SUPER Delicious

The Super D up at Northstar last weekend was more than I had hoped it would be. It was tougher . . . and it was a bigger kick than what I anticipated. As with most things there was a favorite and a least favorite part; and the least favorite was the Le Mans start (or as Americans like to spell it 'Lemans.' Le Mans is actually the name of a city in France that was known for it's motoracing and the first French Grand Prix. The "Le Mans start" takes its name from the way racers lined up across the street from their cars and ran across the street and jumped into their cars to begin). Not being the same sport, the two should not share the same lame start.

Now on to my favorite part; which was the long, twisting, obstacle-ridden descent that gave the rider a good 16-25 minute challenge, time depending on your class. It was no boring firebreak trail that I had seen in videos of other Super D races. Along with some peddling (not too much) it was scenic, it was rocky, it was thick powdery dirt and it was FUN!

kd

Tina Wilson - 2nd Place Women's Open Class

Kirstie Douglass - 3rd Place Women's Open Class

She's Got A Bike

Thanks to the gift from one of our site visitors!

(She may not be smiling in this image only because she's being aggressive on the jumps. The smile will spread after landing it).

kd

She Needs a Bike

Reason #4 out of 125 reasons to love mountain biking. . . it puts a smile on your face.

kd

125 Things to Love About Mountain Biking

Reason #47:  It's never the same ride.  You can ride the same trail over and over and it's always a different ride every time.

(OK, so I have not actually counted how many things I love about mt. biking and I do not know if this reason is really number 47 -- just throwing out random numbers.  You get the picture).

kd

Hey We're Not Pu*#ies

Should we be concerned that the some of the road bike cronies actually think that mountain bikers are pu$&ies? I had to pull Kirstie back from a moment that was quite embarrassing for a group of road riders that under estimated a spunky mountain bike babe! Changing a flat tire, incognito between two vehicles on a Sunday 90 degree morning, a group of road riders passed while saying "I wonder where all the mountain bikers are? Bunch of pu#@ies!" Kirstie with hands on hips, lips out, and a dash of attitude took this brief opportunity to jump out from between the vehicles, take a hit for all us mountain bikers and say with a vengeance, hey we are not PUSSIES! After pulling their head from their a_ _, they decided that they were no match for the spunk monster and continued on their spandex ride!

trw

Urban Mountain Biking -- Looks Like a Kick!

Everyone's A Star

Jumps, drops, table tops, ladders, whoops . . . My muscles are aching from head to toe, but I have a huge smile on my face. Tina and I spent the day yesterday at Northstar and had a blast!  We had planned on taking photos to document at least a little of our trip, but neither of us concerned ourselves with that while riding and having the time of our lives -- on our bikes and just in general.  Since there are a lot more trails in the park than we were able to explore yesterday, we are definitely making a return trip soon.  We already have some trails scouted out that we want to hit next time.

Oddly no one who worked at the resort could give us any information about the course for the upcoming Super D race (speculation was because they have not picked a course yet or because it would be unfair to others to share that information with some).  Having never ridden a Super D race, I just hope the course is actually fun and not some boring x-country course.  This remains to be seen . . .

Tina and I relaxing after working hard and having fun all day.  A brochure at Northstar boasts that one run, Livewire, has over 45 jumps.  We did that run at least five times, plus others . . . you do the math.  

kd

Girls on the East Side on the podium.

Sea Otter Classic DH 2009

Marianne and Tina cruising around after the race.

Our friend Johnny wearing the jersey.  Niiice job Johnnhy!

This is a picture of me (Kirstie) . . . oh, actually, ok, this is a picture of Sam Hill as he finishes his winning run in the dual slalom.  Thumbs up man! -- Wining moment captured by Marianne.  Thumbs up Marianne!

kd

Blazing Saddles

Temperatures reached the 100's in the canyon this weekend but that did not allay Tina and I from getting in some intense riding time.  (Our third member Marianne is in her home country of Sweden right now riding bikes around cool, picturesque lakes and taking midnight swims).  Tina and I, however, are battling the heat and the insane star thistle that crowd out the lower half of the Confluence trail.  No problem . . .

Yesterday after a later than planned start (due to a side trip to the bike shop to fix a hole in a tubeless tire and brake pads that were rubbing on a slightly-warped rotor) we climbed up the Clementine hill to the Tunnel trail and landed some new jumps we hadn't tried before.  Exhilarating!  At the bottom of pushing our hardest through the Confluence trail we celebrated with a much deserved cool swim in the river.  We were so hot we actually had the chills . . . ?  Even the breeze generated by riding down hill was like a convection oven.  

Today's riding, even though we shuttled, was harder than the day's before.  We started the morning with a three mile run (yes, we momentarily traded in our wheels for trail shoes) up the Confluence trail for a little cross training and to scout out some new lines.  Then our shuttle driver met us at the bottom to take us to Stonewall, East Side, Tunnel and Confluence.  

It was hot, hot, hot and by the end of the last run we were weak as kittens and riding a little sloppy I must say.  Luckily we started out riding pretty sharply -- although we did leave a little skin on the trail -- me on East Side and Tina on Confluence.  We had to admit, though, we went down with flair and style.  It's all in hanging on until the bitter end while still going down smooth, getting up, dusting yourself off, giving an "I'm OK" shout out to your buddies and then hopping back on the trail.  

At least no equipment trouble today aside from my chain bouncing off and getting wedged after landing a jump.  A little frustrating to deal with in the blazing sun with a full-face helmet on, but we had that fixed in no time.

We ended today's ride with another swim in the river, stinging our fresh scrapes and with a little less juice than the day before.  We were both in need of a large portion of food and more water than we had brought.  We dragged our soaked bodies back to the truck barely uttering a word . . . until we started laughing at our sorry asses.  

Since we're training for the Super D race at Northstar next month it's no time to stay inside just because it's hot!

Until next ride . . . 

kd

Girls On The East Side

Coming soon . . . a mountain biking adventure story of three women who love to tear it up on the East side of the American River Canyon . . . and other destinations as well.  Getting excited?  You should because we know we are, every time we swing our leg over that seat and get on our bikes to ride!

kd