Back and faster than ever.

Its been a while since I have ridden my mtb, mainly I have been training on the road trying to increase my power/strength. Everything has been pretty slow lately.

A couple of weeks ago I hurt my knee again. Same knee that I hurt last year and around the same time, different reason though. I was talking with my coach and we think that it might have been from overworking it (I was on spring break the entire week before I hurt it) or form just not stretching enough. At first I was pretty upset because it started to hurt right before my last lap of a road race and I was scared that I would be set back pretty far. I worked on fixing it a lot though and it only ended up taking a week to heal itself.

The week off really helped me I think. After that I have been riding really strong and I have gotten a lot faster. Build and recover baby, build and recover.

So yesterday I went out and did some mountain biking at Swope to get the feeling back for my mtb. I did a couple laps, not too fast, and mainly stayed off of the technical stuff to prevent damage to my race wheels (Don't have a back up set). It feels so weird switching between my mountain bike and road bike. At first I was thinking that my seat was too low but after a while I got used to it. I'm a little surprised I was able to stay away from the mountain bike for that long though, I just can't help smiling when I ride it!

We get up this morning and we are kinda freaking out because a rain cell is about to hit Lawrence, Ks where we will be racing but we go out anyway. We get there and beginner class is just getting done but they are a little  muddy. They were saying that the back section of the course was pretty slick. It was still like an hour and a half till race time though so we were hoping the trails would dry a little. The weather was perfect though, 60 with some cloud cover.

I get my gear on, water bottles ready, nutrition ready, and then run through my bike to make sure everything is working properly. I needed my siblings help but they had ran off somewhere so I had to ask the mom of one of my team mates to help out with my dad and my water bottles. Then I go off to do a warm up.

I line up around 5 minutes till start but everyone is all over the place and the categories aren't really split up so i'm a little confused as to where I am supposed to be. The race promoter tells us what the waves are going to be so I have to start asking where the 50+ cat 1 men are since I start with them. I line up but am disappointed because for once I was going to have another female cat 1 racer but she didn't show. When I see that I start marking which 50+ guys I think I will be able to keep up with and at the start jump on their wheel.

There wasn't really a sprint start so we didn't get spread and I ended up with a guy in between me and my marked rider but we were pretty close so I wasn't worried. I felt extremely good and by the time the first lap was over was ready to really light it up. My first lap ended up being 36 minutes which is crazy fast compared to my 40-45 minute laps on the same 9 mile loop last year.

On my second lap I was right on the wheel of the rider I wanted to be with and was still feeling really strong. I told him that I was going to see how long I couple stay with him and he said alright then sped up a little to try and catch another rider in his age group. We had a train going of around 7 riders through the whole back section and we were flowing super well. It was a pretty cool experience. The group got broken up a little when we came up on a lapped rider. I stayed on my guys wheel through the whole lap but we ended up falling a little ways back from some of the other 50+ riders since they were able to get around the rider in an open area. Also when we tried to pass the rider he would speed up then slow down.

The guy I was riding with told me that he needed to stop for a water bottle when we got close to the start finish for our last lap so I rode with him then took off around the idiot rider and another 50+ rider that had pulled away earlier on in the second lap. He jumped on my wheel and stayed with me until the guy I had marked caught back up. They both went around me half way through the lap but I managed to keep them in my sight. My marked rider pulled away and left the other guy behind which demoralized him enough so he slowed down. I took this as a chance to pull him back in and took off to attempt to gain back 10-15 second in the last 2 miles. I caught him around 200ft from the finish line.

I finished first in my category, 9th overall in cat 1 men and 5th or 6th in cat 2 men.


I have to say I'm really liking my new 29er. Okay, so maybe like doesn't cover it. I LOVE my new 29er. I got the new Fate Expert Carbon 29er from my new sponsor this year (Specialized). I feel so much faster on it than I did on the 26er.

Next race is Bone Bender in a 6 hour coed duo with my dad. Also I'm debating going to Tour of Hermann the weekend after that since It is going to be the last one and to get ready for my Canada trip.

I hope to be shredding it up even more further into the season as I get closer to my Canada race (Tour de la relève internationale de Rimouski) and MTB Nationals.

2012 Races

2/25/2012	Sat		Spring Fling	Crit	Lawrence, KS
2/26/2012	Sun		Froze Toez	RR	Columbia, MO
3/3/2012	Sat		Mellow Johnny's Classic	PROCXT	Dripping Springs, TX
3/10/2012	Sat		Spring Fling	Crit	Lawrence, KS
3/11/2012	Sun		Perry Road Race	Road	Perry Lake
3/24/2012	Sat		Gods Country	MTB	Lawrence, KS
3/25/2012	Sun		Gods Country Duathlon	Duo	Lawrence, KS
4/1/2012	Sun		Perry Roubaix	Road	Perry, KS
4/7/2012	Sat		Crock Rock	MTB	Perry Lake
4/15/2012	Sun		Bone Bender 3/6	MTB End	Lawrence, KS
4/22/2012	Sun		OMBA Caramba	MTB	Springfield, MO
5/6/2012	Sun		Wilson Lake Fat Tire Fest	MTB	Wilson Lake, KS
5/20/2012	Sun		Dirty Little Sercret	MTB	Manhattan, KS
5/26/2012	Sat		Snake Alley Crit	Crit	Burlington, IA
5/27/2012	Sun		Melon City Crit	Crit	Muscatine, IA
6/10/2012	Sun		Down and Dirty	MTB	Truman Lake, MO
6/16/2012	Sat		Ute Valley Pro XCT	PROCXT	Colorado Springs, CO
7/7/2012	Sat		MTB Nationals	MTB	Sun Valley, ID
7/29/2012	Sun		Show me State Games	MTB	Columbia, MO
8/18/2012	Sat		Subaru Cup - Mdwst Reg Champs	PROCXT	Mt Morris, WI
8/25/2012	Sat		Cruise the Blues	MTB End	Tipton, KS
9/15/2012	Sat		Herman CX	CX	Herman, MO
9/16/2012	Sun		Herman CX	CX	Herman, MO
9/22/2012	Sat		USGP Planet Bike	CX	Madison, WI
9/23/2012	Sun		USGP Planet Bike	CX	Madison, WI
9/26/2012	Wed		Gateway Cup CX	CX	St Louis, MO
10/13/2012	Sat		USGP New Belgium Cup	CX	Fort Collins, CO
10/14/2012	Sun		USGP New Belgium Cup	CX	Fort Collins, CO
11/10/2012	Sat		USGP Derby Cup	CX	Louisville, KY
11/11/2012	Sun		USGP Derby Cup	CX	Louisville, KY
11/16/2012	Fri		Jingle Cross Rock	CX	Iowa City, IA
11/17/2012	Sat		Jingle Cross Rock	CX	Iowa City, IA
11/18/2012	Sun		Jingle Cross Rock	CX	Iowa City, IA
1/12/2013	Sat		CX Nationals	CX	Madison, WI

It's shredding time

After my poor performance at Nationals I have had pretty much no inspiration to ride. At all.... Basically I have been riding and training but not exactly putting any effort into it or really looking forward to the rides.

We have had an unusually warm winter and the trails are actually dry so we went out for a mountain bike ride one some local trails. I was thinking great, I have to go out and ride for 1-2 hours and I can barely complete a 1 hour endurance ride on the road without getting bored or wanting to stop. I've just been really out of it lately. 

The local trail we rode on this weekend was Swope mountain bike trail. If you live in the KC area you should check them out, they're super sic and actually really technical with some crazy climbs. There are also some easier areas around the top that are beginner friendly too.  

Anyway, I took the pedals off my cross bike and switched them to my mountain bike, lubed the chain, went through all the gears to make sure they worked, checked the brakes, then aired up the tires. To tell the truth I was a little freaked out about riding the trails because I haven't ridden my mountain bikes since nationals and I was afraid of how bad my handling and skills would be.

We got out there and I jumped on my bike and started up the trails. I went a way that would keep me on trails but the easiest of them so I wouldn't risk getting hurt really bad but as I got closer to the top of the first loop there was a little bit of mud and I was pretty worried about tearing up the trails (Probably just an excuse to not ride again....). I turned around and ran into my dad who yelled at me to keep going because it was just a short section then the rest was clear but I really didn't want to ride with him so I rode a connector trail across a road to the other half of the current trails.

The other half of the trails are super easy but I was still having some trouble since it was my first time back on the trails. At the top of those trails some of it is really muddy and the other part is dry and shredding fast. I turned right at the top to avoid going on tech and managed to rail a corner I thought was dry but was actually some super slick mud. Next thing I knew I was on the ground covered in mud. Felt like 'cross season again!

After that I went to go back down the easy section but my dad was coming up so I had to follow him the tech way. On a couple of the sections I completely flipped out, like "OMG I haven't ridden tech in sooooo long, I'm going to crash!" so I got off and walked like a noob but I actually started to have fun even though I was freaking out and not riding half the stuff.

We rode for around 1.5 hours then I had to go home to get ready for a dance. After the dance I got up at 4 to watch the pro women at worlds which was pretty sic. At around 2 we went out for another mountain bike ride at Swope again. I was still a little iffy on actually riding trails again but I knew I had to start training soon for my first Mountain Bike race of the season- Mellow Johnny's Classic.

We went out and some of the sections were a little sketchy but I started to get the hang of it. I was actually riding things that at the end of last year I couldn't even ride. I think part of that is how much stronger I have gotten during cross season. I can actually throw my bike around and put it where I need to put it.

Now that I am feeling better on the bike my heart is more into training and I am ready to shred some faces off once more. I'm also excited to say I am going to try some road races this year and see how I do.

It's racing time once more! Mellow Johnny's is in about 4 weeks now! It's go time!!!!

Cyclocross Nationals

Before I go into my race recap I want to thank everyone that has helped get me this far.  First off I want to thank my coach, Adam Mills with Source Endurance. I don't know where I would be without him. Last year I decided I wanted to start training and I had no clue what to do or the motivation to do it. Training with him has pushed me to be a stronger rider and pushed me to limits I would never have gone to.

Next I want to thank Van Dessel cycles for giving me a bike to ride when almost no one else would, and let me tell you it is one of the sickest bikes I have ever ridden on. My Full Tilt Boogie is so fast and smooth through even the roughest of terrains. I have fallen in love with this bike and I hope to be riding on it for a long time, maybe the road season this year (no water bottle mounts will be tough).

My Van Dessel

You can't ride a bike without wheels. Thank you State Wheels for sending me a set of 38 Carbon Tubulars. They accelerate so freaking fast and the design on them is pretty smexy. Everyone who has ridden them for a race to test them out has been amazed at how well they hold up. Unlike other wheels they are not flimsy for the weight and they are super strong. Thank you Joseph Lafico for setting me up with a pair of these sic wheels. 

Where would I be in all of those muddy races like State, Jingle Cross Rock, and Nationals with out a pair of  knobby tires? Thanks to Challenge Tires for sponsoring my ride and giving me the traction for every type of course. The Limus has kept me upright in conditions of all types from grass crit to peanut butter mud. 

Smexy wheels with some knobby tires

Finally I want to thank everyone who has yelled at me to go faster even when I have felt at my worst. Without your heckling I don't know if I could have pushed my self so hard. Also everyone's support from taking me to races to support before and at the start of races has been amazing. 

THANK YOU! Now on to the race- 

Normally at the start of a big race I am really nervous, shaking, have to move around, and about to pee my pants. For some reason I didn't feel anything. I was super focused and ready to rock. I knew who I had to stay with and how to ride the course.

When they called me up I lined up on the left because of how much mud was on the road (people had been dragging mud from the grass section right before). When everyone was on the line they told us we had two minutes to start. That wasn't quit right because of some little kiddos left on the course from the previous race. They blew the whistle and the start was crazy fast. Faster than any other start I have done. I came across the hole shot in 7th or 8th and started passing girls in the grass. I was all out gunning for the front.

Right before the pits there was a hairpin turn that was ridable if you could put the power down and pull your bike into the right rut. I might have been able to make it but I ran right into the girl in front of me. I jumped off my bike and ran around a pile up after the top of the hairpin and ended up in 2nd. This was short lived because some of the other girls were able to power through the peanut butter mud better than I was after the turn. 

I lost even more spots on a false flat leading up to a 100ft kicker. We got to the bottom of the hill and I gunned it trying to stay on my bike as long as possible and get some of those spots back. First was long gone at this point because she was the only one who wasn't in the pile up. I made it half way and the girl in front of me jumped off right into my path. I moved over and immediately spun out. I ran up the rest off the hill and tried to bridge the gap back up but the front group was gone. 

As the race proceeded I lost more spots until I was in 10th place. Even the 15-16 girls were passing me and they started a minute back. I kept duking it out with the girl who was in 9th place even though I thought she was in the 15-16 race. After the sand pit I dug in deep on the last lap and ran past her and remounted right in front of her. I dug even deeper and pulled away to take the 9th place spot at the end. 

The whole race I felt like absolute crap, I had no power. I could breathe fine and I was peaked for this race but I just couldn't go, guess that cold I was fighting all week just kept me off me A game. I didn't have a mechanical since I pitted every lap to make sure my bike was clean and ready to climb the kicker right after the pit. 

My State Wheels were amazing with the Challenge Tire Limus. They were super grippy in the mud and I didn't go down once. Plus I could accelerate out of the corners like a bat out of hell. 

Over all I am super pissed about my performance but it is just a race. It is behind me now and I am going to take everything that went wrong to help me do better next year. This season may be over but it is the start of a new year. New people, new friends, new sponsors, and new races (plus all those old ones that were so much fun). 

Its time for mountain bike season after I park the bike for a while. Its a bitter sweet end to an amazing year. 

Happy New Year!!!!!

Nats Report: Thursday

Tomorrow is Cyclocross Nationals.

I picked up my pit bike today. My coach, Adam Mills with Source Endurance, gave me his pit bike to use since he isn't coming out to race. We spent a couple minutes adjusting it to fit me but all we really did was move the seat up. It feels a lot different than my bike but it isn't too bad of a switch and I shouldn't have a problem racing on it if I have to switch

After we got it set up we went to the course to preride. The temps got into the high 40s so the course was really bad after some of the races that ran on it today. Basically its a thin layer of slick mud and underneath is frozen ground. My State Wheels and Challenge Tires, Limus, combination rocks though and goes right through the mud and gets traction on the frozen ground underneath. 

Today I feel much better breathing wise. I put in a hard effort to test my legs and lungs after I did a recovery ride. I had no issues breathing and my legs were super responsive. Yesterday I was having trouble on the hill and even though it was slick as hell today I was able to climb no problem. 

I know a couple of people out here and all of them seem ready to rock it. I'm aiming for a top 5 but I feel like I can do it.

A couple other juniors came up with me and they thought it would be funny to put Justin Beiber folders on my hotel door. At least we are having some fun up here!

Thanks for kicking this Bieber Fever thing off Chong (I am gonna get you back for this)!

Nats Report: Wednesday

Non-championship races today. It was cold in the morning then started to warm up as the southern breeze came in and the sun decided to show its' face. 


Up at 6:30 for a 9 'o clock race and had my breakfast of champions (not really). Happy that they had a heated warm up area considering the tent that I would normally warm up in only half set up. I was kinda surprised that nobody else was using them but it isn't the real deal yet. 


I was expecting to line up on the front line but they randomized the call ups so I ended up on the second line, which isn't too bad. We started and almost immediately after the whole shot I was on the leader drafting her in any place that mattered. 


We got to the first hill and I fell to pieces. My stupid cold is better but hasn't gone away yet so I was struggling for breathe every time I rode up it.


From there on out I kept dropping places on the hills even though I was descending faster than some of the women I was losing ground. Even with my bad race I finished in 5th, which is fine with me as long as I race really strong on Friday. I made it onto the podium though.

No such thing as a bad day on the bike they say, never a bad day indeed when you are on the podium!

I find that I am better off when I race or do a hard effort 2 days before a big race. It just seems to help so I should be really strong on Friday.


Friday is time to redeem myself and get another top 5 in my age group. Hopefully I am feeling better by then...


Dad put up some pics of my race on his Blog: http://rocketfamilyracing.blogspot.com/2012/01/cx-nats-wed-update.html

Tuesday Nats. report

Didn't write a post today but will have one for after the race tomorrow.

Course was pretty cool. Lots of hills and really icy. Should be interesting.

Anyways, this post sums up everything my dad and I did today. Check it.