Super D #1 Northstar

Yesterday kicked off the first race in the Super D series for Tina and I up at Northstar. After compartmentalizing our day -- working in the morning, getting into race mode in the afternoon -- we headed up the hill and the butterflies started. I found that laughter really is the best medicine and once we started cracking jokes the tension melted away . . . that's the ticket.

However, things didn't go so smoothly for me once we got on the mountain. My Lyrik fork was just rebuilt by a local bike shop the day before and while it seemed a little stiff on first impression, I really didn't have time to give it a good test run until my practice run where I found out I had about one inch of travel! I was cussing like a sailor the whole way down and not even sure I was going to race at that point. When I was supposed to be up at top of the course at the mandatory race meeting I was down at the bike park's quickie bike shop -- although they didn't have the time and resources to perform a real fix on the fork, they took care of me by taking some air out of the fork and putting some lube around the dust seals. This got me to about four inches, not quite the ride I'm used to, but still I decided to head up the mountain to attempt to race anyway. Arriving late I was happy to find they still accepted me and in a few minutes I was lined up for the (lame) Le Mans start to the race.

After a false start (I heard the word "GO" and me and another girl started running, even though the guy was still only explaining the rules -- oops. No harm) I took off like a shot and managed to be the first girl to reach her bike, flip it over, jump on and take off towards the dusty, rocky, loose single track that would be our challenge for the next 20 minutes or so. There was one length of flat fire road in between and that was where I was passed by a super-fast xc girl. I vowed to catch her on the DH but was met with one more bike malfunction - chain jump. After another session of cursing I had the chain back on the ring and was back on my bike, but alas unable to catch her. The rest of the ride was quite the arm pumping, leg pumping challenge with plenty of technical sections and twisty turns.

Tina, who for her own bike issues had to ride her heavier DH bike, caught up to me at one point and we got lost for a minute which didn't help in my quest to take the lead - it was a confusing course for sure!! After all was said and done I was very happy with a second place finish, Tina in third. It was a great race overall and we even made a new riding buddy, Roxy from Oakland. Looking forward to the next race -- and getting my Lyrik dialed in!!

New Trails at Squaw (these photos are not from there)

Yesterday I rode with a really fun group up at the new bike park at Squaw Valley, Tahoe . . . it was crazy and beautiful . . . and unfortunately we did not get any photos. Although the photo ops were great, no one had a camera, or would have wanted to get off their bikes long enough to take a picture for that matter.

So, totally unrelated, here are some photos taken on the confluence trail in the canyon just beyond my house. These were taken on a nice, hot, dusty Sunday morning. . . Northstar Super D race in five days and counting!



kd

Megavalance -- we should try it!

Don't forget to click on the square in the right hand corner to make it full screen (like I forgot to do). Enjoy!

Skill and Fitness

You hear those two words a lot when you talk about mtbing: skill and fitness. Yesterday on my way home from working in Reno I stopped at Northstar for a few hours. It was a relaxed day because I had not gone up with any of my friends to ride and it was a second-hand trip to my business trip in which I did the presto-chango from business suit to freeride clothes in the parkinglot after a 10 minute nap in the driver's seat of my Highlander.

It was a great ride! Working Livewire with run after run was a blast in progression. Then I decided to pedal across the mountain to the trail we had ridden in the first-ever Super D at Northstar last year (right before I shredded my knee for the season. yikes!). Flameout is the name of the trail . . . and it is brutal. I now remember why I was so whooped after the race last year. That trail is 20-25 minutes of t-e-c-h-n-i-c-a-l (if you really want to spell out a word that long). It is physically and mentally punishing and makes you cry out for the smooth, flowy, easily-launched-in-the-air ride of Livewire. I was beat up after Flameout. At least in DH you have gravity to help you overcome obstacles (albiet I don't hit the big features in trails like Boondocks. Talk about demanding) . . . but this course it's you and rocks and twisty, narrow single track and gravity isn't always there to lend a helping hand. Sometimes sheer brutal pedaling speed is the only way to attack. It is quite equally demanding of both skill and fitness . . . and in this Super D season which starts July 23rd, I look forward to crushing it.

MTBing: The Adventure Art

It's hot and dusty and summer riding is in full swing.

Sorry we haven't been posting lately but we've been out living adventures.

Marianne has left for Sweden (her home country) and is living the good life visiting friends and family and swimming, kayaking and biking around scenic lakes. We miss you Marianne and are a tad bit jealous simultaneously. That happens. Before she left she rode the Pioneer trail out of Nevada City -- can't wait for her to come back and show us the way.

I, Kirstie, have been off seeking new trails and adventures. I met a really nice couple at Sea Otter and connected with them for a kick-ass ride in Ukiah, Ca. They were generous enough to take the day off and show me some of their DH trails. The first one rocked hard -- steep, (but a bit loose), windy, jumpy. It had it all. The next trail was a true freeride adventure -- complete with harrowing experiences. They said it was a new trail their buddies had built but as we skid our way down a steep, shrub encrusted mountain-side any semblance of a trail disappeared. We found ourselves lost -- for about three hours -- basically managing our bikes down the mountain as opposed to riding. Once we found our way down the shaley mountainside, out of a waste-high weeded hillside and through the backyard of a farmer's house, down his private road and out to finally find our vehicles we kissed the ground and celebrated what is to go down in history as a great adventure. (It's always nice to look back and say how much fun that was although while you're going through it you're cursing the circumstances you have put yourself in). A few days later I found myself off to Northstar with Tina and we had a BLAST! I went back the next day to watch the National Pro GRT race but was too pooped to really ride much -- did a little. And this past weekend found me on a late night drive up to Downieville to spend the night in the back of a pick-up truck -- ahhh, open air sleeping is the best!! The riding was glorious the next day, although the amount of snow at the top on Sunshine was a little wearing to slog through. We were warned but chose to forge our own path -- occasionally getting lost. I love Downieville for the riding (excellent!), the scenery (spectacular) and companions you meet on the way (always friendly). Definitely DH MTBing is the friendliest sport I've participated in so far. Today took me on a challenging XC ride through the back trails of Applegate -- Hermet Hut trail, always a good one!

Tina's been busy too. Besides our incredible day of riding at Northstar, this past week her and I rode the fun, fast, flowy part of FHDL loop and enjoyed ourselves the whole way. She's out kayaking today after a Confluence ride. I can't wait to hear about her adventures.

There is no shortage of great stuff to ride. We've even found two new trails in Auburn that are begging to be better explored by the Girls. Time is the only barrier. Balancing life with riding is an art and we are always perfecting our art. And we are loving it!