March, April, and May soon passed and the chances of races actually happening seemed smaller and smaller by the day. Every time I looked at my email something was getting postponed, or canceled. It was a tough time to be an athlete. All of those races that I had trained so hard for were suddenly off the table. I did what I could and focused on the positives, my family was healthy, I was healthy, and Phil and I still had our jobs. Bowline thought having both of his humans home all the time was amazing. He loved all the midday walks and extra snuggles!
Yikes! It has been way too long since I have written anything on here! As I sit here with a fire going, sourdough bread rising and a golden retriever on my feet I figured it would be a good time to update all of you on 2020 and talk about what pregnancy has been like for me. So here we go! At this time last year I was training hard for a full season of racing including a big trip to Europe for a couple EWS races. It is crazy to think how much has changed since then. It was the first winter EVER that I had trained ALL winter with a coach (thanks Jenny Smith!) and was feeling stronger than ever before. I had sacrificed ski days for trainer sessions, did power tests instead of single track rides, and was dedicated to going to the gym. I was preparing for an all time season. I was ready physically, and mentally to give the 2020 season everything I had. Fast forward to March when everything hit the fan and suddenly I found myself wondering if races would even happen. I took a few weeks off of structured training to give my mind a break and not overwhelm myself with what was happening in the world and with training. This by all means did not mean I wasn't riding my bike. There was actually a point where I had to make myself take a day off of the bike when I couldn't remember the last rest day I had. In light of all the awful Covid news I was putting in big adventure days and enjoying the time to think, ride, and be outside. March, April, and May soon passed and the chances of races actually happening seemed smaller and smaller by the day. Every time I looked at my email something was getting postponed, or canceled. It was a tough time to be an athlete. All of those races that I had trained so hard for were suddenly off the table. I did what I could and focused on the positives, my family was healthy, I was healthy, and Phil and I still had our jobs. Bowline thought having both of his humans home all the time was amazing. He loved all the midday walks and extra snuggles! At the beginning of June our world changed. We found out that I was pregnant! Phil and I were both SUPER EXCITED as being parents has always been in our long term plan. Along with the excitement came lots questions. What did this mean for my race season? What does this mean for my career as a professional athlete? What can I/can't I do? I started googling (which I don't recommend) about pregnant athletes and was surprised at how little information I found. Our first doctors appointment wasn't for another month so that left me with SO many unanswered questions about exercise. After reading some information in books it sounded like I was free to continue to exercise the way I had been but to listen to my body as needed. That was easy enough. I am a professional athlete listening to my body is part of my job! I could do that! It shouldn't have been a surprise that my energy levels were down in the first trimester. I went from eating healthy, clean, balanced meals, to eating cereal, applesauce, toast and popsicles some days. I thought that maybe big rides were done but I couldn't have been more wrong. At the beginning of the pandemic Phil and I both got ebikes and I had no idea how much joy they would bring. Especially on days where I was feeling crummy but still wanted to get outside the Shuttle really helped to keep things fun! Because of the Shuttle I was still able to ride some of my favorite high alpine rides, and even check some goal rides off our list! If you haven't ridden an ebike before I dare you to try one and not come back with a HUGE smile on your face. As the weeks went on and I was getting closer to the end of the first trimester I was also getting more and more nervous to tell my sponsors. I wasn't sure how they would react to the news since this meant I would not be racing in 2020. All I can say is you know you are riding for the right companies when their response is overwhelmingly positive and supportive. My heart was full and I have never been more proud to represent brands who support women athletes to the fullest. The second trimester arrived and we finally got to share our secret with everyone. Which was a huge relief because it was getting harder and harder to keep my mouth shut! They say the second trimester is when you feel your best and they are right. I didn't really have any symptoms and was continuing my active lifestyle with the slight modification of a slower pace uphill. I actually had to remind myself I was pregnant because I felt totally normal. We took full advantage of these weeks and went on some bigger rides. At 20 weeks we had the anatomy scan and got to see the baby for the first time since about 10 weeks. Which was pretty incredible. Even though baby is still tiny at that point it was surreal to see he/she moving around in there. I still wasn't really showing so it was reassuring that yes, there was a baby in there and yes, they are growing just the way they should be. We had decided early on that we didn't want to find out the gender. It wasn't hard to not know until we were at the appointment and knew we could find out if we wanted to. We stayed strong and didn't peek :-) Team green! I am so thankful that I continued to feel good on my bike and didn't feel off balance or anything so we continued to ride! I was definitely slower on the uphills but felt completely normal on the descents. The recommendation from the doctor stayed the same. As long as I felt comfortable and wasn't pushing it too hard to keep doing the activities that I wanted to do. The snow came and shut down the biking in the valley so I made the transition to skis and also the transition into the third trimester. After talking to the doctor we decided that for safety reasons for me to not ski the resort this year. This was a hard decision since I have been on skis since I could walk so I wasn't worried about my skiing abilities. Ultimately we decided it wasn't worth the risk of getting hit by another skier or snowboarder. I didn't let this stop me from skiing though! I have been skinning up the resort after hours and some VERY VERY mellow backcountry skiing. It is getting harder to get my ski boots on with a baby belly in the way but I'm convinced by the amount of kicks I get that the baby loves the motion of skiing. With about 5 weeks to go I have days where I am sore and tired for no reason other than the fact that I am growing a human being (still so crazy to me) and days where I am full of energy. I have been riding the trainer a little bit but mostly have been sticking to outside activities since the weather has been BEAUTIFUL! Walks with friends and dogs, XC skis, fat biking, and uphill skiing fill my days. They say if you can keep up a good exercise routine that it will make for an easy labor. Let's hope that is true! Phil has said a couple times that he thinks I actually enjoy being pregnant. I am not sure if enjoy is really the right word but, I have not been taking this incredible journey for granted. I never realized how truly amazing the human body is until now. It is a pretty wild feeling to feel the baby kicking and punching away inside of me knowing that they will soon be doing that on the outside. One of the biggest things I learned this pregnancy is to not compare my pregnancy to anyone else's. Everyone's experience is different and it is SO important to listen to your body's needs. Fortunately I have been lucky to have an uncomplicated pregnancy where my body still allows me to be active.
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Who: Advanced beginner/intermediate riders men and women both welcome!
What: Skills Clinic with me Cooper Ott Level 2 BICP certified instructor, Crested Butte Devo Coach, and Professional Enduro Racer Where: Hartman Rocks When: May 19th, 2018 Why: This is a perfect opportunity to learn new skills and gain confidence for the upcoming season! Cost: $50 Sponsored by: Crested Butte Devo and CB South Fitness Want to brush up your skills before summer bike season hits? Have you always wanted to take a skills clinic but didn't have an entire weekend to devote to it? Do you have kids in summer mountain bike programs like Crested Butte Devo and want to keep up with your kids? Is there a trail feature that you want to conquer but are unsure how? Skills clinics are a great way to hone in on skills that we will use all season long! This 4 hour skills clinic will involve a parking lot skills session and an on trail riding session. We will be working on skills that are crucial for feeling confident on your mountain bike. Spaces are limited so sign up soon! If you would like to sign up or have any questions please reach out: (231) 838-4830 [email protected] The hardest part about living in the mountains and racing mountain bikes is having to start training when there is still snow on the ground. The first race of the season is a little over a month away. It is that time of year where indoor bike trainer becomes another piece of furniture in our condo. Right now the most important thing is getting in some base miles, to build up my endurance. Do they still count as base miles even if your bike never moves? I try to get my workouts done early in the morning because I am much more of a morning person than a night person. Also my workouts are a lot more productive before I work than when I am tired after. Some days it is easier to get up and get moving than others. And, it is easy for me to come up with excuses to NOT get out of bed.
And those are just a few! But then as I lay in bed coming up with all of the excuses I also think about all the benefits.
Last week I was having one of those mornings where I wasn’t feeling motivated to ride the trainer. I was complaining to Phil about not feeling like doing it when he asked me what I felt like doing instead. I replied that I wanted to go to the gym and lift weights instead. Although I wasn’t planning on lifting that day that is what I was motivated to do! Sometimes I get so caught up in my plan that it is hard for my mind to think of other options, and going to the gym was a great option! I quickly changed clothes since by that time I only had an hour before I needed to get ready for work. I jumped on my bike, headed to the gym and had a great power hour!
So next time you are making excuses, or not wanting to do a workout remember to push the excuses aside or find another fun workout to do! Fear is a crazy phenomenon. Some people are scared of spiders, snakes, or going fast downhill on mountain bikes. For me it is skiing (both up and down) areas that are exposed, have risks of hitting rocks, or are steeper than my comfort level. When I got the text from my friend Sydney asking if I wanted to go ski Red Lady in the morning I immediately responded YES! Then I thought more about it and remembered that the skin track followed the ridge out in the open and the last time I skied it I froze in fear. I thought about bailing but that seemed like the easy way out. After pondering my options I decided it might be a good time to conquer my fears. Which is much easier said than done. But I was going to go, and it was going to be awesome. We left the trailhead at 6 a.m. and headed up the skin track. My skins slipped a couple time in the first few minutes which wasn’t very confidence inspiring but with a little encouragement from Sydney I kept going. We made our way up the skin track through the trees, with only the sound of the snow under our skis and my labored breathing. The sun slowly came up back lighting Crested Butte Mountain Resort and the surrounding mountains. I think this is the most beautiful time of day. The wind was blowing as we made our way out of the trees and into an opening. This is the first opening on the way up where you can get a clear view of the bowl. I don’t know if it is the fact that it is steep and doesn’t have the protection of the trees or if it is the feeling of being an ant in these huge mountains but something about it scares me. It scares me a lot actually. I could feel my chest getting tight and it was getting harder to breathe. I stopped and reminded myself to take it one step at a time. After I take a couple deep breaths we continue on our way. I kept my head down and followed Sydney, and before I knew it we were at the top! Geo, Jenae and Kelly are already there waiting for us (thanks guys!). We assessed the conditions, our biggest concern was the wind slab that formed the previous day. After talking about it as a group we decided that it was safe enough to ski. I was shaking. It could have been the safest skiing conditions of all times and I still would have been scared. Being on top of a mountain makes everything seem so small and really puts it in perspective how spectacular Mother Nature is. I watch as Geo drops in and skis to the safe spot followed by Kelly and then Jenae. Now it is my turn and I am still feeling uncomfortable. Sydney reminds me that I am strong and that I can do it. After a couple fake 1,2,3’s like when you are trying to jump into cold water I finally drop in. I traverse around some rocks and then its go time. I am doing it! I am really doing it! I made it down to the group and am so pumped that I didn’t give into my fears and skied it. We watch Sydney ski and make our way down the rest of the bowl to the cars. Its before 9 am and we already had an amazing ski adventure. I don’t think I completely conquered this fear, but I definitely think I took a good jab at it today. I can’t wait for more ski adventures and more chances to face this fear.
Hello all! Phew! It has been a busy November! One of my favorite parts about living in Crested Butte is how close we are to so many awesome places. For some vacation means relaxing, reading a book, taking extra naps, and being happy doing nothing. My idea of vacation is a little different. It usually includes riding as much as possible, falling asleep before 9 o’clock, and skipping rest days. As my friend Brian would say,”party on”! Earlier this month my husband Phil and I decided to take a little vacation to Moab to meet up with friends and ride mountain bikes and dirtbikes. The last few trips to Moab have been for enduro races so it was nice to go without an agenda. Well, except for riding the Whole Enchilada! For those of you who have not been to Moab, or have not yet ridden the Whole Enchilada, it is incredible. More about that later. After a pit stop in Grand Junction to ride the Lunch Loops, we arrived in Moab late Wednesday night. Luckily setting up camp is a breeze with the camper so we were able to sit back and relax. The next morning we woke up, made an awesome breakfast and got ready for a day of dirt biking. This year was my first year riding my moto on singletrack and WOW is it a workout! Moving the 230 pound dirt bike is much different that my 30 pound mountain bike! Good thing it has a throttle and I don’t have to pedal it! This past summer I was getting tired after about 3 hours of singletrack because of how much strength it requires. Since then I have been working on upper body strength at the gym, so I was excited to see how it translated onto the moto. Riding new trails is always a little intimidating to me. Not know what is coming up next, and wondering if my skills are up to par for the trail. Luckily, I was with Phil and our friend Austin who are both experienced moto riders, so if I got in a pickle they could help me out. We spent the day exploring new trails, eating snacks, and laughing at my poor line choices. Five hours later we were back at the camper and I was tired! We were sitting down having a snack when it dawned on me that I had made it 5 hours! My longest moto ride to date! Those gym hours must be paying off! Friday morning came quickly and we were up and at em’ early to make the 9 o’clock shuttle at Moab Cyclery for the Whole Enchilada! We were so excited to still be able to do this ride so late in the year! The ride starts at about 11,000 ft up in the La Sal mountains, and drops you 28 miles down to the Colorado river. That is about 8,000 ft of downhill shredding! After the big moto ride the previous day, it took my muscles a bit to warm up. We had a blast flying down through the trees of Burro Pass, the open dust of Hazard, the rocky roller coaster of Upper Porcupine Singletrack, and the final techy ledges of Lower Porcupine Single track. So.Much.Fun. Although this ride is mostly downhill it is deceivingly tiring. The single track is techy so you have to be on your game. The high speed drops, and chunky singletrack make for an unforgettable day. By the end my body was yelling at me, I think it was telling me it was ready for a Milts chocolate malt. Needless to say I was in bed early that night. After another two days of moto and mountain biking we headed back home with permanent smiles on our faces, and exhausted bodies. There is nothing better than a shredcation!
A lot of my blog posts are dedicated to racing. I thought that I would switch it up a little bit and give you a little taste of an epic Crested Butte weekend. Race season is winding down which frees up some time to check out new trails, ride dirt bikes, hangout with friends, and spend the evenings sitting on the porch. We managed to accomplish all of these things in one long weekend! Saturday morning started early with heading out on the dirt bikes at 9 a.m. Our goal was to check out some of the high alpine single track! This was super exciting for me as I have only ridden single track down at Hartman Rocks which is desert like. We rode from our house up the Cement Creek drainage and went up the Hunter Creek single track. One of the things I love about Crested Butte is a lot of the trails are multipurpose, open to both mountain biking and dirt biking! I had already ridden down Hunter Creek on a mountain bike so somewhat knew what to expect when we went to dirt bike up it. We got to the top and were having SO much fun! We decided to continue across on Double Top, and then down Block and Tackle, again trails I had ridden on a MTB before riding on a dirt bike. It still blows my mind how tired I get dirt biking! 2 hours of single track on the dirt bike and I was ready for some lemonade and lunch! When we got back to the house, Phil quickly changed into MTB clothes and headed out to ride Doctors Park with our friend Alex who was visiting, while I stayed home and organized the new kitchen! Usually I would be bummed to not go ride Doctors park but not this time! We recently had our kitchen remodeled and it was time to organize and put everything back in order! I had a BLAST! I also made a peach pie while I was at it... YUMMM On Sunday we packed our hydration packs full of water and food and headed out for an all day adventure. We started with an 8 mile climb to the top of Star Pass, before descending down trail 400 to the East side of Block and Tackle, back up and over on Double Top to Waterfall Creek. The ride was full of ups and downs but mentally and physically. The climbs were brutal but fortunately I had Phil and Alex with me to keep my mind off of it. The views were absolutely breathtaking and it is still hard to believe that we live in a place like this. The descents were AMAZING! I had never ridden trail 400 before and it just kept getting better and better the further down the trail you went! By the time we got to the top of Waterfall Creek for the final descent I had gotten a second wind and was pumped to have made it! We started down the trail, Phil following with the GoPro and before I knew what happened I was on the ground (laughing). I had caught my front tire on a ledge on the trail and went down. Phil quickly asked me if I was okay, then immediately informed me that he had gotten it on camera... great... lol... We finished out the ride stoked and tired. After a big dinner we hit the hay early to get ready for the next day. Monday morning came quickly, we crushed some waffles and bacon and headed out for the third adventure in a row! Today's mission was Reno, Flag, Bear, Deadmans. This is a ride that we do a few times a year and always leaves me saying WOW! Although the climbs can be tough the descents are some of the best in the area. If I was only going to ride one loop while in Crested Butte this would have to be it. So. much. fun. The sweet descents make you forget the pain of the climbs. 4 hours later we made it back to the truck, and headed back home reminiscing of the amazing weekend of shredding we had.
As the trees outside my window start to change color, and the summer CB Devo program comes to an end, once again I am in awe at how fast the summer has gone by. Between racing both the BME and Enduro cup series, coaching CB Devo, racing two EWS races and squeezing in a few epic trail rides, this summer has been one for the books! Lets start with the Enduro World Series races or EWS. Going into the Aspen EWS I had high expectations after finishing 9th last year and being the top American. The race was full of highs and lows. After suffering multiple crashes on day 1, I knew I needed to make up some time on day 2. I didn't feel like myself on my bike and was having a hard time overcoming that mentally. But, I pushed through and finished just inside the top 20 making up 5 spots on the second day. Just a short week and a half later we were loading up the car and bikes and headed to Denver to catch our flight for the Whistler EWS. Phil and I struggled in the days leading up to leaving questioning if we should make the trip or not. The wildfires in BC were raging, causing Whistler to be covered in a blanket of smoke. Was it worth going? Were we going to get sick from the smoke? The race committee was supposed to make a call Tuesday night but never sent an update so against the feeling in our guts we got on the plane Wednesday morning and headed for Whistler. When we landed in Seattle my heart sunk. The smoke was worse than I thought it would be. As we drove closer and closer to Whistler it only got worse. Thursday we rode the bike park and checked out some super fun trails taking breaks inside away from the smoke. Friday was the first official day of practice and the smoke had cleared a bit but not nearly as much as they anticipated. We headed out for a long grueling day of back country riding in the 90 degree temps. The tracks were steep and gnarly. Pushing my limits and brake pads. We completed practice around 6 and headed back to the village tired and hungry. That night I woke up with an incredibly sore throat and was nervous for the next day. Sure enough the next morning I was full on sick. Fever, chills, no energy, and body aches kept me in bed for almost the entire day. I was disappointed, sad, and angry that I had traveled all this way for a race and was feeling so awful. I kept my mind open to the possibility of racing stage 1 blind but when I woke up Sunday feeling just as bad I knew I wasn't going to be racing. You only get one body, and there will always be other races. I was so so so disappointed but made the right decision. We packed up the car and headed for Seattle, and the next morning back to Colorado. The entire next week before the CB BME I battled low energy, and a cough that would not go away. Luckily, most of the courses I had ridden before and would not need to pre ride and could rest instead. Friday I headed out to test the body before starting the race on Saturday. Feeling ok, I decided to race! The two day race was filled with FAST and FUN high alpine stages and brutally long transfers. It was a beautiful weekend and was fun to hangout with all my racing friends! I ended up taking second for the weekend and second overall for the series! We kept the race train moving to Deer Valley, UT for the final race of the Scott Enduro Cup Series. Unlike the other races in the series this one was more downhill oriented and almost all lift access. The courses were dusty, LOOSE and physical. Practice went really well and I was having a blast pushing the limits of my bike and body. Race day 1 started and it was pretty obvious from the first stage that this was going to be a tight race. Sure enough by the end of day 1 the times were close and it was still anyones race.
Day 2 started off a little rough with 2 silly crashes on the first stage of the day costing me precious time that in the end would separate first and second place. The second stage of the day was the gnarliest stage of the weekend, NCS. NCS was full of rock gardens, dry off camber sections and hecklers. It was rowdy and awesome. The times were still tight, and it was still anyones race. The next 2 stages went well for me, winning both by a few seconds, but in the end was not enough to catch 1st place. 15 seconds separated us and it was hard knowing that the 2 crashes in stage 5 easily cost me that much time but, thats racing I guess! Note to self: don't crash. Stoked to be back in CB for the fall! Stay tuned for a Labor Day Weekend adventure weekend post! This past winter was one to remember. There were 10 days in January where if you woke up and there wasn't 9" or more on the powder cam it was a shock. We got some awesome skiing in, probably the best skiing of my life, but now the tables have turned and we are patiently waiting for the snow to melt. Crazy how that works. We were all so so pumped to get so much awesome snow this winter but sad when I realized how far off our high country mountain biking is. Spring in the rockies has been pretty typical. Going a week with BEAUTIFUL weather where all you want to do is play outside, to waking up one morning with 4" of snow on the ground again. These days are tough, but I try to think forward and know that this snow will soon be hero dirt. May was here before I knew it and with it the first race of the year. Phil and I loaded up and headed to Moab for the first round of the Scott Enduro Cup. Naturally I was nervous about my fitness considering the rough spring, and also my first spring not dedicated to XC training. But I did my best to stay positive and just think of it as a good starting point. Plus it would be the first race on my new bike!! I am over the top impressed with the new Trek Slash 9.9. Last year I was constantly wishing I had more bike, that is not the case this year. The Slash is a dream come true. Not only is it the most capable bike I have ever ridden, it is also the most beautiful. The pre- ride was HOT... we did our best to get the riding done in the morning and rest in the afternoon. Clouds rolled in on race day and brought lower temps with them (thank goodness). The conditions were ideal and my bike was ready to rip. It was great to be back on the start line with all of the awesome ladies again! Stage one had a good mix of pedaling and pumping. I was almost to the bottom when I popped off a small roller and my front wheel hit a rock on the landing, sending me into full recovery mode! LUCKILY, I was able to save it but PHEW it was SO SO close! I finished the stage and was happy with how it went. Last year I had a slide out in one of the first corners so I was excited to make it through clean this year. Stage 2 was the longest stage and had some challenging blind corners. One of which I found myself off the trail and putting a foot down to get back on track. But again made it down the stage without a full on mistake and was excited about the next two stages. As I transferred over to stage 3 I saw Phil. This can't be right, Phil should be on his way to stage 4? What is he doing here? As I got closer I noticed that he was holding his arm and his clothing was covered in blood. UGH! NO! When I asked what had happened he told me that he had clipped a juniper tree on stage 3 and it had cut his arm. He told me not to worry that he was just going to go get a few stitches and that I should keep racing. I asked multiple times if he was sure... Phil assured me that he would be fine and that there wasn't anything I could do at the hospital anyways. Hesitantly I continued on to stage 3. I raced stage 3 cautiously nervous about the Junipers catching my arms and cutting me too. I made it down and headed to stage 4. I kept checking my phone to see if Phil had called or any updates on stitches. Nothing but "go fast" texts and "how did that stage go?" I updated Phil and kept racing. Stage 4 was the most fun, blasting through rocks and not much pedaling. Once I finished stage 4 I quickly headed back to check in and grab the van so I could head to the hospital. I was just about to the hospital when I got a phone call from the ER. The nice lady at the front desk had called me wondering how close I was because my husband really wanted to see me before he went back. Went back where? I thought this was only a few stitches? Shouldn't he be done by know? These were all of the questions that were going through my head as I was walked back to Phil. I got into the room and he was hooked up the the IV and the nurses filled me in on what was going on. Phil had a very very deep cut on his arm that they needed to take him to surgery in order to clean it out and stitch him up from the inside out. In the next few minutes they were leading the anesthesiologist into the room, letting me know that I should go fill his perscription before the pharmacy closed, and rolling Phil back for surgery.
Only a few stitches he said. I will be fine he said. It wasn't until I was in City Market filling the prescription did I look at the picture the nurse had took of the cut. Tears filled my eyes immediately. It was much much much worse than I thought and now knew why he needed surgery. I headed back to the hospital to sit in the waiting room. I was the only person there and the receptionist was SO great. She helped keep my mind off things as we waited for the nurse to come and bring me back to Phil. Dr. Quinn the surgeon came out to give me an update. They cleaned it out and sewed him up but it was imperative that we watch for infection the next few days. When I finally got to go back and see Phil he was still a little loopy from the anesthesia which was pretty funny. He was sore but in good spirits. We got the okay from the nurse to be discharged and headed back to the race venue to pick up the tent and possibly make it to awards. We made it back in time for awards but by this time it was SO windy and starting to rain. We quickly got the girls who were there together for a podium picture and then loaded up and headed back to CB. Thank you so much to the racers who helped get the bleeding under control, to my fellow races for telling me it was going to be okay, to the whole staff of the Enduro Cup for getting Phil to the hospital as quickly as possible. Thank you to the doctors and nurses at the Moab Regional Hospital for stitching him back together. And to the Nolan's for helping bring back our car from Montrose. Phil update: The stitches are out and he has been cleared to ride! The human body is truly amazing. So thankful to have my riding buddy back in action! CAUTION PICTURES BELOW!! (Only after pictures, the before is to gnarly for a blog) When I got out of bed and looked out the window this morning I couldn't help but laugh. Everything was covered in a fresh coat of snow. Living at almost 9,000 ft Mother Nature has a tendency to throw us some curve balls. For me it is really important to practice patience and flexibility when this happens, seeing as it is completely out of my control.
Instead of getting up and rushing to plan a ride I took this as an opportunity to slow down, eat a delicious breakfast, drink some tea and wait to see what the day is going to bring. Things are already melting and the sun is trying hard to come out. Today is going to be a great day! Make the most of your day! Whether it is snowy, sunny, rainy, or windy. Do some yoga, ride a bike, go for a walk. Do something for you! Coop Hello! It has been awhile since I have posted. It has been a whirlwind of a fall! Between racing, getting married, and traveling to the Pacific Northwest I haven't had much time to write. The racing season wrapped up for me at the Vail Outlier enduro race. I had not planned on doing this race but made a last minute decision to race! The courses had a combination of flow trail, gnar, and pedally sections. I raced hard and was able to take the win by almost 2 minutes! After the race Phil and I drove back to Crested Butte to pack for the trip back to Michigan to get married! Getting everything ready for the wedding made the week fly by. Before I knew it, it was Sunday morning and my friends and sister were telling me to hurry up and take a shower so that they could get me ready for the ceremony. Shower? Do I have to? It is an island? The whole day was perfect. Surrounded by family, close friends, and dogs made the day more than I could have ever asked for. After a few days of clean up we flew back to Colorado to get in some fall riding before the days got shorter and the snow started falling. Our friends Abby and Alex came out for a fun visit! It was so great to ride with them. The weather could have been better but we got a few high alpine rides in. Plus it is always nice at Hartman’s ;-) A few weeks later Phil and I packed up the van and headed north to Washington. Phil was able to visit a bunch of awesome bike shops and we were able to see some friends, and ride some new trails. Rain Rain Rain Rain. I feel like all it did while we were there was RAIN! I was roped into going on a hike while we were in Leavenworth… I don’t usually hike… It was 10 miles… Looking back on it, I am glad we did it but MAN I was sore for 2 days! It is hard for me to hike when all I do is analyze the trail and think about how awesome it would be to ride down. After Leavenworth we headed to Bellingham and met up with some former Yoopers! Carrie and Ben showed us the coolest trails and the best places to eat. Thanks guys! The days in Bellingham flew by and before I knew it we were packing the van again and heading to Seattle. Seattle is a big city. Talk about hard to find a parking spot for a big van! This girl does not like city life and city life does not like her ($43 dollar parking ticket). We were able to ride Duthie Hill, see more friends with U.P. ties, and go Go Kart racing so I guess it was worth the city stress :-) We got back to Crested Butte in time to get in some sweet dirt biking and some mountain biking before the snow started falling.
It was a crazy busy fall but I loved every minute of it. I am incredibly thankful for all of my friends who open their houses and volunteer to be awesome tour guides, for the ability to travel to these crazy beautiful places, for my incredible husband, for both of my families, and for the beautiful place where we live. Stay tuned for an off season season update! |