12 hours into the race, I had a 90 minute lead and the race was unfolding as planned. I was switching bikes every few laps and Jason was keeping them silky smooth. My crew was working non-stop and I was pushing hard to do my part and stay strong on the climbs and relaxed in the single track. As midnight approached, I settled into the darkness and my favorite part of these ultra long races. The night riding offers a whole different dimension to the riding experience and a calm settles

over the race. Although I had a lead, there were still 12 hours more to ride and plenty of time for crashes, mechanicals or errors. It is also the time where the body starts to break down, reflexes are numb and the burden of 12 intense race hours in the saddle start to take their toll. There were multiple crashes and medical evacuations from the course, so staying safe and protecting my lead were high priorities.

I stayed solid throughout the night hours and kept my lead at a comfortable distance. However, by sunrise my stomach was not cooperating with what I was asking it to do. As the sun came up, so did most of my food, and fluid that I had been diligently consuming to fuel the race. My nutrition plan was the same as usual, but I think the intensity of the course was not allowing any blood to my stomach to digest. It was a tough morning as I struggled to keep food down and suffered from some severe asthma attacks. I also had a scare when Jari

came blowing by me on an uphill around 8am. I was still a lap ahead of her, but she had unexpectedly gained time on me while I was stopped in my pit trying to get some food down. In my mind, I began calculating the worst-case scenario with her fourth quarter push and in my stupor tried to do the math on how many laps I had remaining and what I needed to do to protect my lead. My paranoia kept me focused for the last couple of laps I held onto my third 24 Hour World Championship title.

All season at the end of every single training ride, I had visualized this finish line. This precise scene was etched in my mind and has been my singular motivation for a year. As I soaked in the sensations, I exchanged hugs with the A-team: Charles, Jason, Donna and Karoline. I rolled under the finish banner elated at 11:15 am. I had ridden 180 miles with 30,000 feet of climbing in approximately 23 hours. I completed 18 laps and achieved a goal that I had not dreamed possible: three consecutive 24 hour solo World Championship titles!

I have no idea what is in store for me next. For the moment, I am going to take a well-earned break and let my body and mind relax for a bit.

Thanks to Red Bull and Specialized for getting me to the start line. Thank you to my team of Jason, Charles, Donna and Karoline for getting me to the finish line. I cannot even begin to thank you for all the essential work you put in.

Congratulations to Greg Martin, also from Ketchum Idaho, who crushed the field and earned his 2nd consecutive 24 Hour Single Speed World Championship! There must be something in the water where I live!

How’s it goin!

I just stepped off the plane and I am back in good ol’ Ketchum, just in time for a G Love concert, how perfect is that? Snowbird was a great time, met some wonderful people, and rode some even better bikes. Specialized just keeps improving on everything, every year and I am fortunate to be riding for them. The Amira, next years women’s road bike blew my mind. It’s the lightest and stiffest women’s road bike on the market. Finally women don’t have to ride a miniature men’s Tarmac, or a Ruby. We now get a full blown race bike! I have a picture to load as soon as I get it off my phone somehow

Getting off the plane at home is a breath of fresh air. I love summer in Ketchum. Only crappy part of the day is that Delta now charges $300 for a bike each way! Oversized is $175, but he said if the contents are a bike then its more! Total discrimination. I negotiated him down to 175 but even that is robbery! Being at the mercy of the airlines is terrible. Can’t wait to relax and ride lightly this week as I prepare for the big one up in Canada. Thanks for reading and I’ll talk to you soon.

Cheers

Reba

Bluebird Day in Snowbird,UT

•July 10, 2009

Hello!

I am down in Snowbird,UT for a Specialized Global Dealer event. All of their top dealers in the world are here to talk, ride, schmooze, and be seen on the new 2010 product. I am spending most of my time doing demo rides on the mountain side of things, talking about my racing, and the equipment. Sun Valley is crazy right now with the Allen & Company crowd, and it’s a nice change of pace to get out of town and ride some place new. I highly recommend for everyone to ride in Northern Utah, Moab isn’t the only place with world class riding in this state!

Going into World’s I have begun to rest up a bit, and ride a bit easier as most of my intensity work has been completed. Sleeping up here at Snowbird is a nice bonus since we are at 9,000 feet! It’s like my own personal altitude tent. Here’s a little picture of the set up they have going on here. Talk to you soon.

Cheers

Reba

Snowbird: Part Deux

•July 13, 2009

Hello!

I’m still in Snowbird for another few days of high altitude fun at the Specialized Dealer event. The first few days were all the top international dealers. I rode with shop owners from Brazil, Australia, Bermuda, Bosnia, Puerto Rico, Japan, etc. It was a blast to meet so many people from around the world who get so excited about riding bikes. I am spending most of my time at the mountain bike demo, drooling over the 2010 bikes and taking laps on the chairlift with dealers, Specialized designers and engineers and distributors. Despite many language barriers, everyone has the universal grin on their face after bombing downhill on a sweet new bike! Tomorrow all the US Dealers filter in and the whole thing starts over again.

Yesterday, I did some testing on the new Enduro and the new Stumpjumper. Oh man! They are both sweet bikes and I really feel the appeal of the bigger suspension bikes. I’ll never trade in my Era for pure XC and endurance racing, but I am having a blast taking the bigger bikes over things that I could not ride on my Era. I am also getting a first look at new gloves, tires, helmets, handle bars and talking with the designers is fascinating. I learn just as much here as the dealers do. The SRAM folks are also here and have given me the lowdown on the new XX components. I’ve been talking gears, brakes, weights and performance with them and learning about all the new upgrades that were developed. It has been full immersion in everything to do with bikes and a really fun week at the office!

Leading up to World’s, after this trip I am going to be sitting pretty still getting all the logistics lined out for the trip. Who knew organizing was so hard! A few massages, some hot tubing, and stretching are definitely in order. With the tapered training schedule I am going to be writing a few more blogs than usual this week so stay posted.

Cheers

Reba

I just got home from the USAC Marathon National Championships in Breckenridge, CO. This is the 2nd year they’ve held Marathon Nationals at this high altitude venue. The race course is two laps on a 25 mile technical, high alpine course. It’s fabulous terrain and one of the best run races I’ve done, but the altitude is a huge factor. The race starts around 9500 ft in the town of Breckenridge and tops out above 11,000 ft. The 800 athletes roll out as the start of the 4th of July parade with hundreds of people lining the streets in their lawn chairs, cheering as we cruise by in our lycra. This year the pro women’s field was stacked with Colorado hard women Sari Andersen, Jari Kirkland and Gretchen Reeves along with pro XC racers Heather Irmiger, Monique Sawicki and two time Olympian Mary McConneloug. The start heads straight uphill for 8 miles and the cross country racers went out hot. I struggled on that first climb, but found a rhythm that I could sustain in the thin air. The course was in great condition due to recent rains, but the sharp rocks were stopping a lot of riders with flats. I was surprised to pass Mary near the end of the first lap as she fixed a flat. I came through the first lap 10 minutes faster than my time last year. There were no time splits available, so I did not know what place I was in or how far ahead anyone else was. I was racing in a bit of a bubble not knowing the standings. Starting the 2nd lap, I could see a couple pro women in front of me on the long climb. I ended up passing 3 pro women on the 2nd lap and finishing the race in 6th place. I was just a few minutes out of the 5th place spot, but I was happy with my performance. I had a clean, solid race and my overall time was 15 minutes faster than last year. I was also well ahead of some of my main ultra endurance competitors. I gathered more points in the USA Cycling Ultra Endurance series and extended my lead to over 100 points.

This was my last race before 24 Worlds in Canmore and it was a great tune up and gauge of my form. Next on the agenda is a week long trip to Snowbird, UT for the Specialized Global Dealer Event. I’ll be there meeting and riding with Specialized dealers from around the world and checking out all the new gear from Specialized. It will also be my own little high altitude training camp and my final prep for Canmore.

We left town on Wednesday night with Scott and Susan Robinson in their monster Sportsmobile for the road trip to Breckenridge for the Firecracker 50 miler, which is the USA Cycling marathon national championships. We drove part way and made a stop in Vernal, UT for a bit of sweet single track riding. I’d read about this place in the most recent Bike Mag as “the new Fruita” with 100 miles of buff single track.

http://bikemag.com/features/onlineexclusive/bike-magazine-june-2009-issue/

We found the local Specialized dealer, Altitude Cycle (http://www.altitudecycle.com/) and got the lowdown from the shop owners on their trails. They are the personal stewards of this place and were super excited to share their maps and recommendations. We did a 2 hour ride to sample a few of their trails. It was awesome desert riding with swooping fast trails, antelope running around, wide open views and even a bit of bike art at the trail intersections. You could feel how special this place is and how much care and love had been taken to build and preserve these trails. It was well worth the stop and a great break from the drive. I will definitely go back there.

Today we are in Breckenridge and it has been raining and stormy since we arrived. The Firecracker 50 is a huge race that sells out each year with about 800 people on the roster. The course is a 25 mile super technical loop with about 5000 ft of climbing per lap. I get to do the lap twice! The course is great and always draws a really top level of competition. The big kicker is that it starts at 10,000 ft and goes up from there. Yes, I live at altitude, but about 4000 ft below where the race starts. I raced here last year and finished 4th and was definitely affected by the thin air.

The pro field is really stout this year with a mix of pro cross country women and pro endurance athletes. The distance is just a bit too long for the XC specialist and just a bit too short for the endurance specialists like me. It’s a unique distance that will be interesting to see how it shakes out. There are also a couple of women entered here who will be my competition for 24 hour World Champs in 3 weeks, so we’ll get to size each other up a bit. This is the last tune up race before Worlds and the last really hard effort before The Big One.

Here are a few pics from Vernal, UT!

I went on my first ride on the 29er HT today. Did a big 5.5 hr epic here in Idaho with 4400 ft of climbing. I rolled out straight from my house and way up into the snow, scree fields and wilderness terrain. The bike was INCREDIBLE on the climbs, the loose descents and rolled right over all the baby head rocks up there. It was amazing. It’s super light when you have to carry it over the snow too. We didn’t see one other person and felt like we had the whole of Idaho to ourselves today.

24 Hour Solo World Championships are just about 4 weeks out, so I have entered the period in my training cycle where I’m super focused on this primary goal and pretty much nothing else. This is the point in a year long training cycle to focus on every meal, every night’s sleep, every training ride to squeak the very most out of my efforts. Most of the hard work has been completed and these last four weeks are about topping off the engine before heading to Canmore, Alberta, Canada west of Calgary in the Banff/Lake Louise area.

Last weekend, I raced in the Cowbell Challenge, a 50 miler in North Carolina. This race was part of the USA Cycling Ultra Endurance series and a short distance for me to get in a good, hard training day. The course here is always tight, technical single track and this year was no different. The biggest difference in the course was the heavy rains they’d had the week leading up to the race. It made the course really slippery and treacherous. On my pre-ride on Friday, I had to work a couple sections of the course to figure them out and also made a tire change to Specialized Captains to get more traction and confidence on race day. The local dealer Cycle Path helped me out a lot with the last minute tire change. Since this was a short race, I did not take crew, a mechanic or an extra bike.

Race day, with temps heading to triple digits: The bike was perfect, but the race was not. I had a great start in a strong pro women’s field and was in the lead, but about an hour into the race, the affects of the triple digit temps and over the top humidity started to get to me. I was feeling chilled, lightheaded and fumbly. I had to make the decision to settle into survival mode instead of race mode. Each lap, I was getting iced down hydration packs, pushing fluids and endurolytes and putting ice water on my head to cool down my core temperature. It has been a cold Spring in Idaho, so I was not acclimatized to the heat in any way. I was suffering badly and wondered if I was going to be able to finish. By the last couple laps of the race, my cooling strategies seemed to be working and I started feeling like myself again and felt like I could get back into race mode. I settled for a 2nd place finish behind Carey Lowrey (Last year she finished in 2nd behind me.) Carey was up by as much as 10 minutes at one point, but I was able to pull about 4 minutes back on the last lap and get a bigger gap on third who was inching up on me The outcome was a little disappointing, but considering that only 40 athletes out of nearly 200 finished the race, I’m happy that I was conservative and didn’t dig myself into a hole that I couldn’t get out of.

Cowbell results are posted here: www.cyclingnews.com

A video interview I did is posted here with a race recap and over view of my 2009 Specialized S-Works Era: Bikerumor Interview: Pro Mountain Biker Rebecca Rusch www.bikerumor.com

I’m home for a week then the next race on the schedule is Marathon Nationals in Breckenridge, CO on July 4th.

Cheers,

Rebecca

The race was awesome this weekend. Did a duo with Greg Martin (Single Speed 24 hr solo World Champion). We entered the police/fire/military division and raced as Ketchum Fire. It was a 10 person team division, so all the other teams had 6-10 people, so we were at a bit of a disadvantage with only two.

We won the division with 22 laps and the call up to the podium was awesome. The other police/fire teams had a lot more people , and no women. They couldn’t believe they got beat by the two of us. It was pretty funny. We did KFD proud! Our time and lap count would have also won the two person open division which was all men as well. So….overall a great training weekend with some good results and a good gauge for us for 24 hr Worlds, which is now less than two months away.

The duo experience in a 24 hr race was hard. High intensity and not much of a break because lap times were just over an hour. We did single laps to start with, and during the night we each did one double and one triple to allow more rest time. Then in the AM, we went back to singles. It worked pretty well as a race strategy and the experience was a really good 24 hr solo training effort without having to race the whole thing alone. Solo requires too much recovery time afterwards so this way, we’ll be able to get back on the training efforts sooner this week. My coach has told me we are now working on re-building my mitochondria quantity while simultaneously engaging in a racing season. Although this sounds like German to me, it makes a little sense, it’s just another part of a larger macro-cycle. With some rest today, some one leg spinning exercises, and a little max intensity short track racing on Wednesday, it’s looking to be a fun week. Not to mention it’s supposed to be 77 degrees all week! Talk to you soon.

Cheers

Reba

Hola! I’m off to Spokane finally, or as some call it Spocompton, for one of my favorite 24hr races, Round and Round. This is where I won my first 24hr race, and it has a special place in my heart. My friend Greg Martin and I are racing together as a two person team in the Fire/Police category. Greg is the current Single Speed 24hr World Champ, and together this is good training for the intensity needed for Worlds. It is going to be a pretty interesting race, since this category is open to groups of 8-10 people! We’ll do our best to represent the Ketchum Fire Department, and hopefully bring home some hardware. Between the race and the 10hr motorcycle ride to the race, I’m going to get some serious saddle time in! If anyone is in Ketchum or Sun Valley on Monday, you should cruise by the Elephant’s Perch for a huge Specialized demo. They’ll have their giant demo trailer with all the bikes you could possibly want to ride! I’ll be there all day offering tech tips, training tips, poster signings and just hanging out! Anyone who’s ever dreamed of riding the best bikes in the world should come and check them out. I’ll have some photos after the race, but I won’t have my computer with me, so check back!

Cheers

Reba

Hello,

I just spent 3 days in Boise at a firefighter symposium. One day of hands on work with forcible entry on doors, cutting holes in roofs and garage doors, working with the rotary saws and chainsaws. Also did simulated search and rescue in a big warehouse building that they had smoked out and heated up. We broke in windows and searched for victims in the building. We also heard a couple of guest speakers from big city fire departments (Denver and Oakland, CA) talking about tricks of the trade and lessons learned on the job. It was super motivating and made me hungry for a bit of fire action! I know that’s bad to say, but I love my part time job. I was the only woman there which made it even more fun! I’m in Dallas now for Red Bull athlete meetings, talking about PR and marketing, and having some large team dinners. The best part is they set me up in this sweet hotel. Check out the pictures from the fire symposium below, everyone loves power tools!

Cheers

Reba

Here’s mud in your eye! And ears, nose, mouth, and drive train, shoes, gloves! Dirt, Sweat and Gears took place this last weekend in Fayetteville, TN. It is one of my all time favorite races because the course is the most excellent single track, the race boasts equal prize money for pro men and women, the competition is always stout and the race director really takes care of every detail to make the race fun and extremely organized.

This was also a stop on the USA Cycling Ultra Endurance series and my goal was to use this 12-hour race as training for 24-hour worlds and to increase my points lead in the national series. The Tennessee hospitality was alive and well again this year. We were given an official race vehicle for the weekend from Land Rover Nashville, free lodging from locals and more Southern hospitality than you can imagine. The only thing more remarkable than the TN hospitality was the incredible tenacity of the TN mud.

The region had been hammered with unseasonably heavy rains all week. When I arrived on Wednesday, the rain had stopped but the forecast for the weekend was extremely threatening. Just outside of Nashville, tornado warnings, severe storm warnings and 100 mph winds were coming our way. I was able to pre-ride the course on Wednesday and Thursday. It was slippery, technical and way more difficult than previous years. The rain had exposed more roots and rocks than usual. The climbs and descents were really slimy and treacherous. I tested a few different tire choices for the race and the Specialized Storm tires were the only ones that would allow me to keep a small amount of traction. Specialized team mechanic, Benno Willeit, had told me that the Storms were the last resort just before putting on the running shoes. Benno’s pre-race advice turned out to be way more accurate than I ever would have imagined.

As soon as the announcer shouted “30 seconds to start”, the rain began. I laughed out loud on the start line and was excited for an adventurous race. The first lap was slippery and a bit like surfing, but the rain kept the mud thin and the course was mostly rideable. I finished the first lap in about 1:20 in second place in the pro women’s field. The rain had stopped by this time and the start of lap two is when the fun really started. The combination of 300 riders sliding around and the cessation of the rain had turned the mud into peanut butter consistency. My lap time jumped to over three hours for the 2nd lap. Like most people, I ran out of food and water. Shifting was no longer an option due to the globs of mud, leaves and sticks that were jamming into the drive train. Eventually, the mud became so thick that pushing your bike was no longer an option because after about 10 feet of pushing, the mud would collect on the tires and form a solid casing about 5 inches thick and prevent the wheels from turning. One racer described the experience like pushing furniture uphill. The only option was to scrape as much mud off as possible and shoulder the bike. I hiked, pushed, slipped and tried to shuffle when I could for hours and hours. Each time I attempted to ride, the result was the same: sticky mud, wheels stop turning, put the bike back up on my bruised shoulders and keep trudging.

Most of the field had dropped out by early afternoon. My stubbornness and adventure racing experience had moved me into first place in the women’s field by the third lap. I ended up racing for about 10.5 hours and completed only 40 miles, which was good enough for the win! Jeremiah Bishop won the pro men’s field and he completed 5 laps. In comparison, in previous years I completed 10 laps and the leading men rode 12 laps.

This was by far much more of an adventure race than a cycling race, and the worst conditions I have ever ridden in. It was a frustrating race and not nearly as much fun as being able to ride those trails, but I am proud of myself for pushing on and adapting to what Mother Nature handed us.

Thanks to Mom and Glenn for crewing in such difficult conditions. Thanks to Travis from Biker’s Choice for wrenching for me and cleaning the dirtiest bikes I have ever seen.

I’m still cleaning the mud out of my ears and attempting to get my race clothes clean. I am also icing my shoulders to try to alleviate the bruising.

Thanks for tuning in.

Next stop, Spokane for a 24-hour race on a duo team!

I’m packing and getting ready to head to TN this weekend for Dirt, Sweat and Gears, a 12 hour race and the next stop in the USA Cycling Ultra Endurance series. This is my 3rd year at this venue and one of my favorite races of the year. Sweet, twisty single track, stout competition and super good festival vibe. The race director is an athlete himself, and it really shows in this event. He has hand built many of the trails and the experience is competitive, but laid back.

This is the first really long non-stop race of the season and the logistics for these long ones is very different. For the first time this season, I’m packing Light and Motion lights, traveling with two Era race bikes, multiple tire choices, lots of Hammer nutrition concoctions, various clothing options, and back ups of almost everything. 12 hours is a long time to ride continuously, so the gear and my body will be put to the test. This race is notorious for rainy, muddy Spring weather and the forecast this year is no different. Rain is on the menu for all weekend, but the good new is the temps are in the 50’s and 60’s! It’ll feel WARM after riding all week in Idaho with 40 degree temps and rain/snow.

My mom, Aunt, Uncle and cousin are all coming to help out and check out the race. Not the most ideal way to connect with your family, but at least they can help me with water bottle hand offs and logistics.

Here’s a clip of the race and you can also check back there for current updates during the race.

www.cyclingdirt.org

I got home from a tough couple of weeks of travel to CA. It was a blast to be at the Specialized headquarters and to hang with the whole dirt team including 4 Cross World Champ, Rafa Alvarez, Xterra World Champ Conrad Stoltz and the rest of the world cup XC team. There were a lot of meetings, driving around, hanging at the Sea Otter venue and trying out some new bikes. Being out on the dirt was great and I got in some good rides. The racing at Sea Otter was a bit of a smack in the face for me. It’s always hard to come out of the winter and put yourself out there for the first races of the year. Short distances and speed racing are also not my strength. But it was good training and this is the time of year where I have to take my medicine and do some tough racing in hopes that it’ll pay off later in the season when it counts.

After Sea Otter, I went straight to Red Bull HQ in Santa Monica for more power meetings and a great Monday lunch meeting with beers and margaritas! I love how Red Bull operates and it’s always super fun to visit them.

The multi-faceted trip continued with an overnight stop in Salt Lake City for the grand opening of Specialized Concept Store, Bingham Cyclery. It was a women’s event and there were around 200 people shopping and getting psyched about bikes.

I’m finally home and back in my own house. It was a good trip, but there was no down time and very little time for myself. There was a bit of Planes, Trains and Automobiles situation getting home, so I was fried when I finally walked in the door. To top off the crazy travel, I arrived to a bunch of dead plants at my house. The two cactus survived, so I guess it’s time I stop trying to grow plants other than cactus.

This past week at home has been an awesome mountain Spring week. Temps ranging from 27 F to 65 F depending on the day. It has been windy, clear and crisp. The dirt trails are slowly opening up and everyone is out on the bike path and on the trails. The shop is full of bikes getting tunes and everyone is psyched to ride, including me. I’m still tired from the cumulative affects of the Cape Epic and the travel to CA, and the crappy bit of poison oak I got at Sea Otter, but being on my home trails and riding with friends has brought my motivation out of hibernation.

The next race is a couple weeks out, a 12 hour USA Cycling ultra endurance series race in TN. I’m currently leading that series, so I’m hoping for a good result there.

Until then, I’m relishing in being home, riding my new bikes and maybe shopping for a new cactus for the house.

The past few days have been spent in the Specialized offices in Morgan Hill meeting with designers, staff and some of the other Specialized riders. I’ve been hanging out with 4X world champion Rafa Alvarez, Xterra World Champ Conrad Stoltz, XC world Champ Christoph Sauser, and fellow teammates Lene Byberg and Burry Stander. We all got briefed on new product, marketing plans and company history. I learned that the first Specialized branded product was a bike tire!.

After a couple of days at the offices and getting pummeled on the world renowned Specialized Lunch Ride, the team headed down to Monterrey for the Sea Otter Classic. Sea Otter is the only time most of the Specialized athletes will be in one place and it’s the only time of the year where we get to ride and hang out with the Specialized employees. The company brings a full fleet of demo bikes, the team trailer, the Rider’s Club tent and a product booth, so there is a ton of representation. One of the best parts for me is to see all the staff racing and being in their element with the bikes.

So far, my time at the venue has been spent riding with journalists, checking out the new bikes, pre-riding the cross country course and connecting with friends. The mechanics have also been tweaking all of our new race bikes and I have been trying a few different options with prototype tires, new Rotor Rings and some SRAM products that are just coming out. It’s a bit of trial and error, but this is the perfect way to work out some of the kinks.

I also raced the Super D. It was my first gravity event EVER. I signed up because I knew this course was not very technical and figured it would be a great way to work on one of my weaknesses. I pre-rode the course and there was nothing technical about it. It was a high speed fire road with a lot of pedaling and some loose, gravel cornering. You could basically go as fast as you were willing. I had Benno put on some beefier tires than the usual Fast Traks and opened up the suspension on my Era. I tried to ask Rafa in broken Spanish for some advice, but all I could get from him was not to touch the brakes. I’d never even watched a Super D race before, so I had a bit of apprehension. I was filming the race with a GoPro helmet cam and my main goal was to get some downhill practice, get some race footage and get to the finish line without any injuries. I was successful on all fronts.

The race started LeMans style with a short run to the bikes. My first mistake was accidentally down shifting when I grabbed my handlebars to jump on the bike. I wasted a bit of time getting back into the right gear. Super D traditionally involves a bit of pedaling, so many of the XC riders do well on these courses. The whole race lasted just under 8 minutes and it was a lung buster. There were 3 climbs of under a minute each and they about killed me. About 4 minutes into the race, it was clear that my position was not really going to change, so I just rode and had fun. I must admit, the speed was somewhat addicting and I crossed the finish line with a huge smile on my face. I’m not going to make any predictions, but I could see doing more of these sort of events in the future.

The short track race was today and it was awesome to watch. Specialized had a strong showing with Lene finishing 2nd in the pro women. Todd Wells won the pro men and Burry was 2nd. Christoph flatted and and did not finish. Conrad Stoltz (Xterra world champ) also entered and really impressed me in an event that he’s never raced before. Sam Hill, another Specialized athlete also won the dual slalom. Rafa, unfortunately, crashed during his run and roughed himself up pretty well.

The cross country is the main event for most of the team members. I’m racing that event and expecting the competition to be gnarly and the start to be really fast. Stay tuned for results.

Next Tuesday night, I’ll be in Salt Lake City for the grand opening of the new Specialized Concept Store, Bingham Cyclery. There will be wine, appetizers, Red Bull and brand new Specialized gear to check out! I’ll be there to chat about racing, nutrition, training and riding bikes! For more info, click on the invitation and be sure to RSVP! You’ll get some prizes if you come!

The Cape Epic has been over for 5 days now and I’ve been struggling to write the final report. Not because I have bad news to report, but I’ve just been busy catching up on sleep, eating food that is not squeezed out of a bottle, getting a pedicure and making the 36 hour jaunt home. 8 days of high intensity racing in a row have taken a toll on me.

Overall, the race was harder than I expected. The competition was stiff, the pace was high and so were the temperatures. Matthew and I had a solid race and we worked great together as a team. Although I had originally been hoping for a podium finish, instead we were only able to pull off 6th in the mixed field and 45th in the general classification. I was feeling a little disappointed in our placing until I looked up some results from last year. Just for reference, 45th would have placed us in 3rd in the mixed division last year. The 5th place mixed team this year was 2nd last year. In 2008, Christina and I were also riding in about 150th place in the general classification before she broke her collarbone. So I was riding much higher in the field this year. The course this year was also shorter and all of the divisions rode approximately 15% less time over 8 days than the course last year. I do think the longer stages in 2008 suited me better as well.

Perhaps it seems futile to pull up these comparisons and statistics in order to justify my experience. However, this race was an important training tool for the season and a gauge of how my winter training has been going. At first glance, I was really disappointed in my performance and was having some serious doubts about my fitness. After deeper analysis and realizing that this year I was riding in the top 50 teams out of 600 each day, I have been able to get a more realistic look on the benefits of this event.

Here are a few key points that I came away with from the Cape Epic:

1. Matthew is faster than I am. Racing as a female in a mixed team is just plain hard if you’re racing with a fast guy. It’s always more fun to be the stronger person on a team and this time, I was the weaker link. Matthew was pushing the pace and I was constantly on the rivet and never really riding at my own pace. It’s great to get out of my comfort zone and push hard than I would on my own, but it does wreak havoc on the ego and makes it more difficult to stop and smell the roses along the way, especially in the grips of an asthma attack!

2. The mountain bike brotherhood/sisterhood is alive and well. One of the best parts of racing is the travel and the like-minded people I get to interact with. Matthew and I rode and bonded with teams from Israel, Germany, Spain, Brazil and South Africa. Although, I learned very few names, I got to know these people from their riding style, their race jerseys and their passion for the sport. We exchanged drafts, encouragement and sweaty hugs at the end of each day. This universal glue from sharing hard work and the joy of riding a bike spans the globe and exposes what people are really made of.

3. Training is a long-term, often frustrating process. Pay now and you will not receive your payback until months or years later. There is often very little immediate gratification. This cycle of breaking down and building up is tedious. For someone who is impatient like me, this process can often challenge my motivation and psyche. I completely trust Matthew as my coach and he has never steered me wrong. Much of the reason I need a coach is for the reassurance that what I am doing is working. After spending 8 days of every waking and sleeping moment in close quarters with Matthew, our bond as friends and working partners has grown even deeper. He has seen me at my best and worst and this experience will help him personalize my training program even more. Our goal for this race was to get a week of early season intensity in my preparation for 24 Hour solo world championships in July. A podium or higher placing would have been icing on the cake, but I have to remind myself that the Cape Epic was not my primary goal for the year. It was an important building block that is now stored in my legs!

Here are few key statistics that we gathered from our Suunto T6c watches during the race. A full training article using this information is under way, but here is a teaser of what was included in a week’s work at the Cape Epic.

Distance: 685 kilometers

Ascent: 14, 663 meters

Total race time: 35 hours 47 minutes 51 seconds

Top Speed: 59.87 km/hr

Average Speed: 18.35 km/hr

Total Breaths Matthew: 98,482

Total Breaths Rebecca: 84,269

Total Kcal burned Matthew: 32,878 kcal

Total Kcal burned Rebecca: 17,882 kcal

Average Respiratory Rate Matthew: 45.87 breaths per min

Average Respiratory Rate Rebecca: 39.25 breaths per min

Max Heart Rate day 1 Matthew: 190 bpm

Average Heart Rate day 1 Matthew: 178 bpm

Max Heart Rate day 8 Matthew: 168 bpm

Average Heart Rate day 8 Matthew: 126 bpm

Max Heart Rate day 1 Rebecca: 173 bpm

Average Heart Rate day 1 Rebecca: 164 bpm

Max Heart Rate day 8 Rebecca: 150 bpm

Average Heart Rate day 8 Rebecca: 125 bpm

Thanks for tuning in. Next up, Sea Otter. I hope to see some of you there.

I’ll be at the Specialized booth. Come by if you want to chat and hear more stories.

Reba

Written by Matthew:

Finally. A day of real mountain biking. Rebecca and I have been – in all modesty – constantly surprised by the relatively low level of technical skill demonstrated by most of the riders in the field. We’ve seen nsane fitness and a huge amount of enthusiasm for daily suffering… but not a lot of skill on display. We’ve used this to our advantage, repeatedly, over the past week, but the opportunities for really throwing down on hairy single track have been few and far between. Not so today…

After the typical road racing madness for the first twenty kilometers – including watching one rider huck himself off a bridge as he was trying to pass the entire field during the neutral roll-out when the road pinched to a single-lane river crossing – we settled down to a solid, steady pace sitting in the top thirty teams and got on with our day in the saddle. Following a surprisingly technical climb (not particularly steep but rarely out of the granny gear), to a peak deep in a wilderness preserve called the Woolfkloof, we dropped into the finest descending of the entire race. Ripping down an ancient and heavily-eroded jeep track, we flew past riders who had stacked themselves on the big drops, bunged their bikes by smacking rocks or were just generally over their heads. Finally reaching the bottom, we looked at each other with huge grins and mentally high-fived each other all the way to the next moment that required our immediate attention.

Down from the Woolfkloof, we disappeared into a forest of Eucalyptus and Fynbos that hid a most satisfying, swooping, rolling single track that dropped a further 700 vertical feet and delivered the most satisfying single-track experience of the race. Of course, with a cumulative drop of nearly 2,000 ft, we had to climb back out to cross another peak in the Cape Nature Conservation area called Kogelberg. With the sun peeking out and a bit too much enthusiasm spent on the early parts of the stage, we pared our pace and steadily ground out the nearly one hour climb that topped out on a wind-blown ridge with a panoramic view of what seemed like all of South Africa spread below us.

We were surrounded by the teams with whom we had been racing for much of the past week as we punched out the last few, stiff, hot climbs and cruised the final, freshly built single track into Oak Valley, yet another gorgeous wine-making area in the Western Cape.

We are sitting solidly in 6th place now in a stout mixed field. With just 60 km left to race tomorrow and a 10 minute gap to the 5th place team, the results will most likely stand. There is still a solid day with 1500 meters of climbing and anything can happen. As with each day, the goal is to stay safe, race hard and enjoy the scenery. We are looking forward to the final finish line and closing the books on an incredible week of racing and training.

Our final report will tabulate calories burned, kilometers climbed, heart beats, average speed and a host of other really interesting details that have been recorded on our Suunto watches this entire week. I guess it really was an 8 day work week.

Thanks for tuning in!

I hate road racing. That’s the title of this posting for stage 5 of the Absa Cape Epic. Today’s stage was the last super long one, 111km and “only” 1546 meters of climbing. As usual, the first hour of the race was hard for me. I don’t have a stitch of fast twitch muscle and I usually require a long warm up before events. Logistically, it’s not possible here to warm up, so when the gun goes off, I’m pinned immediately. For many of the stages there are long sections of dirt or paved roads, so being able to stay with a strong group offers a huge advantage and the opportunity to rest and recover while still moving at a fast pace. Unfortunately, my diesel engine has not allowed us to stay where we want to be for the first part of the race. Once I’m warmed up and moving well, we then have to pick our way back up through the field and try to close the gaps between packs of riders. It ends up being like a very hard interval session that goes on for hours. Most days we end up passing people for the second half of the day, but today we really paid for the extra work.

Today felt like my weakest day of the whole race. I’m not sure why I was extra tired. Perhaps it’s the 500 km we’ve already ridden and 6 intense days of racing. I just wasn’t my normal self felt like I was working way too hard. I am really feeling the lack of miles under my belt, the heat and the challenges of a racing style that is not my forte. I know this is a long race, but each day is 5-6 hours with a very fast, explosive pace. Over 6 days, we’ve raced about 22 hours. Normally, I’d race that amount of time in on day.

The last 20 km of today’s stage was very hilly and the heat was intense. I struggled into the finish today and unfortunately we dropped from 5th to 6th in the mixed ranking. I was really affected by the heat again and am trying to take full advantage of the recovery this afternoon. Natasha and Claire have been incredible taking care of us with massage and nutrition. Our Specialized camp scene has been a welcome reprieve at the end of each day. It has been great to roll in, sip on recovery drinks, watch Benno and Dylan completely rebuild the bikes and share race stories from the day. There is a constant flow of people coming by Camp Specialized to say hi, get mechanical help and just hang out.

I am looking forward to the final finish line in Lourensford in 2 days. However, I will miss our nomadic lifestyle and the camaraderie that has developed around this race.

Tomorrow’s stage is 86 km with 1546 meters of climbing. It’s rumored to be the most technical stage in any Cape Epic race ever. Perhaps it will be less of a road race and will suit my strengths a bit more.

114 km, 2202 meters ascent

This stage was reported to be an “easy” day. I think saying any day of the Cape Epic is a bit of an oxymoron. We are tired, bruised and the affects of this many days of racing are starting to show. Matthew and I are both feeling fine, but the legs are sore and the 5am wake up call is taking its’ toll on me!

The stages begin with a mass start of 1200 racers. Teams are lined up in zones based on their overall time and placing. Since we have been sitting in the top 5 in the mixed division, we are allowed to start in Zone A with about 200 other riders. You can feel the weight of the other 1200 riders pressing behind you and the starts are always fast and furious with a cluster of athletes jockeying for position. The first 30 minutes of these days are my least favorite part of the day. It’s difficult to keep track of your teammate, hard to stay safe in the jumble of riders and quite a rude awakening with no warm up.

Today’s start was a neutral roll out through the sleepy town of Greyton. A car was leading us out through the town and onto the open roads. Unfortunately, the course marshal must not have had his Red Bull this morning because he took a wrong turn and lead the whole entire field into a dead end road. The whole field was stopped and confusion set in. We were only 5 minutes from the start and rumor circulated through the field that there would be a re-start. The pack mentality made people push other riders and trample through gardens. The group was making its’ way back toward the start and then just kept going. The re-start never happened and in the confusion, Matthew was pushed over and I lost track of him. Hundreds of people passed us before we realized the race was proceeding despite the botched start. I rode for about 30 minutes not knowing where Matthew was. He was behind me working hard to catch up. When we finally found each other, we were among hordes of recreational riders. We’ve been riding in about 40th position overall for most of the race, but today’s start put us somewhere in the hundreds.

We spent the rest of the stage working through groups, passing people and trying to catch back up. Much of the day was on fast roads with a headwind. It was truly road racing for ¾ of the day and since we were back with slower riders, we were not in packs that could share the workload. Matthew put his nose into the wind and his head down to work. It took us about 2 hours to move into the top 10 mixed field. It took us another couple of hours to work into 6th place in the mixed division. The whole stage took us 5:41 and most of our effort was spent passing teams and working back up through the field after the botched start. We finished the day in 6th and maintained our 5th place in the GC. However, we now only have a 4 minute advantage on the next team, which leaves very little room for error.

As the race goes on, Matthew and I are definitely finding our racing rhythm and learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Today was frustrating to have lost so much time due to a mistake by the course marshal. However, we rode really well and cut our losses the best we could. It’s hard not to look at the standings for today and wonder where we should have placed. However, this race is very much an adventure and very few teams have 8 days in a row with no mistakes, mechanicals or mishaps. I crashed today and bent my wheel about 5 km from the finish. Luckily, it was still operational and got me to the finish line. The other Specialized team (Songo.info) with Christoph and Burry were not so lucky. Burry crashed early in the race and also damaged his wheel. After winning every single stage so far, they lost approximately 20 minutes and lost their overall lead. They are motivated to make a historical comeback and try to regain the lead. As I said, this race is an adventure and the fatigue is setting in for everyone. Bikes and bodies are getting worked, so anything can still happen.

Tomorrow is also rumored to be an “easy” day at 111 km and 2233 meters of climbing. The goal is to race well, stay upright and maintain our position in the general classification.

Although relatively short at only 73k, stage three packed a wallop. Just shy of half-way, we encountered a 2,000 ft climb, the vast majority of which was too steep, loose and rocky to ride. The summit ridge offered astonishing views of the incredible hill country known as The Overberg (over the mountains). Although this climb was the crux of the day, it was by no means the only challenge.

After a howling fast start straight up a 1,000 ft. + loose double-track, followed by several kilometers of loose, challenging, off-camber vineyard service roads, we found our adventure racing backgrounds serving us well as we marched up a steep trail that would take us to the summit of the Boskloof, the tallest mountain in the region. With our bikes on our shoulders, we steadily worked our way through the field on the long hike and eventually saw the 3rd and 4th place mixed teams in the overall standings. Knowing that this was our best shot at moving into the top four in the overall standings, we pushcd relentlessly seeking seconds wherever we could find them.

The picturesque village of Greyton, sitting snugly against the mountains, was our destination, and after the insanely fast descent (max speed 35mph), we joined up with a pack of ex-roadies who stormed towards the final grinder climbs. Our legs had a hard time shifting from big-ring ripping to granny-gear grinding, but our minds were willing: we crossed the line in 5th, again, solidifying our overall position but failing to budge one step higher.

After the race, we agreed that we couldn’t have gone any faster or raced together any better than we did. No flats, solid tactics, the courage to attack a hard course, no mistakes, good nutrition and hydration… it is a wonderful feeling to know that you’ve left it all on the trail, and that those who beat you were simply stronger on the day.

We also wanted to share our observations on the total professionalism of the team that is supporting us. Benno and Dylan, our mechanics, strip our bikes down every night, clean the chains link-by-ink, install fresh rubber every night (and even modify the tread for increased traction) and even use bike shine to make sure our rides are fully pimped at the line. And Claire and Natasha, our soigneurs, wake us with coffee, wash our clothes every day, massage the day’s punishment from our legs and generally make sure that we are presentable when we go to the line.

And, in terms of psyche, it’s never a bad thing to be sharing a designated mobile home slot with the team that has won every single stage of the race so far… although the groupies and journalists are starting to get a bit tedious!

Stage one was billed as the toughest single stage in Cape Epic history, and it lived up to its reputation. Several long climbs, intense heat and relentlessly technical descending led to over 100 people dropping out before the start of stage two. Although it was “only” 112k, the stage offered 2,769 meters of climbing, almost half of which was dished out on the torturous ascent up Groenlandberg, loose, rutted old 4x4 road that rose 500 meters in less than 5k, all of which was in baking sunshine. Africa at its finest!

The descents were absolutely ripping and technical… and treacherous. We’ve heard of many, many broken bones and dislocated shoulders. Fortunately, a long winter didn’t take the edge off of our descending skills and we were passing people like it was a video game. Later, we chatted with one of the race photographers who was trying to keep up with Specialized riders Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander, who are among the favorites to win the overall title, and he said that not only where they unable to keep up, but that they had boiled the brake oil and had to finish the day on front brakes alone!

Both of us had been skiing the week before the race, so the fact and that temps were expected to crack 100 degrees (and that all of the forests we rode through had been burned by raging wildfires in the months leading up to the race – no shade!) caused us some concern. We consulted with Steve Born at Hammer nutrition prior to traveling to Africa and got some tips on dealing with the heat. We’ve been popping Endurolytes like candy and following their suggested protocol for Liquid Endurance. During the stage, we maintained a conservative approach, hoping to minimize possible losses rather than try to stay competitive on the day and potentially blow ourselves for the rest of the race. By the end of the stage, our strategy yielded uncertain results, as we dropped from 4th to 6th overall, and both of us were pretty well f*%#ed at the line.

Nevertheless, the excitement of racing through some of the most incredible terrain on earth more than made up for the difficulty (and self-doubt) of the stage, and we went to bed early, ready to go back to war the next day.

Stage two was only a few kilometers shorter than stage one, but the course profile suggested a faster, more tactical form of racing. Matthew’s road racing experience served us well as he organized pacelines and educated mountain bikers on the finer points of riding in packs. Since both of us were feeling strong, we decided to attack the group that held many of the mixed teams, and committed to a long day with our noses in the wind. Unfortunately, the wind got the best of us, and we sat up after banging away on an interminable dirt road that rose steadily into a wind for almost 30k. Caught by the group that we had dropped earlier, we re-assessed our strategy on the fly and decided to see what we could do during the much harder second half of the stage.

As we were returning to our overnight spot, a beautiful town named Villiersdorp, the course hammered home several steep, full-bore granny-gear climbs. Still feeling strong, we passed several mixed teams (and many men’s teams!) as the rocky, desolate land of the Karoo rolled beneath our tires.

We attacked again on the last series of hills, got a gap, and pressed our advantage all the way home. At the end of the day, feeling more accustomed to the intense pace and heat, we crossed the line in 5th, moving up one spot in GC (general classification, or the overall standings). As Rebecca said at the finish, if we keep bumping one spot every day, we’ll win the race! Of course, Alison Sydor will need to drop out for that to happen!

There are still five more days of hard riding, 500 kilometers of hard racing and over 12,000 meters of hard climbing, so stay tuned…

I am finally over in South Africa and have started the Cape Epic, a 685 km, 8-day mountain bike stage race. The route passes through mountain and wine regions and will feature over 14,000 meters of climbing over the course of the week. It’s the largest and most competitive stage race in the world and the team rosters are packed with 1200 athletes, including Olympians, pro riders, World Champions and regular cyclists.

It is my second year competing in this event as my own Spring training camp and a great travel experience. I am here racing in the mixed division with my coach and friend, Matthew Weatherley-White. Matthew is an ex-road cycling racer, adventure racer and long time endurance athlete. We are using this race as a key building block to my season. We’ll be recording all of our heart rate data on our Suunto watches and compiling a training report when the kilometers are all logged. I am also traveling along with Specialized team riders, Chrisoph Sauser and Burry Stander. We’re camping for the entire week of the race, but camping in style with motor homes, mechanics and soigneurs to help us out. I will be sending reports from the field when I can and you will hopefully get to experience much of the behind the scenes experience and the racing excitement from our reports.

The Prologue is now under our belts and I feel relieved to have finally started the race and gotten the nerves calmed. It was 17km with 650 meters of climbing through the recent burns on Table Mountain. What goes up must come down and the descents were extremely loose and rocky. A rider broke his collarbone yesterday pre-riding the course. I expect there will be more crashes today. Matthew and I discussed our strategy for this day and vowed to ride hard, but be sure not to blow up or crash and to take things a bit conservatively. It is a long race and this is just the prologue. Matthew and I made it through unscathed. The bikes were perfect and we stayed upright. We finished the stage in 4th place, which I am VERY pleased with. All of the women in the top three mixed teams for today are Olympians. We are also surrounded on all sides by World Champions, more Olympians and various other cycling pedigrees. We are in very competitive and very good company, so I feel great about our preliminary performance. The top 6 mixed teams are all within 5 minutes of each other after today, so this week promises to be extremely competitive. There are still more than 600 km to go, so I’m sure the results will be fluid. However, we made a great statement and it’s a good confidence boost to know we are riding amongst the best in the world.

My Specialized teammates Chrisoph and Burry won the men’s prologue by just a few seconds and head into the race in the leaders jersey. They are racing as team Songo.info

Sorry no photos from today. We had to be up at 4:30am, and I am NOT a morning person, so I forgot to take the camera. I’ll work on that.

Tomorrow is the real start of the race with a 119km stage with 2700 meters of climbing. It is rumored to be one of the hardest of the race, so stay tuned. Thanks for checking in. Thanks to Red Bull and Specialized for making this race a reality!

I just got home from the Spa City Marathon and my second race in the USA Cycling Ultra Endurance series. The race was in Hot Springs, AR and their claim to fame in that area of the country is being the “boyhood home of former President Bill Clinton.” That’s what the huge sign says as you drive into town. This was my first trip to Arkansas and I learned that Hot Springs and the nearby Little Rock area have a lot more going for them than past presidents. Hot Springs is home to a beautiful, wooded National Park, natural hot springs, a sweet looking roller coaster, a strip karaoke club and some really amazing single track riding. I didn’t hit all of those hot spots. I mostly focused on the riding part.

This race was my second stop in the USA Cycling Ultra Endurance series and part of my early season quest to find warm places to ride outside. I traveled down alone, but shared a house with Danielle Musto and Fuzzy John Mylne, two other pro racers. I spent a big chunk of my time in Little Rock hanging out at the Specialized shop, Arkansas Cycling and Fitness. They took great care of me by buffing out my bike and taking me to their local favorite restaurant. They even made some bets about how many laps I would be able to complete in the race.

The race was a 6-hour marathon on a 10-mile single track course. The riding was really fun and fast through the woods. The weather was humid, but overcast, so the heat didn’t get to me too much. Danielle had driven to the race, so she had all the race supplies with her: tent, chairs, and Ted the mechanic! She was totally willing to share them all, so the three of us used her tent and Ted was kind enough to provide support and time splits for everyone.

After my metabolic testing at G Fit performance studio in Boise last week, I was armed with some new heart rate zone numbers and a bit more knowledge. I opted not to use an odometer on my bike and just start up my Suunto T6c to record all of the data from the race. This was my last hard effort before heading to South Africa in a week, so my coach Matthew had asked me to try to go as hard as possible and “empty the tank.”

I took the lead from the start, but not by much. After the first lap, Ted reported that I had a one-minute lead over 2nd and 3rd. Part of the fun of coming to a race in a new place is that I have no idea who the competition will be. I had raced against Danielle before, but all of the other women were unknown. After about 2 hours, I still only had a 5-minute lead and was not content with that close of a margin. I always think about possible scenarios that would eat up my advantage such as a flat tire, a crash or another mechanical. It was easy to keep the race intensity high because the course was so much fun and required my full attention. I avoided flat tires and crashes and finished 7 laps on the course in 6:10:50, set a female course record and finished 7th in the men’s field. Danielle moved into 2nd place on the last lap and finished 6 laps in 5:41:10. Fuzzy won the overall with a course record of 8 laps in 6:20:20.

The win keeps me in a solid lead for the overall points for the USA Cycling endurance series. Most importantly, it was a great time riding my bike and the perfect brutally hard training day that I needed before heading to South Africa.

Thanks to Dan and Richard at Arkansas Cycling and Fitness Specialized dealer for all the great support. Thanks to Red Bull for supplying most of the racers with energy drinks for the day. Thanks to Danielle, Ted and Fuzzy for a fun time in Hot Springs!