It was a marathon day for Ride Around White Rim in One Day (RAWROD) 09. Chris and I could not leave as early on Friday as we hoped. We discussed it and opted to not camp down there, but instead sleep in our own bed. So we got everything packed up in the car, except for our bikes—the forecast was calling for rain. We set the alarm for 2 am and went to bed.

The alarm went off and we got dressed, grabbed our breakfast food, threw the bikes on the car, and took off. I had the normal duty of spotting deer up the canyon. It was uneventful. Chris then told me I could go to sleep. I closed my eyes but never really slept.

We arrived at camp around 6 am as planned. On the out there jack rabbits kept racing the car and crossing over the road right in front of us. Psycho rabbits. Upon our arrival, we got the bikes off, gathered equipment and were ready to go in no time.

The gathering for the 6:30 a.m. (6:55) departure

RAWROD is always fun because it brings everyone together. It is a great opportunity to catch up with those we don’t see so often. This year the group traveled clockwise again. So we took off the dirt road, went through the pay booth and then down Shaffers.

A top Shaffer's Hill before the descent

More switchbacks to go down.

My goal was to take pictures, but try for different shots than I did in the past. There are set places we always regroup—Musselman’s Arch, White Crack, Murphy’s, Hard Scrabble, etc. After the first regrouping, I found myself alone. The wind was picking up and Chris left me to take advantage of a tail wind. Since I was by myself it was easy to stop to take some pictures during this time.

Jesse, Phil, Keith, and Rick at a small regathering before White Crack

We waited for the sag wagons at White Crack so we could eat. It was delicious. We made it to Murphy’s really quickly. The weather seemed ominous so we (Chris, Jesse, Keith, and I) stopped for a quick moment, let some people know we were going to keep going and took off. Luckily we had packed our pocket full of extra food after lunch just in case. It was all business from here, not time to stop for pictures.

The theory was after Murphy’s the wind would turn from foe to friend. It really didn’t. There were a few sections where it helped out for a bit, but it was still at least against us 50% of the time. It was really gusting though. There were times I thought for sure I was going down simply because of the wind. It sprinkled a few time too in the afternoon. It was just little stuff. The wind was most frightening on Hard Scrabble. It forced me to dismount and I was not sure I would be able to even push my bike it was so strong. I made it though.

In the end it was definitely fun, but it took more energy than I had anticipated it would because of the wind. I was really grateful that Chris had opted for gears over single speed. I think that would have compounded the difficulty. Kudos to all the single speeders who did it with the wind.

We got back home safely at 11:30 pm. It was a long day of driving and riding and I am tired.

We went to Fruita and raced in the first race of the mountain states cup. As usual, we missed Ed. He puts on the best races and the BEST value. I think I take the Intermountain Cup for granted until we race elsewhere. It is just the little things that make a difference.

We had a very unfortunate casualty. It was so sad and I thought Chris was going to cry. We were heading from the event site back to town after pre-riding the course. When suddenly we heard a loud bang and Chris's Superfly was hanging off the car. It was mounted backwards on the roof rack and the back wheel did not get tied down. It flipped over completely on the skewer and hit the side of the vehicle. The impact crushed the down tube just above the bottom bracket. The bike is completely unridable.

A lost loved one...

You know how people say that giving the shirt off your back is the nicest thing a person can do. Well, Brad surpassed that. He gave Chris his bike to race. That is giving--pure altruism. Brad was not going to race, but was going to ride while we raced. Talk about friendship.

Chris getting things ready...not able to smile quite yet.

The race was okay overall. Karl ended up in fourth, Carson took ninth (I think), Chris took 13th (on Brad's 29 inch Hi-Fi) and I ended up in 5th.

Chris on the course

The course was 13 miles of road to a climb that put us on a mesa. The mesa had single track which spit out on a dirt road back to the start finish. My group started out pretty quick. My plan was to stay with the group and hopes of getting some help by drafting. It did not work out so well though. I was with the group for the first minute when I went down. It was a curve to the left and I went down. I don't really know how, but it seems as though my front wheel fell into a rut and washed out. I jumped up made sure front wheel spun and jumped back on. Brad was right there watching it all. I tried to catch my group and caught up to a few off the back. When ever I would reel them in they would pull away. Most likely because I took each turn like a small child--I had to rhythm. About 15 minutes after the crash, I noticed my back hurt just on the left side. It hurt to climb; it hurt to stand up. I think it influenced how poorly I rode the first part of the race. After the climb to the top of the mesa, I felt as though I got some flow back. The second half of the race was actually fun. I liked the course. After the race I figured out why my back hurt so badly.

I crushed the canister in my back left pocket when I went down.

A closer look...

At least it was better than Sea Otter last year.

Not really what I had in mind...


April 15th and it is snowing in the valleys...ugh!

Rain, rain, go away
Come again some other day...

Like in July or August.

I love 21...toothed cogs that is. Because it refuses to not rain long enough to allow the trails to dry out, I have been single speeding it quite a bit lately. The 21, while a bit pansy-ish, is great. It is much easier on climbs. I anticipate going back to the 2o though for one speed Wednesdays.
We were able to make it out for a ride today between the rain showers. As we were heading into Provo it was raining pretty hard. I was surprised that Chris continued to drive and did not turn around. I figured we would just go hang out somewhere until it stopped. By the time we got to Timp Park it pretty much had.
I was even more surprised that while the trail was wet, it was not sloppy. We made it all the way to the altar climbing up Betty's. There is snow up there again. We came down Frank's and then Dragon's Back. We hit Bonneville until it got sloppy at the top. I can not wait until that trail dries out. Chris and I are planning a celebration for the day we are able to ride the entire trail. Although I imagine the riding of the trail will be a celebration in and of itself. After coming back down, we headed back to the race course, up the Cliff Trail and hit Bonneville North. This was good until a bit past Dry Canyon where we ran into some sloppy stuff and then headed back.
It was a great three hours on the bike for a rainy Saturday.

Cholla Challenge was this weekend and it was good. The trail, the weather, the results...all good. Saturday was a lil' chilly, but great for racing. I lined up with Lynda, Sue, Jen, Erika, and DJ. After St. George I was a bit apprehensive about where I would end up.

On the starting line

My goal was to suffer and I did. So we started out with a descent. I was in second behind Sue, but took a corner wide and Lynda passes me. Then on another corner Jen gets by me. We start the slick rock section and climb. Sue and Lynda are beginning to gap us, so I jump around Jen and was able to catch the two leaders. They are keeping a good pace, but I am feeling strong. I then decide to go ahead and try and take the lead. I was in first for just a moment or two while we entered the rocky down hill. Sue and then Lynda pass me in the wash. I can see them on most of the first lap, but then I lose them.

Chris suffering on the course for a 6th place finish

I rode the most of the second lap by myself. The side of the trail was littered with competitors fixing flats. I continue to push. I am incredibly nervous about being caught.

Pushing up a climb

My last lap I hear this guy behind me. He stays on my wheel the entire lap. We go through sections where people are cheering us on and he says thanks. I can't believe he can talk. I could barely grunt as a response. I give a look over my shoulder to see if I am getting caught by anyone in my group. I can't see much. He asks if I am annoyed by his presence; I tell him no. He then says that there is no one there.

Awards Lynda (1st) w/ Emma, Sue (2nd), me (3rd)

I end up in third place six minutes or so behind Lynda and three minutes behind Sue. Which is a large margin given the length of the race, but I am still pleased with my performance. I was cramp free. I had hot CarboRocket (tea) with breakfast and drank it in my bottles during the race.


After the race and awards, Chris and I joined Racer, Charlie, and Kevin on Barrel Roll. We did this spur that Lynda told us about. It was pretty cool. I did not fuel well after the race and I died close to the top. Racer had some GU and I was able to make it back without suffering too much. It was tough though. It took me a day or so to recover from that.

We rode Hurricane Rim-Jem-Gould.We planned on riding it out and back, but wimped out and headed back to the car instead of heading back the way we came. We also hit some of Barrel Cacti, Zen, and Gooseberry on Monday. Gooseberry was delightful!

We are in Saint George. We came down yesterday morning in the snow and rain. It was crazy. Chris kept saying that he wanted to travel and not worry about the weather. After we got to Cedar City we anxiously awaited the clearing. It never really came. It was raining in St. George! We just hung out for a bit until Chris' family made it down. They made it safely and we checked in to the hotel--which is this cute little 1970's looking suite.
The weather broke so we headed out to Church Rocks. That seemed really odd to me. We always ride this trail last which means we are spent. Riding it fresh made me feel like I was the strongest I have ever been. (I am sure that is not true though.) I was also taking it a bit easy because there is a race today.
We parked just off the I-15 in Washington and took the path to the tunnel. The tunnel seemed crazy dark and even darker on the return trip. The weather looked a bit threatening, but it held off until we got back to the car. It was a nice 90 minute pre-ride.
Today looks good weather wise. I have attempted to get and stay hydrated. I even had some hot CarboRocket for breakfast. It is so good. I have only had the raspberry lemonade warm, but it is delightful.

Here are some pictures from our stop in Cedar City:

Some ice build up

We should have broken some laws with the car like this, they never would have been able to identify us.