Archive | Mountain Biking RSS feed for this section

‘Hungary’ for More!

26 Sep

Image

Since I returned from the Mountain Bike Orienteering World Championships in Hungary, the number one question I’ve been asked is the casual but curious, “so, did you win?” I think most people were trying to be funny, but perhaps a few thought the sport was niche and undeveloped enough that I stood a chance..

None of us on the first ever USA Mountain Bike Orienteering Team had actually been.. mountain bike orienteering before. Sure, we were mountain bikers. We were orienteers on foot. We’d been in adventure races that required navigation by bike. But there are seldom any pure mtb-o events in the United States. So we ordered Checkoslavakian map holders, plane tickets to Hungary, and did the best we could..

I’m proud to report, that we got totally steamrolled! Now, that sounds funny– to be proud of finishing in the bottom 10, but picture this:

Imagine that you were a pretty good cyclist, a solid runner and had some swimming skills. Now imagine an opportunity appeared to represent the USA at a newfangled thing called “triathlon” at none other than the world championships!

You’ve never combined the three before. You’re not really sure what people do about changing clothes between sports. Your friends haven’t heard of “triathlon”, but it’s pretty common in other countries. You’re the best shot your country has got, and this new sport sounds fun, so why not? 

You show up with some equipment you had to order off the internet, like “aero bars” and a weirdly shaped bottle that fits between them. You’ve watched videos of ‘transition zones’ online. You’re hoping that you look legit. 

Now, imagine that you CRUSHED it. You’re a total noob to the sport, but you throw down and show all these other countries how to do the sport they invented. You wouldn’t be impressed. The “world championship” would feel like a congregation of amateurs, not elites. You just spent $2000 on a plane ticket to try a European hobby.

No, you’d want to GET CRUSHED so that you could be impressed and inspired. This new sport should present irresistible new challenges. 

Of course, that’s how it went down for us. We got completely, utterly, totally crushed– which was a remarkably, perhaps ironically, inspiring experience. Our finishing times were consistently double, once triple, the winning time. The performances of the podium finishers seemed superhuman. We compared our split times to them like a triathlete might compare mile splits in the marathon leg of Ironman, and we were left in total awe. How did they do that?

So when people asked, “so did you win?” it was with great pride that I told them, “no, I got crushed.”

And I’m ‘Hungary’ for more. ;)

RJ to Compete at Mountain Bike Orienteering World Championships in Hungary!

20 Jul

Peterson rider Rebecca Jensen, known as ‘RJ’ around these parts, has been elected to the US Mountain Bike Orienteering Team and will be representing the USA at the MTB-O World Championships this August in Veszperem, Hungary!

In Mountain Bike Orienteering, instead of following a pre-set course such as in a regular mountain bike race, competitors are provided a map to find their own way. The map shows highly detailed contours and rates the technical difficulty of each trail. Checkpoints are circled on the map and must be visited in the designated order, thus the challenge to the competitor is not only to navigate to the next point but to also make smart route choices. For instance, a competitor might consider whether going the shorter, steeper and technical route is faster than taking the smooth but longer trail around. GPS devices are not allowed in orienteering, only a compass may be used! But RJ emphasizes that the primary skill is being able to read the map and associate it to the terrain, not ‘compass magic.’

RJ setting out controls for a meet in Salmon La Sac

RJ has been orienteering for 3 years since she moved back to the Seattle area. Upon arriving in Seattle, she discovered the Cascade Orienteering Club online. With no prior experience, she called up a high school cross country buddy to join her and showed up at a local meet at Lake Sammamish State Park. After an hour of gleefully running through puddles instead of around them, she (and her friend) were hooked. She has attended every Winter Series meet since then, except for that one time she had a wedding to go to. Her Winter Series Overall ranking steadily climbed from 15th woman in the series in 2010, to 7th in 2011, to 3rd in 2012– the most recent overall ranking includes a win at Fort Steilacoom.

Since moving to Seattle, RJ has also picked up mountain biking. Her dabbling in Xterra, an off-road triathlon series, soon led to age-group wins, then a qualification to attend the US Xterra National Championships. Exploring the endurance aspect of the sport, RJ’s first long mountain bike ride was the 2011 Capitol Forest 50– in which she happily placed 6th, only 5 minutes out of 3rd. Results aside, the attraction remained that mountain biking was always fun and dynamic, no matter how she finished.

Now RJ will be combining her passion for mountain biking and orienteering! To read more about RJ’s orienteering pursuits, check out www.RunBosco.com

To get a flavor for orienteering, check out RJ’s most recent orienteering video from Salmon La Sac below!

Echo of Echo

21 Jun
by Lisa Toner

I got an “echo” of my past, so to speak, at last weekend’s Echo Valley Epic 30 mile mountain bike race! 

Each year, on the last day of school, we observed a great tradition:  Mom pulled up in the loaded minivan and whisked us away to Lake Chelan, where we spent a week with some family friends whose grandparents generously loaned us their timeshare. This was the purest of childhood fun: swimming, boating, tennis, morning runs, sunbathing, brownies and ice cream, and movies.  Freedom! Bliss! Security!  I had a blessed childhood.

One year, we got a Barracuda mountain bike, which I adopted.  I was so proud because it had SHOCK ABSORBERS!  We began taking mountain bikes to Chelan, where we rode the trails of Echo Ridge.  I don’t remember much other than dust, heat, and feeling infuriated as my friends faded into the distance on the long climbs.  Here’s a group shot; I’m in the middle, in the awkward phase of middle school.  I’m probably feeling self-conscious about my huge legs. Little did I know that I’d someday appreciate those legs for their power output!

One year, a very important thing happened after an Echo Valley mountain bike ride: the van broke down!  We had to pedal all the way back to the resort, a grueling ten miles!  OK, most of those miles were downhill, but we probably didn’t have any food or water, and we’d already done a long ride.  I vividly remember how famished and proud we were when we finally rolled up to our door.  I got a sunburn on my lower back that stayed tan for several years.  Looking back, this was an important moment in my life: dealing with the unexpected, doing something you didn’t think you could do, suffering a little, and being thrilled… on a bike. I was in an insecure, nerdy phase of life, so this was a very positive thing for me. 

Fast forward 12 or 13 years (wow, that is half of my life so far!).

It was the last day of school–for my husband Jon, who was about to submit his dissertation to the UW and finish 10 consecutive years of higher education. The end of school means a much different thing now: instead of blissful freedom and security, it’s uncertainty, joblessness, travel, and transition.  It’s still the start of an adventure, just a more open-ended one without any illusions of security.  Leaving my husband to copy edit his 300-page paper one last time, I picked up my teammate Cathy and friend Kamila and we set out to cross the mountains and race bikes in Chelan. The weather was ominous.

We killed time in the town of Chelan until the rain stopped. It made for a nice, romantic bike picture.  

 

It was almost dark when we arrived at the race course, where we pitched my tent and fell sound asleep.  The next morning, we had a leisurely start to the day. We enjoyed coffee and oatmeal. Four Peterson Racing girls were there: Cathy, Courtenay, Sarah, and myself. The atmosphere was lighthearted and fun; you wouldn’t know we were about to go out and suffer for 30-60 miles.  Since it was windy and cold,  I put on a baselayer, arm warmers, knee warmers, and a jersey, which was a good choice.  

The race began with a 2 mile climb, then entered a 13.5 mile main loop. It was a winding maze of double track, fire road, and a few bits of singletrack.  It had about 3600 feet of climbing in 30 miles!  Since there were no obstacles to distract me, I set a hard, steady pace and turned the pedals.  The scenery was gorgeous and it smelled like ponderosa pine and sagebrush.  I had correctly arranged my food and water this time, so I ate plenty and only needed to stop at one aid station.  I came in 11th/30 or something, completing the course in just over three hours.  Sarah, who just got into mountain biking, had a very strong race and placed 6th, Courtenay (racing for her dirt team, Cycling NW) WON the 60 miler in under 5 hours, and Cathy was right behind me.  Good times were had by all!


RJ at Stottlemeyer (including poetry!)

1 Jun

Last week, Lisa shared her race experience of the Stottlemeyer 30 Mile Epic. She said, “The course included some fire road climbs, twisty technical sections, flowy gravel singletrack, and lots of fun!!!”

I would concur, but would like to emphasize, the TWISTY TECHNICAL SECTIONS!

My goodness! There were miles upon miles of roots. And I don’t mean, ‘oh, you’re riding along and bump! you hit some roots and pedal on.’ No, no. These are slow grinding roots. Your front wheel is clawing up one while your rear wheel is still slipping down another. I begin to feel like Indiana Jones in a snake pit and the roots are leaving the earth to tangle me up and eat me alive!

To further impress this point upon you, I have written some Haikus.

Image

 

ROOTS

Roots rise from the earth

knock me off my bicycle

now I ride a stump.

 

ESCAPE

Pedal furiously

trying to escape the wood

roots hold me hostage.

 

 

Ok, for reals though. That’s the magic of mountain biking– every course can offer something so drastically different than the last. At Beezely Burn, the sand did not suit me and I got last. At Echo Valley, the climb/descent course design suited me and I won. The unique part of Stottlemeyer was the root sections that tested your slow-speed technical skills. I finished mid-pack.

So while Stottlemeyer was not a podium performance for me, it was time well spent on trails that challenged my current skill set.

GO MOUNTAIN BIKING!!

-RJ

Sponsor Highlight: Beth Lyndon-Griffith of TRUE BALANCE TRAINING

1 Jun

Peterson Racing is proud to highlight our sponsor Beth Lyndon-Griffith MPT, USA Cycling Level 2 Coach, who is a physical therapist and owner of True Balance Training.

Beth has a diverse background professionally and in sport that includes commercial fishing in Alaska, working as a bike mechanic, bike shop owner, rock climber, professional mountain bike racer, and now as a physical therapist, bike fitter, coach, and mom.

Beth’s cycling career began thirty years ago mountain biking in Colorado and Alaska and then winning her first mountain bike race in 1989, hooking her to competition. Her racing resume is impressive and includes a heavy load of medals from several cyclocross national races, a gold medal from the 1996 UCI mountain bike  world championships, and an exhaustive list of placings in local and east coast road, track, cyclocross, and mountain bike races.

Over the years Beth has made a name for herself in the local cycling community as a body analysis genius and bike fit wizard.  She is an incredibly talented and astute physical therapist who spends a lot of time understanding her client’s bodies unique imbalances and their physical relationship with their bike. She has helped countless athletes, professional and amateur, pinpoint the source of nagging pains and imbalances and helped them achieve a fit that’s safer, more comfortable, and more efficient.  Beth also coaches several local athletes including a few riders on Peterson Racing. Her extensive experience in all disciplines of cycling allows her to mentor new and experienced riders and help them achieve their goals.

Beth’s philosophy towards training and racing is also the name of her business: True Balance Training. Beth believes that both physical and mental balance are the keys to a sustainable and healthy relationship with a sport and she has some sage advice to share on this topic.

To learn more about True Balance Training or to schedule an appointment, visit www.truebalancetraining.com.

Here’s a scrapbook clipping of Beth gracefully clearing a barrier at a CX race that’s fair to assume she won.

Image

Beth making her competition hurt in the dirt:

Image

posted by Lindsay

Stottlemeyer 30 Mile MTB Race

22 May
This weekend, Lisa Toner and Rebecca Jensen represented Peterson Racing at the Stottlemeyer 30, an epic mountain bike race held near Port Gamble, WA.  The course included some fire road climbs, twisty technical sections, flowy gravel singletrack, and lots of fun!!!
Lisa’s race report:

There’s a big grin on my face for a reason: I love sun, good health, and MOUNTAIN BIKING!  Winter smacked me with constant illness, terrible weather, and stress over my husband’s up-in-the-air job search.  I work with young children and was unluckily sick for 10 out of the first 18 weeks of 2012.  I missed seven of my planned races, lost a lot of fitness, and basically stopped training.  Things are looking up, though!  On a sunny Saturday, I did my first long-distance mountain bike race: the NW Epic Series Stottlemeyer 30-Mile.  At Stottlemeyer, not only did I have tons of two-wheeled fun on sunny singletrack, I made steps toward a big personal goal: dialing in my race nutrition!

With several pro racers in the Women’s Open field, the race started out fast!  I have been mountain biking forever, and even tried a few short races last year. I felt strong on the initial climbs, but was unsure of my fitness over such a long race.  So I paced myself.  About 45 minutes in, I felt my energy levels dropping.  After experiencing some nasty blood sugar crashes in other races, I knew I had to get some calories in quickly.  I pulled over at the top of a hill to get food out of my backpack.  Unbuckle, unbuckle, unzip, fumble for food, try unsuccessfully to unwrap food, remove gloves, unwrap, eat, move food to jersey pocket, chew, swallow, replace gloves, take another bite, replace backpack, readjust CamelBak hose, pedal slowly to finish eating…in this very clumsy process, eight ladies blew by me.  Lesson learned–dial in your equipment and keep unwrapped food in your pockets!  My competition was out of sight and I had pushed hard for awhile.  So, for the rest of the first lap, I eased off and enjoyed the ride, stopping at aid stations to re-stock on Clif and Nuun products and chatting with some really nice fellow riders.  I was vigilant about my nutrition, taking a bite every 20 minutes or after every hard climb, which kept my energy levels high and prevented my stomach from shutting down as it has in the past.

On the second lap, I began to trust my fitness more. So, I picked up speed. I caught a few racers on the climbs and began to have that good feeling when your legs keep giving even after hours of riding.  I finished with a smile on my face, WAY behind the winner, but thrilled at how much fun I’d had!  Since I had eaten enough throughout the race and hydrated with Nuun, I was able to start in with my recovery drinks right away.  For once, I had a flawless recovery – high energy for the rest of the day, no nap needed, and happy legs the next day.  What a difference the timing of nutrition makes!  Thanks, sponsors!  I’m excited to see how this helps my performance in future stage races.  Maybe as I get used to mountain bike racing and become more confident in my fitness/nutrition, I can push myself a bit more. I can’t wait for the next NW Epic Series race, the Echo Valley 30 miler!

Tags: , , ,

Echo…

16 May

RJ already covered the basics of the Echo Valley Rally pretty well, but she forgot a few things, and I have some of my own story to add:

First, most importantly, she forgot to mention the TEPEE! We were the first people ever to stay in Uncle Tim’s Tepee!  It was a little chilly, but otherwise we got a great nights sleep, AND it was right next to the start line.

Anyway, this was my first mountain bike race ever, and if you know anything about me, you’ll know that I was deathly afraid of mountain biking for at least 7 years.  I tried mountain biking in college, but on my first ride, I crashed, and because I had such paralyzing fear after that, I sold my mountain bike and gave up.  This year, I bought a new mountain bike, determined to give it another go.  I’m not sure what happened this time around, but I’ve gradually gotten to the point where I can ride the thing! Yeah!  Not well, mind you, but it’s a start.

So anyway, I signed up for the sport category even though I really should be a beginner… but what’s the fun in that?!  We started up the first climb, and I was doing pretty well, teetering between 2nd and 3rd place. I even passed RJ for a little bit, and I was thinking “wow! I’m ahead of a real mountain biker! I’d better go fast up this hill because I know I’ll lose a bunch of time descending.”  La de da, mountain biking is fun, maybe I’m ok at this!

Then, we start on the whoop de doos.  The first few were ok, but one towards the middle had more “whoop” than the others.  I hit it the wrong way, and all of a sudden I was superman-ing over my handlebars.  I landed on my chest/shoulder and instantly knocked the wind out of myself.  HEAVE this is scary HEAVE did I break anything? HEAVE don’t get run over HEAVE

It’s been a long time since I’ve knocked the wind out of myself, and I forgot how scary it can be!  For a few seconds, I thought I was dying, but I found my wind and slowly picked myself up off the ground.  I finished the rest of the descent timidly, crashing once more, but I decided to continue on to the next lap.  By this point, everyone in my category passed me, so my chances of podium were long gone.  I just tried to ride as steadily as I could and slowly regain my confidence.

As we approached the finish, I passed a gal who started a minute ahead of me.  She said “we made it!” and I told her “not quite yet!”  It’s true, she had spoken too soon because I crashed again on the steep downhill right before the finish.  As she rode by me, she said “what did you do this time?!” She could tell I was a roadie in mountain bike clothes, and it was on grass, afterall.  Roadie wins the day, though, because I quickly got back up and finished. Based on overall times, I beat her by 2 seconds! Last in my category but not quite totally last. I’ll take it!

Kelly

Echo!

16 May

The Echo Valley Ralley is the second race in the newly minted 6-race Fat Tire Revolution [mountain bike] Series that is taking over central Washington. Echo Valley, just north of Lake Chelan, is characterized by buff, swoopy trails and sunshine: perfect ingredients for an awesome mountain bike race! The ten-mile lap climbs (and descends) 340meters and is made primarily of single track. Beginners ride one lap, Sport level riders ride twice and the crazy Experts go three times.

Last weekend, Sarah, Kelly and I all rode the Sport course. For Sarah, she wanted to move up a step on the podium from her 3rd place at the Beezley Burn just 2 weeks prior. For Kelly, it would be her first mountain bike race ever! Her focus would be to have fun. For me, it was about recovering from a Dead Last finish in the Expert Category at the ‘Burn. That sandy, rocky, bucking bronco course totally schooled me and neither the heat nor my legs were much help either. So this week, I rode Sport– deciding that it would be better for my training as well as my morale, to ride faster rather than farther.

Boy, was I glad I only had to ride two laps. As we lathered up in sunscreen, it might’ve only been 68 degrees outside, but MAN! my body thought it was 88. I decided that I’d drink Nuun out of my Camelbak and use the bottle on my bike exclusively for pouring on my head.

The start gun went off and up the hot dusty climb we went. I instantly began to melt and my heart rate was furious. I announced my race goal to myself: RIDE YOUR OWN RACE. Then I dumped water on my head.

Fortunately, a light breeze began to pick up– and I was amazed at how my power spiked up whenever I got a whiff of it! (I don’t have a power meter, just going by feel here!). By the time I finished the first lap, I had adjusted to the temperature and began to ride stronger. I decided that I was probably in second place, but I hadn’t seen the first place  girl in the green jersey since the start. So I continued to ride my own race.. do, doo-doo.. jus’ ridin’ ma’ mountain bike.. la, laa-laa.. HEY!!! I crested the climb and spied a green jersey just around the bend. THERE’S FIRST PLACE!! I had no idea she was RIGHT THERE!!

My race senses lit up. There was nothing but descent left in the course and we were about to enter the “whoop-de-doo” section of man-made mountain bike ‘moguls.’ I hit those whoop-de-doo’s HARD, coming up after each just barely atop my bike. My body was in conflict, as I pedaled furiously but tried to keep a flow. I had to go FAST, but I had to stay SMOOTH. Pedal pedal, WHOOP DE DOO!, pedal pedal, WHOOP DE DOO! The green jersey moved in and out of sight. Pedalpedalpedal-WHOOPDEDOOOO!!!

We turned onto the last stretch of gravel before the fast, grassy cyclocross-style finish. The volunteer sitting at the corner cheered me on, “YEEAAAHHH!!” I was a ninja about to pounce- she had no idea I was coming. I closed the gap quickly on the gravel, just before the singletrack. I had barely enough space to dive in front of her, but I decided against it as my road racer instincts said to stick to her wheel and bet on the sprint finish.

On her wheel, the race immediately turned from an endurance event to a sprint-style cross country eliminator. We rode FAST over the ski hill grass, jockeying for position into every corner. It came down to the final U-turn, I took the inside line just behind her and jumped out of her draft. I wasn’t really sure how sprinting on a mountain bike was going to work, but I was willing to find out.. sprintSprintSPRINT/bikethrow! Just as I was about to regret not diving into the singletrack first, I nipped her at the line!!!

The green jersey girl gave me her congratulations and we shook hands.

The best congratulations, however- came from the guy I passed on the climb. He was a bit surprised that I continued to ride away from him on the climb and even more surprised that he couldn’t close the gap on the descent either. This is the second time a dude has found me after a mountain bike race to compliment my downhill skills. This makes me wonder that either I descend better than I think (I take myself to be pretty average), or these guys have really got to increase their expectations for women. Whichever the case, it feels good to ride well!

Cheers,

RJ

Da’ Beezely Burn!

11 May

GRRRR!!

Image

GRRRRRR!!

Image

That’s right, even though it was Sarah, Tara and Jac’s FIRST mountain bike race ever– they were FIERCE on the start line!

Alright, we do play nice.

Image

The course was quite different than what we’re used to here on the west side. Near Seattle, trails are made of terrifically tacky mineral/organic soil, dashed with roots and rocks here and there and often buffed and fast. In Ephrata, the soil was dry, sandy and loose, punctuated with LOTS of rocks, and just would not stop turning and twisting. Oy! What a ride.

RJ quizzically signed up for the Expert category which required 3 laps. (She doesn’t like to feel left out and wanted to experience ALL of the fun that was available.) Even though she DFL’d, she still came through each lap with a smile on- determined to tackle the bucking bronco once again!

The rest of the ladies opted for the Sport category’s 2 laps (good decision! RJ wants to do this next time!).

Tara rode smart and kept it within her comfort zone for her inaugural ride. She took a spill on a loose section, but discovered that you really can bounce back up after a mountain bike crash!

Meanwhile, Sarah and Jac devoured their divisions. They each went home with nifty wooden medals. Congrats!

Next up for the mountain girls: Echo Valley Ralley!

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.