The Amazing Race

Carmicheal Training Systems Sand Creek International Bike Race - Colorado Springs, CO
(Kenda Cup West #6)

June 11-12th, 2009 (+/- a day or two if amazing airport races are included)

I think the travel adventures on this trip have been bigger than the races themselves! I forgot about the randomness of Denver weather, so flying in I got to spend an extra hour in the air as we waited for lightening storms to pass and then an extra 3.5 hours waiting for the 15 minute shuttle flight to Colorado Springs. (Lesson learned: drive next time. I could have made 2 1/2 trips to Colorado Springs in that time).

So after a whole day spent traveling (8a - 11p), I was ready to ride & race Friday. First up was my first short track experience. (Basically the mountain bike version of 'cross without the barriers and shorter time) I knew it would be a short race for me as there was no women's feild and I instead got to "race" in the open cat 1 & 2 feild (of mostly men). Did I mention I was also at altitude? The biggest effect I'm finding altitude has on me is my response to get to race speed is a bit delayed. So the race took off and 2 laps later I finally got in my groove and started working up...to be pulled 3 laps later to complete an exciting 15 minutes of "racing." But it was a good experience, even if not self-esteem enhancing.

I also finally got an answer on whether a leaky front fork is okay or bad from the Fox Shocks guy: it depends. I guess "a little bit of leak" is okay, but my amount of leak was not and due to a worn out seal. The Fox Shocks guys was kind enough to fix it after my amazing 15 minute "race" which made the whole night worthwhile and totally ready to really race the next day. HUGE thank you to Fox Shocks for their event & personal support!

The actual race: I think God was smiling on us as all of Colorado Springs was engulphed in dark clouds while the race site was the only spot with a beacon of sunshine and open blue skies. It got better too as at the start line I learned the race had been shorted from 4 five mile laps (with 900 feet of climbing each lap) to 3. Works for me and my sea-level lungs. My goal was to try and stay with the locals the best I could. I took the hole shot off the line and tried to keep a steady pace as we worked through the men (after the first 200 meters!). Eventually two ladies passed me and rode away, but I just tried to ride conservatively until the 3rd lap. The course itself was wide singetrack with lots of loose gravel and a few rocky sections - half ridable, half hike-a-bike. Thank goodness I have improved on my technical skills so I wasn't doing the bulldozer approach into each rock, but I still have a long ways to go in becoming more fluid rider. Going into the third lap I got a little dizzy (I think due to that whole altitude thing), so I backed off slightly. Once I got my brains back, I felt good, found a bigger gear and caught & passed the girl infront of me to take 2nd place! And, better yet, cinch the series title for the cat 1 expert 19-29 class for the West Coast Kenda Cup! (yes, a lot of work and traveling for a jersey...)

the Amazing Race: God started laughing.... My travel buddy, Mike (who is my husband's NRC/PedalMashers teammate) & I thought we were going to enjoy leisurely dinner after getting checked in for our Colorado Springs connector flight. WRONG. After checking the rental car in and standing in the flight check-in line for 20 minutes we learned that all flights in/out of Denver (DIA) had been cancelled earlier due to lightening storms and funnel clouds (they actually had to evacuate DIA that afternoon) and all flights in Colorado Springs were in the same situation as the storm was moving south. Perfect.... As our flight in Denver was still on time and scheduled to depart in 2 hours, (and there was no chance of getting out of Colorado Springs by air that night & possibly the weekend) we rented another car and made record time (including through the most insane rain/lightening storm) to DIA. Only to find out 5 minutes before arriving that our flight had been cancelled...by bird strike! Mike was able to miraculously avoid the 200 person line (that came right after he walked in) and sweet talk our way to a complimentarly night at the Mariott and the first flights out of DIA to Seattle the next morning. I got to spend 40 minutes waiting in the car in the "no park load/unload only" zone. Thank goodness the weren't enforcing that night. After another mad rush to get our stuff in our rooms before restaraunts closed, we finally got our "leisurely dinner" at Applebees at 10:45p - essentially our first meal since breakfast (at 7am). Onion rings never tasted so good....