nina baum

Driving Up for Memorial Day Weekend

2010-05-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

Spring on the West Gorge

2010-04-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

It was windy and looked like rain, but I took the mountain bike out on the West rim of the Rio Grande Gorge to find nice dry dirt and more fun than I expected in a 20mph headwind.

Collection of earthships out in the sage

And the alternative to alternative

Dragonfly Cafe

2010-04-24T23:42:00.000-07:00

It's taken us almost a year to get back to try the real food at the Dragonfly Cafe in Taos, NM. Last summer we sampled a few of their delectable desserts and I was impressed with their coffee and espresso (one of only a handful of cafes in the region where the portafilter resides in the grouphead when not in use).

The Dragonfly is open for lunch and dinner. We stopped in for lunch on a Saturday afternoon. Their menu is small but varied, with delicious-sounding vegetarian options, and the food focuses on organic and local ingredients, freshly and healthfully prepared. Due to the mellow vibe of the place, I was thinking that the pace of service might be slow but I was pleasantly surprised. Our waitress was super friendly and very efficient. Prices were reasonable considering the serving size and quality. Lunch entrees were in the range of $8-14.

My buffalo burger came topped with a huge roasted green chile and some fresh cheddar cheese. Best burger I've had in a long time: perfectly cooked (medium rare) and served on a homemade rosemary roll, with a small green salad on the side. Jeremy's chicken pot pie was also delicious and very homemade, with a gorgeous pastry top and fresh peas, carrots, and chicken on the inside.

Sea Otter 010

2010-04-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

Fully expecting my lack of fitness and recent illness to result in a poor showing at my final Sea Otter, I was surprised that instead my strategic ineptitude hampered my performance. I'd call it a pleasant surprise, except now I just feel sort of dumb to have doubted myself and forgotten how to deal with traffic.

It was great to be at Sea Otter. I spent a lot of time hanging out with Troy at the Cannondale tent and had a lot of fun goofing around with Sonya Looney while watching the men's races.

Looney cheers at the Short Track
SCHNELL, BEN, SCHNELL!!!

Troy is superamazing. He can work 28 hours a day. It's unbelievable. And even after working 28 hours a day, he is cheerful and smiling and can regale you with funny stories. Unfortunately Spokes was at the doggy spa, so I didn't get to see her.

Yuki suffers. (He did crazy well in the 1.11 hour race.)

We heckle.

How to get to the feed zone
(I asked some guys to hold my PBR and my camera while I climbed the fence).

It was also super fun to hang out with Susan and Harry, and a whole bunch of their family in town for the weekend, in Carmel. Got to stick my legs in the ocean while watching Morgan catch waves after the cross country, and enjoyed a number of good meals and some Idol-watching on the big screen throughout the weekend. Not to mention dog time.

Relaxing at Suz & Harry's place, with their dogs Anna...

...and Rhett.

Beautiful day for the ocean

Morgan excels at all sports but also has a really big brain

Morgan, Rhett, Susan

Yum, dinner.

I stayed in the Bay Area an extra day to visit my friend Tina-- it was supposed to be her bachelorette party but she snuck off to Vegas and got married already.

Tina at Barefoot Coffee-- one of my favorite coffee places anywhere.
They're very concerned about pulling you a good shot.
Tina had to get a decaf. She's having a baby in September.

No decaf here!! Now that's what I call a macchiato.

If I lived in San Francisco I would eat alllllll day looooong.

Visiting some Dogs

2010-01-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I went up to Storm Kloud Kennels in Walsenburg, CO, to visit some Malamutes and see some 2.5 week old puppies. For some reason I didn't expect them to be quite so cute yet.

Charger is the father of those little imps

... he's a big cuddly baby.

Spirit is a patient and sweet mom.

Nancy and Bob Russell keep about 12 dogs around, most Malamutes but 3 retired Alaskan Huskies as well. It's quite the greeting to hear them all woo-wooing as you drive up to the place.

They are all working dogs and get to pull Nancy around every day, and quite a few of them are champion weight-pullers. However, in spite of their obvious physical fortitude, they are all such cuddly balls of fur. The Malamute sense of humor is also evident as they show off their toys and say whatever comes to mind (mostly woo, woooo).

Friday afternoon in Northern NM

2009-08-06T17:37:00.000-07:00

Coffee Filter Origami

2009-08-02T21:33:00.000-07:00

Frazer Mountain Madness

2009-07-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

Last year's hill climb start
(photo courtesy of
Frazer Mountain Madness)

Last weekend I had the pleasure of riding around way up above Taos. I was still tired from Sol Vista... or at least from the drive back, which landed me at home in Albuquerque at 1:30 am and in time to show up at work at 7:30 am Monday morning, where not only did I have four deadlines to meet but the a/c in the office was broken. I was trapped at my desk pouring water over my head as the temperature climbed to 90 degrees by the end of the day. Good thing the water cooler was working.

By the end of the week I was recovered enough from the heat exhaustion to get up north and support one of my favorite NM races, the Frazer Mountain Madness. It's two days of mountain biking up above the Taos ski valley, with a hill climb the first day and an even bigger day of climbing for the cross country race on Sunday.

The people who promote the race do a great job-- they have tons of volunteers, they work to add more amazing singletrack to the course every year, and they round up some great sponsors including Santa Fe Brewing Company, who provide FREE BEER for the racers. Their Hefeweizen tasted so good after a long high-altitude ride.

The Mountain Flyer sent James Rickman up to report on the hill climb. Good press for Damian, Mike, the two junior winners Haley Ruch and Lewis Gaffney, and me.

Gotta love Haley's quote in the article:

Truly amazing, however, was the finish some 37 minutes after Gaffney of 11-year-old Haley Ruch, who grimaced as she crossed the checkerboard flags. When asked what would possess someone her age to take part in the madness, she had a simple answer:
“(The race course) is really close to my house and I like to climb,” she said.

National Championships ST Race Report

2009-07-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

Another day of sitting around nervously all morning after not sleeping very well at night, followed by moving my legs in incredibly slow circles for an interminable 20 minutes. Oh, with a fun but way too short ride down a hill.

15th. But it hurt, bad. Sorry I flipped you off, dude, but there was no way it was going into the middle ring up that b.... usiness.

Unhhhhhh...

Wheeeeee...

Unhhhhhh...

Wheeeeee...

National Championships XC Race Report

2009-07-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

Start hill is steeper than it looks.

On a positive note, I loved the course and had a fabulous start. I had a fun week leading up to the race, in which I got to hang out with Mary and Jenna and Becca and see my parents' new place in Colorado Springs. I got to relax a lot since I had the week off of work.

I knew the course well and it was one that suited me. Or at least it should have.

The course consisted of a super steep grunt of a start hill followed by about 12-15 minutes of climbing some switchbacks. The descent was very steep at first and then became winding and bumpy, with a nasty interlude climb through an open area covered in wood chips. To put it mildly, the downhill didn't provide much recovery time. 4 laps of grueling fun.

My start was top-10 and I finished the first lap in a great position, but after that I fell apart. My legs and back started hurting bad and pretty soon I had no power. I was descending better than I had all season, due to a pretty simple problem with my bike setup that had gone undiagnosed all season until the day before the race, but I just couldn't climb. Might have had something to do with the change in position that resulted from fixing the bike issue. I got passed like I was standing still on that climb. It was humiliating even though it was good to get to cheer for some of my friends having great races. If you have to eat dust, better to eat the dust of people you like, right?

Long and painful story short, I was passed by a few girls on every lap to send me to the finish line in 18th place.

Immediately after the race I was somewhat baffled at my poor performance, but now I have a pretty good idea of a number things that went wrong in the week and even in the months before the race. At least I know what to do differently next year. It's too bad that was my last big race this season, but there's still time to work on things for the local races coming up. And hopefully nationals will be at Sol Vista again next year.

Jenna hangs out on the beach at Lake Granby...

while Qimmiq pretends to be a water dog.

However, when I throw the stick beyond wading depth...

... Nope. Not worth getting THAT wet for it.

Meanwhile, lots of surfing in the condo...

...and the highlight of the day: trip to the grocery store!!
Jenna has removed the back seat of her car to hold her bike,
so the three of us piled in the front for a sweet ride.

That IS my suffer face.
I know, it looks like I am happy,
and in a sick and twisted way I probably am.

I have to go up that thing AGAIN?

Glad it's over. Becca, Jenna, me, Patricia.

Spectatin' at the men's race-- this was the best part of the course. Wheee!
We took Jack, Jeremy, and Patricia out to show them the sweet downhill after our race.
Please note that Jenna is wearing a clean chamois-- it was the only clothing she had in the car.

Photo Tribute to Mogli

2009-07-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

All these photos have been floating on my desktop. Time to put them away in the interwebs. Best dog ever, most likely.

Mogli, c. 1996 - July 1, 2009.

2009-07-08T11:41:00.001-07:00

We miss you, sweet girl. Thanks for all the great years we got to spend together.

Vail Pass Hill Climb TT: where are those 24 seconds?

2009-06-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

It snowed near the finish of the Vail Pass Hill Climb on Sunday, just like last year.

Just like last year, I found myself just a hair short of landing in the money. I'm not really sure where I could have come up with 24 seconds worth of extra speed it would have taken to be in 4th place. As it was, I was 6th: one spot better than last year, but 20 seconds slower.

This hill climb is a bit deceptive. The first half is flat-to-rolling, but there are really only a couple of steepish sections on the climbing second half. Did I push too hard on the flat first half so that I didn't have enough left for the climb? Maybe it was a mistake not to put the easy gears on the bike, even though I never necessarily felt like I didn't have enough gears. Maybe I just can't wrap my head around how very short the whole race is. Maybe I was more tired from the XC this year.

Racing, racing. It's such a puzzle. Now I think I have to come back to Vail, again, for the Teva Games, just one more time...

Post-Race at the Teva Mountain Games

2009-06-08T14:07:00.000-07:00

Part of the fun of going to the Teva Mountain Games is checking out all the other stuff going on. It's a great event that brings together all kinds of sports: cycling, mountain biking, running, kayaking, rock climbing, fly-fishing, and even distance-water-jumping for dogs. It's become a fixture on Vail's summer calendar and is very popular with athletes and spectators alike.

We didn't have a lot of time to hang out after the cross country race, but did take a quick lap through Vail Village to check out the haps.

Unfortunately this little reluctant guy was the only dog at the dog jump when we passed by.

Sonya heads into the Teva Village.

Bike shenanigans.

Sonya is incredulous. Can it possibly be as fun as pegging your heart rate for 2 hours?

Dog models. Everyone likes looking at them, but they're kind of a pain on dates.

Cookin' trout.

Waiting to watch some kayakers go under the bridge.

Sonya and I stopped in at this gelateria with an amazing array of gelato and an even more amazing 3-group Elektra Belle Epoque. It gives me heart palpitations just to look at that machine.

Dark chocolate sorbetto with vanilla gelato. I swear I didn't have any this good in Italy.
Heaven for $6 in a paper cup.

Dirty bikes have to wait outside while we go back to sample the espresso.

Meh. With a machine like that, they need to get some good beans.
Heartless to treat it that way.

Sonya had to head out for an event in Castle Rock, so I went back to Eagle and spent some hours getting the mountain bike clean and the road bike ready to go for the Vail Pass TT. They were having a block party down the road, complete with a band which entertained me with party tunes as I worked. Blondie the kitten helped by attacking the brushes and playing under the bike stand.

Teva Mountain Games: XC

2009-06-08T08:03:00.000-07:00

Noon starts are the best. There's nothing like getting up 2 hours later than I usually have to and having time to enjoy coffee and a delicious breakfast before the race jitters set in.

Sonya and I stayed with a fabulous host family in their beautiful house in Eagle, whose kitchen we put to good use. Sonya made some amazing blueberry pancakes while I made coffee and distracted myself with the various kitties and Kaibab, the stick-obsessed cattle dog.

Best outdoor breakfast spot in the area.

Throw it one more time!

We arrived at the venue with enough time to get the bikes perfectly dialed for the race.

Sonya rocks the white lycra euro-pro look.

And then... the race. There was a great turnout of 25 or so pro women from around the country, including a few of the best racers in the world. I started out fairly conservatively and raced a pretty solid first lap without blowing myself up. I probably started out too conservatively, again. On the second lap my intestines siezed up a bit and I briefly considered stopping to go to the bathroom.

I started to feel better on the downhill and upped the pace a lot for the third lap. It was enough to catch a few girls who had dangled in front of me on the second lap, but not enough to get to the five who finished the race within a minute in front of me. I finished the race feeling fresher than I should have. While my finishing place of 11th was good, it just isn't satisfying feeling like you didn't leave it all out there.

It was great to race on such a fun course! The climbs were not ridiculously long and the descents were more than ridiculously fun.

Sonya Looney finished a respectable 18th... not bad when you train for 5+ hour races!

Teva Mountain Games, Vail, CO: Pre-ride

2009-06-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

After a very long week involving too much work, errands, and general busy-ness, I made it to Vail to meet up with Sonya Looney for a ride on the mountain bike course for the Teva Mountain Games.

It's one of those race courses where to ride it is to feel like it's all downhill, but to race it is to climb, climb, climb, climb. Thank goodness for Friday pre-rides... the best part of the weekend after Friday morning coffee.

Here's some very shoddy helmet-cam footage of the main downhill on the course. Please don't watch unless you are related to me.

Cyclists.

2009-06-04T14:21:00.001-07:00

Memorial day

2009-05-25T08:11:00.000-07:00

Questa, NM

Angel Fire

2009-05-24T18:24:00.000-07:00

After being on my calendar all winter as my first big mountain bike race of the year, I was looking forward to the Mountain States Cup race in Angel Fire, NM. And it really delivered. I made every amateur mistake possible, had all sorts of bad luck (or, could one say, poor preparation), and generally had an all around learning experience / crap-fest of a weekend.

First up was on-line registration. I went to the race website on Wednesday and found that registration closed Tuesday. Ah well, I'd have to make it to Angel Fire by 1 pm Saturday to register for the Short Track. And pay an extra $20. The schedule on the race website pinned the Short Track time down to "All Short Track races: May 23 from 3 to 9 pm."

So on Saturday, in spite of getting stuck behind approximately 10,000 motorcycles in Red River, we made it from HMES to AF just in time. For $120 I was granted entry to the Pro Short Track and Cross Country races, AND given a beautiful hand-caligraphed number plate to grace the front of my handlebars. Smelled like permanent marker, as a bonus.

Found out that my start time that day would be 5:55 pm. So with about 4 hours to kill we stopped in for some delicious sandwiches at the Pizza stop and then wandered around Angel Fire in the rain for a while.

Pastrami envy. I am definitely going to ride at Angel Fire a lot this summer,
if only to get one of those sandwiches. My turkey sandwich
was awesome too, but J liked the pastrami so much
he went back for another one for breakfast the next day.
He's not often one to get so excited for sandwiches.

First photo of the red-red-red hair.

J naps in the car with the dogs while waiting for the 3-9 pm short track to begin.

The dogs are good at sharing.

I checked out the course, which contained a nice steep hill followed by a very quick downhill. 80% of the time racing would be spent climbing that leg-burner of a hill. Great thing to do the night before an important cross country race: climb a hill at 8,600' multiple times with the heart rate pegged. Just a few consequences in the recovery department.

Warming up. It's ALL hill up there.

The race started and I went ahead and led out the opening lap. I wanted to choose the pace around the switchback on the downhill and not get stuck behind anyone, since I didn't know most of the women racing. I did know Katie Compton (silver medalist at Worlds in Cyclocross) and Kelli Emmit (super fast pro on the Giant team), and figured they'd have no trouble getting around me.

There goes Katie C. in front of me. Is she the national Short Track champ too?

It was a fun course that I normally would have thoroughly enjoyed, but I was worried about the cost for the next day. Heather Holmes (Kenda-Tomac-Hayes) passed me for third at some point and I didn't fight her very hard for it. I grannied up the hill after the first lap to save my legs a bit. At the end of the last lap I realized I was closer to Heather than I'd thought, and was coming up on 4 riders I was about to lap, but was pleased to have nailed 4th place and to feel like I'd left something in the tank for the XC. Unfortunately the officials had me down as 9th, and in my haste to get home, eat, get the bike ready, and get some rest I left before results were posted and missed the protest period. Darn.

It was great to have Mom (and Dad and Mor-Mor) there cheering me on.
It helped that Scott, Tony, Ian, Cubby, Lynn, and a few others were
screaming at me around the course. I should have listened and rode faster!!
Wish we could have a re-do.

Packing up the car. Yes, it is awfully late to be finishing a race.

It rained at home all night and I had trouble choking down my breakfast the next morning.

On Sunday we arrived at the venue in the pouring rain. I was dreading the course conditions and was really nervous about the race since I hadn't had a good test on the mountain bike yet this year. I had a very short warm-up and lined up, opting to leave my armwarmers and kneewarmers on. The race started and the sun came out, leaving me way overdressed.

Qimmiq sometimes takes his sister Mogli for walks.

Waiting for these girls to rip my legs off.

Qimmiq likes races.

Dad and Sherlock looking for a good spectating spot.

I felt nauseated up the first part of the climb. I wasn't sure how hard to go since the climb is ridiculously long and my legs didn't feel great.

Start of a long day.

I bungled around on the slippery rocks in the woods and was wondering why my bike was bouncing all over the place... forgot to re-adjust after adding a bunch of air to my suspension for the short track. D'oh. Passed by two.

On the downhill I felt like I was going excruciatingly slowly. Indeed I was. Just not enough practice on the new bike yet. D'oh. 2 more.

I started to feel a bit better going up the hill for the second lap, maybe since now I was warmed up. Unfortunately I had lost a bunch of gears hitting a rock on the downhill, but I tried to use them anyway. Off the bike, passed again. I was glad to see it was Becca-- she wasn't feeling great but was riding strong anyway. We cheered for each other off and on as we went.

Find a happy place... find a happy place...

Not my best race. To add insult to injury my shoddy performance was in front of my parents, my grandmother, my husband, my dogs, and a lot of local racers who were up for the race. I regretted not just going for it in the ST, when I felt good and held back. That regret was made more intense when I learned of the mis-scoring. Darn.

Sorry, Mom.

I went to see the boys at the Shimano tent after the race, since they'd made my bike work like butter for the ST. Turns out my cassette was mangled and my derailleur was a little bent. They fixed everything, which made the whole weekend worthwhile. Well, of course a weekend on the bike is always a good weekend and I probably got a pretty good workout to get stronger for next time too.

First mountain bike reconnaissance

2009-05-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

Rock lock. Ingenious. I'd definitely never be able to move that thing.

Rocks: check.

Stream crossing: check.

Stream crossing(s): check.

cliiiiimb meee...

Dirty and happy.

Lost in El Rito

2009-05-15T20:28:00.001-07:00

...just a bit lost, but in a meandering and enjoyable way. Honestly, I should be able to find my way around without having to follow Jeremy or look for arrows marking the course. Qimmiq politely pretends to have no sense of direction either, so we had a nice sunset walk which became a walk in the dark on a lovely spring evening.

The sounds of water and singing birds are everywhere right now. There are still blossoms on the apple trees and the air smells like flowers, earth, and sagebrush.

Qimmiq's obsession

getting dark... mind showing me the way home, buddy?

Buddy?

HMES emits a strange glow

What's for dinner?

Tuesday Night at the Crits

2009-05-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

Around 5:30 Tuesday evening I was surrounded by the sounds of sucking. But this time it wasn't me. The temperature was a dry 94 degrees at Balloon Fiesta Park and the water bottles were getting emptied in a hurry. The Tuesday Crits come up like clockwork every year, and they always arrive on the first hot week of summer. They also tend to include an intense crosswind that kicks up while you're riding to the course, which warms up your neck muscles for the head-tilting efforts to come.

I was feeling so good that I managed to successfully perform some of my famous crit maneuvers in the Women's Race. These maneuvers are not for the faint-of-heart. They include accidental lead-outs, towing the entire field up to a breakaway rider, and just generally pulling everybody around while taking crazy lines through the corners.

These maneuvers have the disadvantage of making me appear stupid. However, being a bonehead is a GREAT workout! And everyone in the race appreciates it, of course, since it gives them a better chance of winning. Carolyn doesn't even give me the head-shake anymore (her head-shake is a great piece of local cycling lore: a slow back-and-forth that means something between "I can't believe I have to race with such a fool" and "oh, man, are you gonna give me a great opportunity to blow by you pretty soon"; its intended consequences for the recipient include a shudder of remorse for the immediate past and a sickening fear for the immediate future). I'm pretty sure she's given up on me.

For some reason I failed to show up at any of these crits last year. I think my fitness in certain respects definitely suffered as a result. The women's race is awesome. It's always a small, fast, cutthroat field that will rip your legs up for 20 or so minutes. There's no place to hide.

It's fantastic having so many fast women in town right now: Carolyn, Lindsay, Mindy, Sarah, and Lisa were all going strong last night. Now if we can get Holly, Rebecca, and Liz in there... giddy UP.

The juniors race with us too, which makes it extra fun... in between dodging soccer balls from the teams using the fields adjacent to the course (not to mention screaming at their parents to get off our race course as they wander on and off the pavement, cell phone typically planted firmly to ear as though they'd never left the comfort of their SUV), we get to see the action in the junior race and cheer for our favorites (i.e., all of them) when it's appropriate. On second thought, I'm probably the only one cheering for the juniors while racing, but hey, they cheer for me when I need it too. Plus I typically have plenty of extra power in the lungs. Wish I could say that about my legs.

Tacked on a little C-race action to finish 'er off with a bit of mad mayhem. I watched with some trepidation as Holly took this crazy line straight through a bunch of cones and potholes after the first turn. She maintained speed with nary a wobble; just barreled on through. I need to get that girl to some mountain bike races.

The C race contains a mad mixed lot of beginners, masters, mountain bikers, etc. The race was fast, and furious, and chaotic, but not as sketchy as expected. I fell off the back of the lead group at some point but chased hard, which felt soooo good-- safely hammering by myself, just like in a mountain bike race. I hope I didn't subconsciously ride alone on purpose, but I was relieved to hold off the chase group behind me. Next week I'll have to remember to take my smart pills. (Unlikely).

Randy C (on the left) is one of the awesome Sports Systems
guys responsible for Tuesday Night SufferFun.

Nice grassy setting with no cars, thanks to Balloon Fiesta Park.

B race lining it up.

Pamala, one of our official Officials.

Brandi getting ready to send them off.

Tony is a downhiller. He came to laugh at the skinny guys in spandex.
...while eating a hot dog and drinking warm PBR, no less.

Scott has really no excuse not to be racing.
Grilling burgers does NOT count as a valid excuse.

The posse of juniors. Look out, them kids is strong.
And they wear the correct colors.
Callum cut his hair to lose some grams off the racing ensemble.

Last year Tiziana could use her dad's armwarmers as leg warmers.
At this rate, by next year I'm afraid she will be kicking my BUTT!
She told me it will take 2 years, but I don't know...

Ayden races, then immediately trades the lycra for a slightly
hipper look. And a burger. Ayden is spectacular on the
mountain bike and was working with us for a bit during the crit.
Next week he's working for ME!

My mountain bike buddies Chris and Parmenides, here to work on that powah'.
Chris has a singlespeed version of every type of bike known to man.
He and Brandi are Ayden's supercool parents.

I aim for realism with my blurry pictures:
a Lindsey-and-Liz sighting in the B race.

Tour of the Gila, 4/29-5/2/2009

2009-05-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

Abridged version: I went to the Tour of the Gila. I had a great first day. I had a good second day. Then I started to poo. A lot. Then I had a bad third day, in which I rode my bike too slow. Then I had a terrible and embarrassing fourth day, in which not only did I ride my bike too slow, but I also thought I felt something bad in my shorts and rode around too slowly in front of thousands of people, possibly with something bad in my shorts, and then had to lie in an alley until I could get back on the bike long enough to get home. Then I drove back to Albuquerque via El Paso and did not race the last day.

Bear the Cat: Ominous, or Cute?

Unabridged version:

DAY ONE: MOGOLLON

It started out well enough. I was trained, I was rested, my equipment was in perfect order. A world-class field showed up ready to race: Kristin Armstrong, fastest woman in the world (on a time trial bike she won the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics, which indeed qualifies her as the fastest female cyclist in the entire WORLD). Alison Powers. Webcor Builders Women's Professional Cycling Team. Value Act Capital Cycling Team. Colavita. Lip Smacker. Awesome.

On Day 1 I felt fantastic. I sat in. The pace of the race became faster and faster after the feed zone. I took a pull to test out my legs.
Prognosis: Great.

Colavita Girl: "You know you're doing Kristin Armstrong's work right now."
Me: "That's OK, I'm not working too hard." (What I wish I had said: "Yeah, you know, we're top-secret teammates. She begged me to help her.")
Colavita Girl: "Well there's a whole lot of girls back there who are working even less than you." (What she would have then said: Oh my god! YOU'RE Kristin Armstrong's top-secret teammate?? I heard rumors but had no idea your _____ (butt/legs/nose, not sure how this one goes) was so... big!")
In road racing there's always someone who's smarter than you and has time to tell you about it. This is different from mountain bike racing, where we all just ride, suffer as hard as we can, and only talk if there's something REALLY wrong (e.g. "GET AN EMT!", "GET OUT OF MY WAY!", or, "I'M ON ANTIBIOTICS!").

And then I did something really smart. I hung on to the fast girls for dear life up the beginning of the Mogollon climb. I worked just a bit harder than usual knowing it would let me sit in a little bit for the false flat of the mesa before the last four miles steep miles of climbing. After the sitting in was over the crazy steep stuff began. I buried myself and ended up 19th. Considering the field, I was extra pleased with that finish, and was even more so when I saw that based on my time back, my climbing would have been good enough for a top-10 finish last year.

DAY TWO: INNER LOOP

My friend Rebecca came down to the Gila to do the Women's 3-4 race. Her start was at the godforsaken time of 8:25 am on Thursday. I woke up Thursday morning and started making my breakfast, right on time, 3 hours before my 10:40 start time. I dumped my eggs into the pan and the phone rang: Rebecca. Car overheating on way to start. Unsure of where start was. Riding bike uphill toward start. I turned off the stove, drove out to find her, and we made it in just enough time for her to pick up her number and git'. I returned to eggs. Had been feeling nauseated all morning and couldn't finish my normal breakfast. Chalked it up to pre-race nerves.

Got called up to the start line as the top New Mexican. Silly. But it did let me sit there next to Kristin Armstrong for a few minutes and bask in her... fastness. She has lots of freckles on her ears. I felt great in the race and stayed with the leaders through all the uphill attacks right up to the top of Pinos Altos. Got dropped at the very end of the descent, which was new because usually I get dropped at the beginning of those crazy descents. No big whoop, got in with the second group and we stayed close to the leaders. Rode strong to the top of the Meadow Creek climb.

Colavita girl: "This isn't a mountain bike race. You have to work with us." Hung on through the rolling ups and downs on the way to the Sapillo descent. Hung on until the very last switchback of that darn crazy descent, where I went too fast and then over-corrected by grabbing a handful of unnecessary brake and lost contact with the wheel I was on. And... that was that. D'oh. They attacked hard at the valley in the headwind to bridge to the leaders. I went as hard as I could but didn't accomplish much on my own. Was picked up by another group that wasn't real interested in catching the group ahead. Ended up quite a few minutes behind in the stage.

I got home and didn't eat much. Took Rebecca to her car and then home from the mechanic. Around 8 pm I still wasn't hungry and choked down some food. That night I found out why I didn't feel like eating. I continued to find out why throughout the night and into the next morning, when I again choked down some food and then immediately again found out why I didn't feel like eating.

DAY THREE: TIME TRIAL, TYRONE

I love the optimism that makes us start races when we know better. I was shocked at how slow I rode that TT, in spite of the fact that (a) I'd been in the bathroom much of the night/morning leading up to it, (b) I couldn't produce much power in my warm-up, (c) I spent much of that warm-up in the bathroom, (d) I felt like my legs weren't moving during the race, and (e) it felt like I had a bowling ball, or two, in my intestines during the race.

Even with all kinds of aero equipment stuck to my bike and my head, my time was a minute slower than last year's, when I rode my straight racing bike without aero bars or nothin'.

I got home and wasn't feeling good. I ate some yogurt and some crackers for dinner. This is not how to eat for a stage race. I've been known to do this particular race for the single reason that I felt like eating a lot of food. This year I was not making a dent in the mountain of food I had brought.

Rebecca stylin' her skinsuit for crit time.
I learned that putting the number on the right way can make you go faster.

DAY FOUR: DOWNTOWN SILVER CITY CRITERIUM

Oh man. I was glad I got out of bed to watch Rebecca's crit at 8 am. It was great to see her do well, get some photos, and then watch Shannon's little sister Diana win the crit with great style. It was also great to watch Kristin Armstrong standing out there watching some of the girls she helps out, who were riding in their first Tour of the Gila.

That's ~30 fast 3-4 women lining it up

Into the downhill corner

Rebecca cruisin' next to Diana, the eventual winner.
Rebecca's experiment with showing up off the couch for one of
the hardest stage races in America went pretty well, I'd say.

...But I really should have just gone back to bed after that. Instead I went back and forced some coffee and crackers down my gullet, spent the customary two hours running to the bathroom, spun my legs out, forced a bit more food down, went back to the bathroom, and went and warmed up for the race. Got called up to the line first, which was downright embarrassing at this point with how bad I was sucking. I tried to be a good sport and prayed for a slow crit in which I could represent just by sitting in. Got the celebrity treatment... there were tons of people there since Lance was racing in the Pro Men's race after ours.

I was fervently hoping not to regret my decision to show up. They called Kristin A. to the line after me. OK, so it's all worth it just to get to line up next to her. I am really not complaining. Plus I gained the opportunity to speak to Colavita girl, in which I could think of nothing clever to say but we did joke around a bit. Don't be fooled by the fact that my mouth looks bigger than hers in this pic. And yes, that IS K.A. next to me. Practically rubbing shoulders, literally. She's a pretty girl, that is just her gameface or something.

Sorry, fastest woman in the world, I'm really too busy worrying
about my drawers to give you racing advice right now.

Racing by Gila Hike 'n Bike. My 2nd favorite bike shop in the world. Thanks guys, can't blame the bike.
Oh, that's Lance Armstrong's (no relation to Kristin Armstrong) ugly RV in the background. FYI.

For me, there's really nowhere to go but down after a call-up like that. It would have probably been better to crash or to fall off the back after a shocking attack off the front, or even get kidnapped by a rabid Lance fan, or maybe attacked by a pack of wild monkeys. Instead I merely had what felt like a momentary bowel lapse at the base of the backside climb. I'd been hanging on until then, even if it was just barely, but once the intestinal seizing began I was momentarily afraid to push for fear of what the consequences might be. I am weak. I did not want to go all the way to the poop.

Laps of shame ensued... not sure how many, but my level of embarrassment was compounded by the crowds, the possibility of what might be happening in my chamois, and the ever attentive announcer calling attention to "Albuquerque's Finest." Gack. And perhaps the funniest part was that I didn't pull myself out because I was hoping they'd pull me, which would give me a chance to start the last stage. It mattered to me at that point, even though when I pulled off the course I had to go lie in the alley behind the finish line to gather what strength I could to make it to the port-a-potty. Getting up the hill to go home was even harder, especially with all the Lance-tastic fans.

AFTER STAGE FOUR:

I continued to feel terrible and couldn't even make it outside to watch the men's crit, which was going on all around me since the house where we stayed was essentially in the middle of the course. In the evening I bargained with myself that if I could at least eat some rice, then maybe I could race the next day.

Before I even finished cooking the rice my phone rang. A friend needed to go to El Paso due to an emergency, and she was too distraught to drive there herself. So I drove her there and that was the end of our Tour of the Gila experience for this year. No stage five, but I gained the unfortunate realization that along the continuum of bad things that can happen to someone, my silly crit experience is pretty trivial.

The Gila problem is easily fixed by making sure I do the same preparations for next year as far as training and equipment. My Cannondale Factory Racing Team Edition Super Six was born for the Gila and my legs were ready to go. I just need to throw in some hard intervals whenever I come down with diarrhea in the future. That and maybe ride my road bike down 2 hills, instead of my customary 1 hill, at some point before the end of April.
I only wish my bad crit had been the worst thing that happened that Saturday.

I am a PROFESSIONAL...

2009-04-12T07:12:00.000-07:00

...and it would be completely irresponsible and unexemplary to take part in the destruction of this incredible trail system on the only rainy day it will likely see this month (not saying out loud: I really don't want to destroy my new bike in the mud just yet)...

I was super excited to race a 12-hour race with my friend Scott. I have never done a 12-hour race, and I'd heard a lot about how fun Gallup's Dawn til Dusk race is. It showcases a fantastic set of trails that the locals have put a ton of work into. The trail system out there is full of fast fun flowy high-desert singletrack peppered with a bit of rock, and slickrock sandstone, not to mention amazing scenery, and there are even maps and some low-key metal sculptures out there. Our pre-race ride showed the course in fantastic condition after a good winter. Rebecca, Scott, and I had a blast even though the wind was really picking up by the end. We got back and set up camp in time to enjoy the sunset, eat some delicious pasta with fresh steamed artichokes, and get a little sleep before the 7 am start.

Rachel and Glenn settin' up their tent. They slept in the RV (smart).

Careful with that bike, yo, mechanic.

Rebecca slept in the orange tent (brave).

Looks like it will be a pretty nice night... Silly weathermen!

Then we went to bed and heard the wind blowing louder and louder. Then we heard the rain start. Then around 4 am the sound of the rain stopped. I thought, good, we have 3 hours for the trails to dry out.

At 5:30 we opened the door of the RV to check on how the drying-out was going. And found out the silence was due to the end of one type of precipitation and the start of another kind.

At 7 they delayed the race start to 9 am. At 9 am they delayed the race start until further notice. Then it started to rain again. At 11 am they said, "GET OUT!!! GET OUT IF YOU CAN OR YOU'LL BE STUCK IN THE MUD PIT ALL WEEK!!!"

It was a good decision to cancel the race. It wouldn't be worth it to ruin the trails (my bike) for one silly race.

The BikeWorks crew... Dan, Ian, Charlie. Single-speeder looking worried? Not a good sign.

Look, guys, I got our packets!

9 am: More blizzarding. Just in time for the "pre-race" meeting.

Glenn performs an interpretive dance during a brief break in the storm,
as Rebecca looks on in... awe.