and sometimes

what you do (or try to do) gives love better than saying three little words.

I'm trying lots of things

but can't seem to find the right one(s) to eliminate. Rode down Dog Hill trail today going into the park. It has gotten rougher over the winter and a second trail parallel has been formed as well. My hands hurt so badly the entire way down I was almost in tears. I opted for one Cherokee loop because the hands weren't feeling any better by No Net. No dairy and no wheat or gluten. No beer either!

I'm not going to stop. Not yet. I love riding trails daggonit.

facing facts

Sometimes you just have to no matter how much you'd rather it not be.

but I'm not ready to give in/up yet

Evening trail ride

Yesterday after work the weather was nice and the trails were dry and @KYMBALou gave the greenlight. But I had to pick up my bike from my LBS Clarksville Schwinn. My drivetrain made all kinds of racket during my race on Sunday. Had to replace the bottom bracket. It was trashed. I'm thinking that spin through the deep creek at Jake Mountain and my lack of bike maintenance are what caused it. Brian said there was water sitting in it. Note to self, if you ride in water or power wash your bike, take the saddle out and turn it upside down for a couple of hours to drain. 

By the time I got home, ate a bite of food, changed clothes and aired my tires it was 10 after 6 when I started out. I put my headlight on the handlebars and headed to the park. It was a beautiful evening. I started to ride down Dog Hill and Tim O yells at me, "ma'am, you can't ride these trails". Always being funny he is. Tim's a great guy. At first I wondered if I had enough clothes on as riding on the road was brisk. But when I hit the Hogan's fountain climb I warmed up quite nicely thank you. I felt surprisingly well considering I hadn't been in the saddle since Sunday and this was Thursday. Spinning on the road for 2 miles to the park helps. There weren't as many people out as I had expected, a few walkers and a few runners and a couple of MTBers. As I rode No Net I was feeling really good so I headed to Wilderness at Seneca by way of the Golf Course. Riding around the golf course is always a challenge for me. The trail is rutted and lots of roots and some little punchy climbs. As I circled around the backside I saw 3 CS Schwinn racers. The trails were great. Wilderness only had the 2 usual spots that stay wet except in drought conditions. A lady MTBer was leaving as I was entering the trailhead. Later as I wound back around on the bucket loop there were 4 trail runners going in the opposite direction. Those were the only people I saw in Wilderness. Once I got to the top of the hill I wussed out and rode the switchbacks back down instead of taking the hill climb back over to Pee Wee Reese. I rode the road back to Cherokee and finished up the loop. As I took a few minutes in the gravel lot resting I checked the time, ate half a Lara bar and started again. I knew I would run out of daylight, but I didn't care. I rode the 5 mile Cherokee loop clockwise. Ran into Seth, Joe and Brian twice. The last time I was climbing Barret hill after No Net and heard them up top coming down. So I pulled over. Already had my headlight on at this point as the sun had settled behind the trees. They were flying down through there, no lights all three dressed in black. If they hadn't been so loud I'd not have seen them. As I make my way to Hogan's fountain the sky turns pitch dark. I thought about a conversation I had with coworkers. One saying she won't walk alone in the park, too risky. If I waited to only walk or ride with others I would never get out there. I try to be alert and aware, but I'm gonna do the things I like to do. The full moon didn't rise until 11 pm last night. Which made me sad as the sky was cloudless. My toes were cold and I started getting a little chilled. I couldn't see the walkers as I rode up Dog Hill on the road heading back towards home. I finished with 20 miles, it took me 2:40 but I just wanted to ride. Not concerned with speed after 3 days off.

Didn't ride today, hope to ride Saturday and Sunday and Monday. Have to take a day here and there though. Besides the hands weren't happy today.

Sounds like the weather will be outstanding tomorrow and then rain Sunday morning. Now to decide where to go and ride. Have plans to make some yummy soup in the morning early.

Then go to see Mom tomorrow evening. 

The magnolia is about to explode into full blossom.

Blessings for a wonderful weekend to you.

peace   

MTB racing is tough and fun

and is full of spills for people with lack of skills like me. Falling down is part of it. Doesn't mean I like to fall. I don't. It hurts! I found bruises Tuesday and today from Sunday's race. I landed on my left shoulder two different times. It's taken several falls in the last few years and talks to me louder each time. Sunday evening we stopped at Cracker Barrel to eat. Halfway through dinner my left hamstring cramped from my glute to my achilles. I jumped out of my chair and walked to the other room. Thought I might've yelled, but was told I didn't and didn't scare the people around us. 

Today I visited my holistic shaman. She works miracles on my body after hard training or races.  45 minutes in the infrared sauna and hour on the massage table and I'm as good as I can get at this age.

I'm not fast like I want. Doubt I'll ever beat the 30 somethings I race against. Have a big birthday this year and try to remember my body is much older than my mind.  :) Just because I think I'm Peter Pan doesn't mean the body can live up to the task.

It's important to play, and laugh and have fun No Matter How Old we are. 

So I have lots of room for improvement and need to train harder. It's almost April and temps will rise and laps times will get faster hopefully.

Enjoy the full moon tonight

peace    

Chickasaw Trace mountain bike race

It was damp and foggy when we arrived around 7:30 or so. Signed in and started race prep. There were quite a few people I know that went. Of course there were more that were going to go and didn't due to the forecast, yadayada It had rained overnight, but only lightly. I took some pictures and cheered friends on and was in the feed zone for my teammate. There were only 4 Cat 1 women, two I know personally and 2 from PA and NC. My friends came in 1st and 3rd. The Cat 1 race (both genders) was 3 laps. Listed at 9 miles the laps were more like 8.1 according to my Garmin. But still I admire everyone that raced 24 miles on Sunday. Brian had a very good race. I spent his third lap prepping my bike and myself. I had about an hour between his finish and my race. Rode the beginning of the course, through the rock garden and then when I got back to the van realized I had been in my big ring for that. Such an AirHead! haha  Every CX or XC race I've done I always go for the holeshot. Not Sunday. Big Mistake! Several of the Cat 2 women in front of me got off their bikes at the rocks. UGH so frustrating. But it was my own fault. I was running 5 or 6 and caught a wheel  and stayed with her for most of the first lap. It started pouring rain at some point. I mean bone soaking. But it was good because it kept the mud from sticking to the tires. KK passed me not far past the rock garden. Then the top JR boy passed us. But with about 2 miles to the finish the first of the Cat 3 men started passing me. That slowed me down more than I wanted. I got to the end of the first lap and stopped long enough to catch my 2nd wind, get nutrition from Brian and started back out. I was slower than I hoped for at 1:15 ish. The 2nd lap I was alone the entire 8 miles. I never saw a single racer, only the volunteers. They started packing up when they saw me. They thought I was the last one, but I wasn't. It stopped raining and the sun tried to come out a few times and the wind picked up. This meant the mud started getting drier and stickier. Well I fell once on the first lap, but can't tell you where. On the 2nd lap, I was so happy. I rode all but one short part of the rock garden. Proper gearing and no traffic made it easy!  haha   After the rock garden there is some twisty stuff then a drop into a muddy runout . I bombed it just like the first lap but once I hit the runout my tires slid out and I landed on my left side and hit my head. Immediately got up and started again. I got slower. The mud got thicker and deeper. The last three miles is more climby but there were places that I couldn't get any traction and just spun out. I could hardly walk up some places. Wish I'd had toe spikes. With 2 miles to go I just prayed for the next mile marker. haha it's those little goals that keep you going. I finished. I was 7th of 10 or 11 that started. It took me 3 hours to ride 16 miles. CRAZY! But it's done  Glad I did it. Proud of those that raced 24. I'm so grateful Brian was there at the finish. Most people had left, except for the Cat2 women and their entourages. He was so very helpful. He got the back of the van cleaned out so I had someplace to strip and dry off and change. He cleaned my bike and then drove us home. 

I have plenty of work to do on my fitness and bike handling. It's only March, right? Also have a lot to learn about my nutrition. I shivered for an hour or so after changing. But I wasn't cold. I think I was bonking. I was very tired, I know that. 


Here's what I looked like at end of the race.

Chickasaw is an AMBC race and is a qualifier for USAC XC Mountain Bike Nationals in July at Bear Creek Resort in PA. I'm so excited to travel to new places and ride new trails!

Hopefully, there is more to come. 

I had a great weekend. Hope you did too!

peace  

MTB season has officially started

I need to post about it, but yesterday's Chickasaw Trace XC race kicked my butt. Recovering tonight. Will write it up soon.
peace