5 girls, 4 dogs, 2 bikes and a 1/2 pound cheesburger.

Holy crap! That HURT! Do not...I repeat, DO NOT go booty dancin' with married women the day before a race. No bueno! We decided that friday night was going to be girls night out, and then had the brilliant idea to race cross on saturday. It was a hard wake up, I knew the race wasn't going to go that well. My teammate Carrie and I left Portland about 9:30, my sister, two of her friends and their pack of canines left Portland around 10:30. Carrie and I got to Astoria with about 1 and 1/2 hours to spare. Time for registration, quick check of the course and lots of water consumption! Cross Crusade changed their start format, so I actually got called to line up. Pretty cool hearing my name called. Now for the race. After the first lap, I started seeing double and couldn't focus on the course (sometimes I stroke out when I'm riding hard)...so that sucked. I couldn't really see the course, so I would just tuck in behind someone who was going a pace I could keep up with and just stayed on their wheel. Couldn't really pass anyone because I couldn't see the course. This course had some pretty long hill climbs, more than what I expected for a course at a fairgrounds. We did get to go through all the barns tho, allll of the barns. :)

This was a race of survival, not a race for placing. I'm pretty stoked I stayed in the whole race tho. Usually I don't get double vision until the very end of a race. Well, I ended up 9th, not too bad, but not what I was hoping for. After the race, the girls and I went back to the hotel and freshened up, then went to the beach. We checked out the shipwreck at Fort Stevens. It was beautiful, we got there right around sunset.


Came back, drove over the long bridge, made fun of my sister because she is scared of heights (I know, not nice, very childish...but her reactions are worth it!). Went out to the local pub for some karaoke...good stuff. Doing it all again today! Weather is perfect so far, no clouds, no fog, crisp and cool!

Bikes, dogs and friends

I should be writing a race report right now, but I didn't race. It was soo perfect outside that I went for a mountain bike ride. Can you blame me? Besides...you get two freebies in the series. We went out to Hood River and rode Gumjuwac, yet another great trail that I hadn't experienced until now. It was an amazing day! The veiws of mt. Hood were gorgeous. The trail is your typical Hood River trail. Straight up, and then straight down. Well, not really straight up...but after hour 2 of continued climbing, it feels like straight up. The climb up is on an old forest road, that doubles as a cross country ski trail in the winter. We ended up catching the single track up on the ridge. We rode single track up the ridge, down the ridge, across the ridge, and then finally had about an 8 mile super fun, super fast, super smooth decent back to the car. The dirt was amazing...super tacky, no dust, no mud. I'm glad I'm not writing a race report right now!!

It's like a powder day on the bike!

Usually in the northwest, you aren't quite sure what mother nature is going to send your way in the name of weather. The last two weekends here have been absoultely perfect fall days!! Like a powder day...but on your bike. Last weekend we got a goup together and rode the Falls Creek trail, right outside of Carsen Washington. I hadn't ever been on that trail before, but I sure will ride it again. Conditions were perfect. No dust, no mud...just super grippy dirt. Not too cold, not too warm, sunny, slight breeze...I could go on. The trail itself starts in a creek valley and climbs steadily for about 16 miles. The climb isn't bad except for a couple steep pitches...that are totally rideable, just as long as you don't mind bustin' a lung.



The trail winds through a manicured, open forest blanketed with ferns, then up into a subalpine meadow/wetland, then higher yet into some granite scree fields. About halfway up the trail there is a huge lava tube. It's basically a big hole in the ground.



The trail is just outside Mt. St. Helens, so there is evidence of volcanic activity at various points along the trial . Pretty cool stuff. The best part of this trail is that you turn around and get 16 miles of some of the best downhill around. Big ring, and spinnin out! After 6 hours of riding, we got back to the car just before the sunset. I took this picture at the trail head. The light on the leaves and the water was perfect. Such a great day~!

Cross Crusade #2

Well, I just raced my first cross crusade race...and I raced it as an A! Talk about crazy! Soo many people not just racing, but spectating too. The line up was crazy! 30 women in the A's alone. I'm not even sure how many total women were racing. Luckily, the A's get to go up to the front of the line. Since it was my first race, I hung back and started in the second line. It was a horrible start, every hole I saw would close up right as I started to take it. So, I was about 20 back in the beginning. The race course was pretty fast and open in the beginning. Then they had us go up some huge mound of clay that had turned to concrete after the rain the night before. That was interesting to say the least! Coming down off the mound there were basically three tracks, and you picked one and were committed until you hit the bottom. Midway down, some girl went a*& over tea kettle right in front of me. Thankfully she was ok, and I missed running over her by a couple inches. So now I'm in like 19th place??? Well, I just kept a good pace, tucked in behind some girl that looked like she knew what she was doing and just started passing people one by one. I ended up in 5th or 6th with 1.5 laps to go. Then I did what I NEVER do and I crashed! Damn! I actually went down twice in the same 180 degree sucky gravel corner, but the first time I got my foot out and basically just tapped the ground and bounced back into my peddle and started riding again. The next time around, not so lucky. I didn't get my foot out and I went down....hard. Ouch, I left a bit of thigh, butt and elbow skin on that course. Didn't rip my pretty shorts tho...yay for that! :) Well, the crash also rammed my derailer into my spokes and twisted my shifter/brake levers so that my brakes were stuck on. While I was yanking the derailer out of my spokes, and twisting the levers back to semi straight, 5 girls passed me. Damn again. I tried to catch them the whole rest of the race, but my bike was basically a single speed and I was stuck in the drops the whole time because the bars twisted. I couldn't pass them, but I also didn't let anyone else get by me. I ended up 11th out of 30. Which, for my first major cross race, I think is pretty good. Next weekend there is another one up in Washington. Got my bike all fixed up, got my new sweet 1600gram triple spoked wheel set from FSA (www.fullspeedahead.com) and I'm ready to go. Making a whirlwind trip to Spokane friday night after work, visit babies and eek a quick ride in saturday and then drive to the race sight in Western Washington (a mere 6 hr drive) Sunday morning and race again. If nothing else I'll be nice and rested from 6 hours of forced sitting. Pictures to come!

What could be better than this???

A weekend, in North Central Washington, in October, on my motorcycle, with my favorite dudes? Not much could be better really. We drove up to Entiat, which is just outside of Wenatchee washington, Friday night. Torrential downpour, couldn't see a thing! Pulled into camp around midnight, still pouring. We slept in the back of a Volkswagon jetta with two 70 pound dogs instead of setting up the tent, that's how hard it was raining. Saturday morning, it was still raining. Great...I hate riding in the rain! After sitting by the fire, drinking lots and lots of coffee, about noon the sky opened up and we got a break from the rain. Alright, get your gear on! Let's ride!! Hopped on the bikes and took off on a trail right out of camp. We rode some great single track, and the fall colors were amazing!
We rode a good 3 hours that day, ended up getting stuck in a downpour most of the way back to camp, but had a great ride anyway. Sunday we woke up and it was gorgeous outside, blue sky and warm. We headed up the mad river trail, tommy trails area north of Leavenworth. Best single track around!


We ended up riding for 5 hours Sunday. Started in Sunshine, got into snow,



a little rain, some fog, and then back to sunshine when we got back to camp. The last trail we came down was "experts only" super tight switchbacks, drop offs,

and on the brakes the whole time...I loved every minute of it!! I mean what can be better than a weekend of riding dirtbikes with your dad and his dirtbike buddies??