Loooong Overdue…Whiskey 50!

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Team Uranga

Upon arriving in Sedona we were immediately in heaven! Every morning we would step outside our door and only one word would come out, “Wow!” Seriously, every morning I would say it again. You couldn’t help but be in awe of the beauty around. The land throws out such amazing colors and rock formations that it doesn’t even feel real. We had the whole week to explore, with no plans, no schedules, no rush. I can’t lie, it felt REALLY GOOD. There is something about Sedona, maybe the vortex’s around, but there is just a sense of peace there. Carlos and I really try to have this in our own home, but living in such a densely populated city, this feeling is slowly lost when you step out into the chaos. This is where mountain biking comes in to save the day!

Tuesday we rode out from our cute little apartment to the other side of town in search of some sweet single track. I was in charge of the map and so of course when we were in the middle of the canyon with no civilization in sight, and on a trail that a bike didn’t seem to fit on anymore, it was all my fault! Hehe. Oops! Getting lost is part of the adventure, right?!? So, 4.5 hours and about 5,000 pictures later, we had a heck of a good time and finally found our way home.

Wednesday we drove out to Prescott to pre ride the 25 mile portion of the race course. Having never been there before we were trying to figure out where we wanted to park and where the trail started. We drove the four mile start of the course from downtown UP to the campgrounds where the trail starts. Yes, I did type “up” in all caps on purpose, because it was ALL up, and very steep at that. The last mile was near an average grade of 18%. So we found a spot to park and started climbing. The first five miles of single track are also up hill. Most of it super fun until you start to really feel your legs and have to pop your wheel over some pretty good size water bars (basically just really big logs lying straight across the trail.) No joke, there had to have been at least fifteen of these. One was even after the apex of the turn on a switch back. It was tough!

Once reaching the peak we got to descend for about fifteen minutes with some super rocky sections and scary ledges that could send you flying off the cliff. It was so hard not to have a death grip! Once the fun was over then what else was there to do then to go right back up again. Hehe This time we were climbing about two miles to the 25/50 proof split, and since we were riding the 25, the trail continued uphill for three more miles and topping out at an altitude of 7,136 ft.

At this point we were just so excited to start descending again that we missed a turn somewhere and just continued down the jeep road until we finally stopped to check the map. Apparently we should have been on single track by then. So we continued down until we found a section of single track next to the road that we could jump on. By the time we got back to the car we ended up with 25 miles! Sweet!

After our ride we knew that this race was really going to be a booger! The portion of the trail that we skipped was an additional 9.3 mile descent down Skull Valley where you make a quick u-turn at the bottom to climb straight back up, then continue the three more miles after the 25/50 split to the top. Ouch! Thursday we decided to spin our legs on some trails that started right behind our building. We didn’t really find exactly what we were looking for and ended up riding very sandy dry riverbeds. It wasn’t really the type of “spin” I was hoping for, but hey, it was still beautiful Sedona!

Our relaxing week was coming to an end and it was soon to be “GO time!” Friday we had to get an early start on the day to drive out to Prescott for the Pro pre-race meeting at noon. So we packed a cooler with lunch and snacks and hit the road. After the meeting we had quite a bit of down time before I had to start warming up for the fat tire crit. We walked around, visited a local bike shop, and just hung out around cute little downtown.

The fat tire crit was right there on Whiskey Row. The course was set up with two climbs that I knew were going to hurt! The start was supposed to be a neutral roll out until the first turn into the climb, but it didn’t feel like that really happened. I don’t think mountain bikers are really wired for “neutral” starts the way roadies are. Unfortunately I got caught in the back of the group and that’s never good in a crit. I was forced to brake in the corners and the second hill was too long to play catch up for me. Everyone around me, including myself, was gasping for air and there was a lot of suffering in the four laps I got in before I got pulled with several of the others. Those were seriously the hardest twelve minutes of my life but so much fun all at the same time! The crowds and the atmosphere were just as on fire as my lungs. They hurt so bad for the next two days that I almost thought I was even getting sick!

After the crit we drove back to Sedona to start getting everything prepared for Carlos’ race the next morning. He had an early start at 7:30 am which meant we would have to be up by 4:15 am to be there with enough time for him to calmly get ready. We had heard that it’s best not to start in the back of the pack because once hitting single track it’s like hitting a road block as the trail gets bottlenecked. There were over a thousand people racing between the 50 Proof and the 25 Proof so there were people everywhere! Once Carlos was off I drove to aid station #1/#3 which is where the 25 & 50 split. The volunteers were just amazing and everyone was so helpful!

Carlos and I had bought walkie talkies a few months back for a more reliable way to communicate with each other in the trail when we start loosing cell phone signals. We each had one while he was out on the course. Poor guy was suffering on the climb and I was talking to him (and apparently all the other guys around him too) saying, “Good job baby! You’re awesome! I love you! Don’t stop! Pedal! Pedal! Pedal! Keep going! I love you!” He said all the guys looked around like, “what the heck was that, and WHERE did it come from?” Haha He didn’t say anything the FIRST time, and then when I gave him another mushy shpeal he embarrassingly said, “Sorry guys…that’s my wife.” LOL oops!

When he got to aid station #1, I asked him how he was doing. To my surprise he said, “Great!” So many people were hitting that aid station and seriously yelling, “Water! Water!” or “Pickle Juice!” but he quickly switched his bottles out, kissed me goodbye and he was off to descend down Skull Valley. A little after an hour he called me on the radio asking for Elete. He was cramping and had run out of his pocketflask. I was a bad pit girl for leaving the extra bottle in the car which was a few miles from there. So I made sure to save some pickle juice for him before they ran out. Even though he was struggling with his cramps, he had such a good attitude when he finally got back to the aid station. Again, he didn’t stop for more than 30 seconds and continued to the top of the twelve mile climb. Since we accidentally skipped a small portion of the trail in our pre-ride, he totally thought that it was “all downhill from there,” which it was NOT! After descending for about three and a half miles, there is a mile long climb called Cramp Hill. Carlos said there were riders that were cramping and literally falling over still clipped in. There was one girl screaming from the top of her lungs, “NO! NO! NO! NO!” allllll the way up the climb WHILE she was pedalling! He was pulled over to the side of the trail cramping, and looked over at a guy lying on the ground and said, “Hey, it’s obviously working for her! She’s the only one still riding!”

After a long day in the saddle Carlos turned the corner to the finish line in downtown Prescott. As he rolled through they handed him his pint glass for completing his first Whiskey 50! I was so proud of him!!!

We drove back to Sedona to get ready for my race the next morning. Since we would start driving back home right after my race we got everything ready to be loaded up. We had a good nights sleep, arrived early at the venue, and I was excited to experience all that Carlos had the day before! The field was once again stacked, and since the elevation gain and altitude was unlike any race or even trail I had ever ridden, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to hold the pace of all the other girls. By the time I got to the first feed zone where Carlos was I was pretty much on my own. He must have noticed how much I was already suffering because he didn’t even ask me how I was doing…it was pretty obvious. He was so encouraging as he switched out my bottles and kissed me goodbye.

It was so cool to descend down Skull Valley and see all the Pro Men followed by the leading Pro Women drilling it up the climb. On the way down, Sarka Ruzickova of Cannondale zoomed by me . Once I finally hit the turn around I knew the race with myself had barely begun. I steadily climbed and closed the gap Sarka had put on me. We chit chatted a bit and she was so nice, as this was one of the first times she had even been on her bike this YEAR! She had been doing lots of skiing in CO where she lives. So after our little talk, I continued on my way and put a little bit of time on her. It was getting really hot, and so lonely out there by myself! There were sections that had no air flow what so ever and it felt like I was never going to get back to the feed zone.

My frown quickly turned upside down when Carlos pulled a “Lisa” on Lisa with our walkie talkies! It was a bunch of “I love you’s!” “You’re awesome!” “Don’t quit!” and “Pedal! Pedal! Pedal!” I was really starting to fade and his voice was just what I needed! What seemed like an eternity later, I made it to the feed zone. I was so happy to see not only Carlos, but Richard and Lisa, yelling and cheering for me! Sponsors don’t get any better than that! They didn’t even let me put a foot down. I just rolled on through as they switched out the bottles in my cage, my jersey, my nutrition, and after Carlos poured water on me, Richard followed it up with another cold pour that got me drenched! It felt soooo good!

As I was finishing up the last few miles of the climb, I felt someone creep up on me. I turned around and it was my awesome hubby riding behind me! It’s hilarious because he was speechless after having to climb his tail off to catch me since it took him a little while to gather up everything he had at the feed zone (not to mention he had climbed 7,000 ft just the day before), and I was speechless just because my glycogen tank was pretty much running off of fumes at that point. After he finally caught his breath he blurted out an, “I Love You.” and with no emotion I quietly said, “I Love You too.” Not too long after that I had reached my limit. I couldn’t fight it anymore and I was getting really dizzy. I pulled off into the only shade I could find, which wasn’t very much, and Carlos took the bottles from my jersey to get some of the weight off my back. After a few minutes of a pity party and letting my heart rate come down a little bit, we made it to the top of the climb. I was so thankful to have him there by my side! He gave me back my bottles, once again kissed me goodbye and I was on my own.

For the next three miles I got to rest my legs on the descent. This is exactly what gives the next mile long climb its name, Cramp Hill. He had told me to push through the climb and he knew I could make it up! I didn’t really know that it was going to be a mile long climb, and it felt REALLY long at the time. The ground was pretty loose near the end. His words stuck in my head, I gritted my teeth, and grinded it out all the way to the top! NOW it was all downhill from there! All of a sudden Sarka comes blowing by me and says, “Hop on my wheel! I’ll take you down!” She was flying! I stayed on her wheel for about five seconds till I thought to myself, “Yeah, she’s going to take me down…literally, down on the ground!” I didn’t trust my skills and I knew I was super fatigue so I backed off her pace. Since I was the last rider on the trail I had the sweep on a moto behind me and when I finally popped out onto the road I was police escorted all the way back into town! It was so fun to have them stop all the traffic for me and I could take each corner as fast as I wanted to. You would have thought I was someone special or something! 😉 My rock star moment was coming to an end as I turned the final corner to the finish and all the tents and booths were being torn down and packed up. I was officially the last rider to roll through for the weekend and it was a great one at that!

What an absolutely awesome experience this whole trip has been! I know deep down that God paves our way through this world and He is the reason that Carlos and I are able to do everything that we do! I cannot lie. This trip was so great that it’s taken me this long (a month and a half) to get back to reality. A million THANKS to our sponsors, Richard and Lisa of Comedy Defensive Driving, Outta the Oven Las Colinas, and Education Location for believing in us and helping give me a “boost” into this pro mountain bike world, my amazing brother Roman and his support from Roman Strength LLC., my wonderful sister Marisa and her beautiful family for “temporarily” adopting our son Plopper, Deborah and Steven for their constant love, support, and not to mention providing us with a fancy shmancy roof over our heads for a week, Uncle Oscar and Marlene for supporting their crazy niece’s dreams, Deirdre and John for the surprise Christmas bonus, Plano Cycling in Fitness, Team PACC, Elete Electrolytes, ESI Grips, Sockguy, Honeystinger, Schwalbe, all of our clients, friends, and family I did not mention, and last but not least AT ALL, my backbone, my best friend, my HUSBAND! He is my inspiration and the glue that keeps me together. I truly thank God for him!

This Sunday we’ll be racing the Fossil 50 out in Glen Rose, TX. I’m super excited and really looking forward to this one! This is a race like no other in the area and I know it’s going to be a blast! This race is pre-reg only so hurry and sign up now, this is going to be one that you don’t want to miss!

Sea Otter Classic

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Team Uranga

WOW! What an amazing two and a half weeks we have had! Earlier this week we drove back from our adventures at The Sea Otter Classic and The Whiskey Off-Road, two of the biggest off-road cycling events in the nation. I had taken a laptop with me so that I could blog, (thank you Taylor!), but I was so busy taking in every moment of our trip that I just couldn’t bring myself to sit down and write. So here it is…Part One of the Adventures of Team Uranga!

Two weeks ago from Friday was Carlos’ race at Sea Otter. After our pre-ride of the course we knew that this wasn’t just any XC race. This was practically a marathon for him, and despite not being at a high altitude, it was like a marathon in the mountains with all the climbing! Maybe it wasn’t that bad, but it sure felt like it to us flat landers! The course was one ginormous 22 mile loop with fast and flowy singletrack and lots and lots of jeep road. He started his race with the mentality that he was going to have to really pace himself in order to finish the grueling 44 miles.

The event is sponsored by Volkswagen, so the entire four days we were there we got VIP parking right next to the entrance since we were in our pretty little Jetta! It was awesome!! So we got there early that Friday to catch the end of the short track race. It looked brutal with a huge sand/gravel pit that was probably around 75 meters long. Afterward Carlos suited up and spun his legs for a little bit. When it was time to line up it was so cool because the start was on the actual Laguna Seca racecourse. Before I knew it they were off and I was left to hang out and chill for the next few hours figuring out the best way to get to the feed zone. There was one at the end of his first lap, and then another half way through the course. Carlos came out of his first lap and when I asked him how he was doing he said, “not good!” But he kept on going. Uh oh! I asked the course marshal how to get to the second feed and the only way was to descend 4 miles down a jeep road. I went back and forth in my head if I should go or not. My race was the next day and I knew it wouldn’t be very wise to climb four miles the day before to get back out of there. I felt so bad and just prayed that he would be okay, knowing there was plenty of water and nutrition out there.

I waited and waited till his head finally popped out over the hill to the finish. I was screaming and yelling, “Good job Baby! You’re awesome!” And then as he came down he slowed to tell me, “I didn’t finish, but that was so much fun!!!” He let the officials know that he had DNF and rolled down to the car. So he was already feeling signs of cramping in his first lap and knew the second lap wasn’t looking very promising. The climbs in the first fifteen miles are a tiny bit shorter than the long climbs in the end, and also a little more punchy. His legs really locked up when he was around mile 30 and when he got to the feed zone in the middle he decided to take that four mile jeep road back out. Murphy’s law right? The only way to get out was uphill! Yikes!

He was so excited afterward! Although he didn’t finish the entire race, he had so much fun with the guys he was racing with, the trail was super flowy, and everywhere you looked it was soooo pretty! It was the perfect training ride that we couldn’t have gotten back at home!

My race was Saturday at noon and the field was STACKED! Not like it isn’t always stacked at this level, but this time there were 43 women and from all around the WORLD! Several whom are Olympic medalists, National Champions of not only the U.S., but also their respective countries, in all sorts of disciplines of cycling from cross-country to cyclocross to track. I knew the course was tough, the competition was STEEP, and it was going to be an experience of a lifetime…and it was!! I had a good start and stayed smack in the middle of the group throughout the track where I didn’t have to work very hard. Once we hit the dirt I stayed about mid pack and got to ride with Rebecca Rusch for the first handful of miles. That was pretty cool! Carlos was waiting for me From my pre-ride to race day my descending was a little better, but these girls were just bombing it down! I then realized that without having the longer climbs back home like there were here, you don’t really have the same opportunity to practice descending, which was appearing to be one of my limiters. I did the best I could while keeping the rubber side down and was so excited to clear a super rutted out descent that I had trouble with earlier that week! I was also so happy to make it down this one descent that was pretty steep and the entire way down was about a foot deep in super fine SAND! That thing was tricky! As the race went on, and the climbs got longer I just couldn’t keep the pace. I dropped back a few spots and finished in 35th. As I rolled through Emily Batty was there and she gave me a big, “Good Job!” All I could tell her was, “You girls are amazing!” I was happy to have finished, happy to be in one piece, and happy to know that we can only go up from here!

The next morning we set out to our next adventure in Arizona, The Whiskey Off-Road. We figured, why not take the scenic route and drive down Highway 1?!? Life’s too short not to squeeze everything out of it! It was so beautiful!! No regrets there. That was a looooong day of driving and Carlos did ALL OF IT! I’m starting to really believe that he thinks I’m a really bad driver, or he just doesn’t trust me with the bikes in the back. Haha! But whatever the reason may be, I’ll just stick with, it’s because he loves me THAT MUCH! 🙂

We arrived in Sedona, AZ around midnight and we were both pooped! We checked into our room at the Sedona Summit where we would be staying for the week, complements of Steven and Deborah!!!! We couldn’t say THANK YOU enough!!! Our room was so nice with everything we could possible need or want on our last week away from home, with a full kitchen and a jacuzzi right around the corner that had a beautiful view of the canyon! Finally, a whole week in a quiet town with nowhere to go and miles of singletrack to explore…

We’re goin’ XC to race XC!

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Team Uranga

It’s been awhile since I’ve written, and since my last post we raced out in Glen Rose, TX for the Solavaca Cat Claw Classic. We decided to head out early and make a long weekend of camping with perfect weather and enjoy the quiet time together. It was so much fun to camp again and to enjoy the evenings with teammates and friends!
There were only four of us in the women’s field and the trail was perfectly tacky. As we took off Cindy led us into singletrack and she was really keeping the pace up! About midway through that first lap I attacked on a flat and made the pass. I felt great and ended up riding solo the rest of the race, finishing in 1st! Carlos had a pretty good start going in about mid pack. He stayed steady and was able to move up little by little. He finished up in 7th place!!! It was a great day of racing and we couldn’t have asked for better conditions, the trail was just perfect!
Monday Carlos and I set out on our journey to Monterrey, CA for the infamous Sea Otter Classic! Our first stop was in El Paso to visit our beautiful Grandmother. Visiting with her is always inspiring! We also dropped off Plopper with my sister so he could have some playtime with her five wonderful kids!
Tuesday we drove from dawn till dusk for a total of sixteen hours and stopped for the night in Bakersfield, CA. It felt good to stretch out and recharge! Wednesday we continued our drive up to Marina, where we are staying for the next four days. The drive was absolutely amazing! Neither Carlos nor I had any idea how gorgeous the terrain was going to be! The land is so fertile and there were miles and miles of vineyards, pecan trees, colorful flowers, you name it! We finally arrived at our hotel and got ready to go ride.
Wow! Driving up to the venue was nuts! It is so big! Every single part of the cycling industry is represented with banners, tents, and vans. This is unlike any other race I have ever been to. So we suited up and followed the signs to the xc course. We ended up going in circles trying to find the start of the 22 mile trail and bumped into World Cup Champion, Catharine Pendrel! She was so nice and gave us a tour of the entire course, shared some riding tips, and even helped me with one of the technical descents. Now that’s what I call the ultimate Sea Otter experience! The trail is unlike any other I’ve raced in Texas. The majority of it is jeep road and double track and there is ONE root and NO rocks on the whole trail. The scenery is so beautiful that it’s almost hard to concentrate! There’s over 3,000ft of climbing in one lap and the climbs are much longer than we’re used to. This one’s going to hurt so good!! Carlos has the wonderful pleasure of racing two laps…can we say suffer fest?!? Yikes! Like I said, hurt so good!!
We’re off to check out the races, meet new people, and soak in the atmosphere! I’m not too familiar with the computer I’m on so we’ll be posting up pics on Facebook and Twitter. Come check us out at http://www.facebook.com/teamuranga and make sure to LIKE us while you’re there!

The Big Ring Challenge

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Team Uranga

Holy Moses! This weekend’s race was SO MUCH FUN!!! I think it’s the coolest thing to come out of a race and Monday morning still be on cloud nine from all the excitement. The Big Ring Challenge is one of those courses that really gives you a high from the speed. It’s not every day you get to average over 14 mph on singletrack. Pure awesomeness!

Carlos and I had a great pre ride Saturday and the trail was just like I remembered it…fun and fassst! So Sunday morning we were ready! The temperature was in the low 50’s and I was surprised it didn’t really feel that cold. We warmed up in the first few miles of the race course since we were the first category racing for the day. The trail was feeling good!

Four of us were lined up in the women’s pro field, Jessica, Penny, Cindy and myself. The start was on the park road and then made a sharp left into singletrack. On the whistle we took off and Cindy was out in front. Jessica was able to get around and led into singletrack. Cindy and I went in side by side and I started to get pushed into the trees so I squeezed in behind her. As we were riding I could see Jessica starting to form a tiny gap and I knew I needed to get up there. As soon as I could, I passed Cindy and bridged up to Jess. Everything felt so good, the trail, my bike, my legs…I couldn’t have asked for a better day! We got to the second jeep road and all of a sudden Jess slid out making the turn. I knew I had to charge so I punched it and attacked up the jeep road and into the trees. She was able to bridge back up to me and I led till the next jeep road. Once we made the turn onto the road the race was ON! We were both on the gas full throttle. I jumped on her wheel but through the trees she started to put a few seconds on me. She was riding strong!

Heading into our second lap (we only had to do two laps this time) the small gap was staying pretty steady and I had her in sight. Railing the corners felt awesome and you can’t help but to love going that fast! Then, out of nowhere (at least in my memory), I clipped a root with my pedal. Oh man! It was one of those things that happens so fast that I don’t even know exactly WHAT happened! If I had to guess, I would say that when my pedal hit, I came unclipped, and my knee must have first slammed into my bars, or shifter, or SOMETHING in that vicinity, and THEN it slammed into the ground. All I knew was that it hurt…REALLY BAD. I had to stand there for a second to figure out if I was even okay. My bars had twisted so I quickly adjusted them and put my chain back on. Jamie, one of the guys in the Cat 1 40-49 group slowed down and asked if I was alright. I wasn’t quite sure, but the only way I would find out was to get back on and ride. We still had ten more miles left in the race. Ah!

Jamie let me in front of him and was really encouraging as I tried to pedal. The pain was so bad that I literally started crying. I know! I know! What a GIRL! I don’t think I’ve ever cried and ridden at the same time before from this type of pain, but I just couldn’t help it. I really wasn’t sure if I had seriously injured something in my knee and if I was just making it worse by trying to pedal through it. I was contemplating pulling out. I’m not sure how much longer it was after the crash but I think it finally started to just go numb to the touch.

Those last miles were a bear but the trail was so fast and flowy that it helped me to block the pain. I still finished strong in second. For some reason today I’m not that bummed about my knee, even though it’s still sore and swollen, because the race itself was so much fun!

In the Cat 1 40-49 group there were thirty-two guys. This week Carlos had a top ten call-up. He was so excited to have an opportunity to be up front that I think out of happiness and anxiety he missed his pedal. On top of that, you can only imagine that many guys hauling butt down a road to turn left and line up in singletrack can be quite a chaotic mess. He went in mid pack and moved up little by little through the first lap of the race. Right up every jeep road he could see a train of five guys in front of him. They were so close he could taste it, but not having a draft made him work even harder. He finished in twelfth and only a minute behind the pack of five!

We had a great weekend and are looking forward to the Easter weekend break! Till next time…

Happy Trails!

Bent Wheel Bash…A Cactus Full of Fun!

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Team Uranga

Another week, another race, another experience to add to the things I’m thankful for! Last Sunday was the Bent Wheel Bash in Abilene, TX. This race is put on by some extremely passionate people in the Abilene community who really know how to do everything right. Gary and his crew do an outstanding job putting this race together year after year. Upon arriving at the race he stopped by our car to let me know they had even added an extra $100 to the Pro Women’s purse because of all our hard work and always coming out year after year. It felt really good to be appreciated! Thank you so much Gary for supporting the ladies!

Saturday morning we got up around 5:30am, loaded up the car, dropped Plopper off at his favorite doggy day care, Benny’s Dog Resort, and was on the road by about 7:00am headed to Abilene. The high of the day was supposed to be 92 degrees and we didn’t want to be out baking in the sun for our pre-ride. Our timing worked out well and it wasn’t too hot as we rode the open course. There’s pretty much no shade on the trail like we’re used to here in DFW. We rode a good lap and a half. There were some changes made to the race course from previous years we had raced there. A handful of technical rock gardens were taken out and replaced by twisty, loose singletrack. I personally liked the course and the way it was laid out. Even though it wasn’t as rocky, the level of difficulty of taking loose corners at high speed made it exceptionally challenging, especially when the penalty for failure is a body full of cactus needles!

We had a really good pre-ride and missed the heat just like we had planned. The rest of the afternoon we cleaned up our bikes, got ’em race ready, then kicked up our feet.

After a good nights sleep we arrived early to the trail and boy it was chilly! What a difference from the day before…Texas weather is crazy like that! Carlos forgot his arm and knee warmers so he had to rough it for his warmup. 😳 After our warmup we rode the start loop a few times, got our legs marked and lined up.

It was a small turnout for the ladies pro field with only three of us. It was Jessica, Penny, and myself. We went off in front of the Cat 1 40-49 Men and not so sure that was such a good idea. Those guys are fasssst and if the stagger isn’t long enough they are sure to catch us. I jumped onto Jessica’s wheel through the start loop. The leader of the 40+ group (Mason O’Neil) passed us about 3 or 4 miles into the race. Close to mile 5 1/2 is where we hit the rock gardens and I could hear a choo choo train of guys coming up on me. I didn’t want to hold them back from their leader so I slowed down and scooted over in a turn right before a technical section. As I moved into the side of the trail, the second I grazed my brakes my bike went right out from underneath me! Next thing I knew I had a few cactus needles in my side and a dropped chain. A whole mess of guys passed me as I struggled to get my chain back on. Oh how I missed my 1×10!!

I finally got going again and tried to close the gap Jessica now had on me. It was a constant ON and OFF the gas. You could pick up a lot of speed on the straights and then had to really modulate it for the slick corners. I didn’t know what the time split was between us, but on my second lap I managed to make the gap bigger by sliding out at the top of a turn and this time got covered on my left side from ankle to shoulder in cacti. I knew I wasn’t badly injured so I hopped back on my bike without checking out the damage. I could feel pricking as I moved my body side to side, but these are the times when you’ve gotta love adrenaline!

In the last few miles I was so excited to see Carlos around a random corner yelling and cheering me on! A little bit later he popped up again…how does that not make you smile in the last stretch of a race?!? I finished in second and got to take home some cacti as a souvenir.

Nearly all of Carlos’ race he went back and forth with Jason for tenth place. Close to the last 400 meters or so there was a good size log pile that you could go over, or go around and Jason decided to go around. Carlos charged the logs and made the pass. As Carlos made the pass he thought Jason would yield the trail, but instead the two collided. Carlos went down pretty hard. Now we know where the phrase “rubbing is racing” came from. 😉

These are the times when we can be extra thankful for our background in fitness and not using cycling as our only resource to be healthy. Incorporating a solid resistance training program can not only help you on the bike, but it can protect your bones and joints when the unexpected happens. Thank God all Carlos walked away with was a few chunks of skin missing and slightly new perspective on the competition.

We just got to Coldspring, TX for the Big Ring Challenge. There is a chance of rain this afternoon and we should be just in time to ride before anything hits.

Hope everybody has a great weekend, racing, riding, having fun!! I’ll post up some Abilene pics after our pre-ride.

Mellow Johnny’s Classic…You live. You learn. You race!

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Team Uranga

I am absolutely overwhelmed by this past weekend racing at the Mellow Johnny’s Classic. I can not even fully describe how special it is to have so many friends, family, fellow racers and riders, and of course my amazing husband to support me, cheer for me, encourage me, and put a smile on my face around every corner of the trail. I didn’t quite get the result I was looking for, but it’s always a great experience to race the best of the best.

I know I haven’t written in a while, it’s been a mentally and physically challenging past three weeks. I must have superhuman competitors because racing every weekend without a break can really knock the sails out from someone, and I didn’t even do the 6 hr endurance race and short track that some of them did at Waco a few weeks ago.

The weekend after Waco we raced out in Comfort. Last year and this year I have concluded that this particular weekend always feels like one of the longest weekends of the year for me. Friday we pre-rode the entire 27 mile loop out at Flat Rock Ranch. Saturday we took advantage of the Mellow Johnny’s course out at Flat Creek Ranch being open for pre-ride and rode three laps out there. I had been on the fence all week about racing Sunday and I went ahead and signed up anyway. I knew that riding the rocky terrain would help me brush up on my technical skills rather than spectating.

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We were so fortunate to have friends with family who live only about fifteen minutes east of Flat Creek and were nice enough to provide us with beautiful and cozy hospitality. The view was amazing and the area was so quiet and peaceful. That, along with the weather and good company made for a perfect race weekend!

Carlos and I were both racing at the same time but each of our races headed out in different directions on the course. Silly me had ridden the whole course Friday EXCEPT my start loop. Oops! So when the whistle blew we sprinted up a hill and next thing I knew I heard a loud crash just behind me to my right. Jennifer Taylor had been on my right so I knew she had probably gone down, but I didn’t want to look back and cause a wreck myself. So I focused on Jessica who was in front of me so I could see where the start loop was taking us. The first nine miles of the race are pretty rocky and last year was the first time I had to race the complete upper loop. I remember not being able to clear several of the obstacles last year and this year I was happy to be riding a larger portion of the tricky rocks. All in all I had a decent race. My goal had been to work on my technical skills and that I did! I finished in third place, Carlos finished twelfth, and we both went home with tired legs.

We are so blessed to have such a flexible job with some pretty awesome clients and were able to start our weekend off early Thursday and head back to Dripping Springs to hit up another pre-ride at Mellow Johnny’s. The course was flowing better and better. Friday afternoon I got in one more lap. The course felt much different from the day before. You could tell that there was more traffic on the trail, rocks were being thrown around, and lines were getting sloppy. I went over my bars on a loose decent and of course I had to land on the same knee that I injured on my Rockyhill pre-ride. It wasn’t that bad, just a little insult to injury…literally. You know they always say, “A bad pre-ride is a great race.” I just kept repeating that to myself for the rest of the ride. That evening we kicked up our feet and I iced my knee.

Saturday morning was a little chilly. We parked near the top of the newly famous STRAVA climb and Carlos set up my trainer and road bike next to the truck. The Cat 3’s were racing right before us so we got to heckle our friend Lisa and all the others suffering up the climb before I had to get ready for my own race. While warming up it was great to see teammates and friends pass by and wish me luck. I headed down to the start line for 11:30 call ups. I was really excited to see other girls from Texas step up to a race of this caliber. Like I said in a previous post, the talent in Texas is pretty unbelievable! There were three Texas girls on the line and almost a fourth! Unfortunately Melanie Etherton, who would have been number four, had an injury the day before in her pre-ride and she was unable to race. We missed her on the starting line!

The anticipation and hard training from the previous weeks and months was all for this first big race of the year. When the gun went off I took the line on the right and fought through the clouds of dust. Apparently I was a little too far right because I got smacked in the face with a branch…that’s always fun! I was about mid pack before the last right hand turn on the start loop before hitting the road again, when my cleat popped right out of my pedal. AH! I was in such a heavy gear that I almost couldn’t even keep pedaling without being clipped in. As I struggled to catch my pedal again I felt several bikes fly by. NOOOO!! I entered single track near the end of the pack skidding, and flying through the corner out of control. Finally I settled in and calmed myself down. This is not really the type of trail you want to ride over your head, even if it’s to move up a few spots. Crashing wouldn’t have gotten me very far. Up the climbs and in the open spots I was feeling strong. I was able to reel a few girls in and make some passes.

The rest of the race I yo-yoed back and forth with Rebecca Gross who was right in front of me. The crowd was incredible and poor thing was probably so sick of hearing, “GO Lisa!” There was no sneaking up on her! After the race we talked and when I told her I was the one right behind her she said, “You must be Lisa.”

It was a great race, a total learning experience in so many ways, and only 47 seconds away from my Top 10 goal! So after the race I decided to cash in my chips, walk away a winner (in my book at least), and be thankful I was still in one piece. Carlos was racing the next day and I wanted to be all about him! He’s so awesome at taking care of me and being my support system that I couldn’t wait to do that for him. So I set up his trainer and got his bottles and race nutrition ready. His field was pretty large with close to forty guys. The start was super dusty, but thanks to his Oakley Windjackets he was able to see, as opposed to previous years when all the dust got in his contacts! He had a strong, clean race and had a ton of fun! The way that he described his race was, “he had a bad start with a good end result.” He’s always said, “if you race from the back, you will not finish in the front.” I think we both proved that this weekend!

You live. You learn. You race. 🙂

A little over six weeks away and we’ll be in beautiful Monterey, CA for the Sea Otter Classic! Can’t wait!

We would like to thank our AMAZING sponsors, Comedy Defensive Driving, for the generous hospitality, financial support, and promoting safe driving as we train on the road!

Elete Electrolytes for knowing exactly what our bodies need to stay hydrated for ultimate performance!

ESI Grips for your superior comfort and ultra light weight technology…did we mention how bling our bikes look?!?

Honey Stinger for on and off the bike top of the line organic fuel!

Roman Strength for our super sturdy plyometric boxes and equipment for our functional training!

Plano Cycling and Fitness for the best bike maintenance and always keeping us rolling!

We couldn’t do all this without these guys so make sure and support those who support us!

The Wacko Waco MTB Yeah Man Extravaganza!

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Team Uranga

Saturday was the second race of the season at Cameron Park in Waco, TX. This is one of my favorite courses of the whole year. I don’t know why I like the suffering of this trail so much, maybe the feeling of accomplishment once it’s over, but I do know that four laps is definitely not for the weak-minded. Each lap was about 5.8 miles and roughly 830 feet of climbing.

With Waco being a little under two hours away and having an 11am start time, we decided to drive down early morning on race day. After not getting in a solid warmup the weekend before at Rockyhill, we also decided to load up the truck with both our mountain and road bikes so we could warmup on the trainer. (We have a hard time fitting our 29er wheels on the Cyclops.)

The morning was COLD, and when I say “cold” I mean Texas cold, not Colorado cold…so about 30 something degrees. I was really looking forward to the day warming up right around launching time, and it really ended up to be a PERFECT day for racing at about 58 degrees. Delicious! No excess clothing required and just the way I like it! There were eight of us in the Women’s Open Category and the start was in a field with two 360 degree turns to spread everything out. It worked, because as we took off and headed into the first turn I got pushed to the outside and was already playing catch up to get to the front. Before entering single track I passed a few girls and went in 5th wheel. The first few miles there was no room to pass and I was stuck. Christina and Jessica had already gapped us and were out of sight. Once we hit the jeep road I was on the gas. I moved into third place and was chasing the rest of the race. There was a lot of traffic, most especially in that first lap, and much of it was in some of the tightest, steepest parts of the trail. But despite all that, I felt GREAT and finished in third! This is the same race that I won four months ago and since then I improved my time by nearly EIGHT MINUTES!

The Mellow Johnny’s Classic is approaching fast, only a week and a half away, and it’s getting pretty exciting! This Saturday we’ll be pre-riding the course for next weekend. Sunday we’ll be out in Comfort, TX for race number three of the TMBRA series. I’m looking forward to another great weekend of riding and racing with my favorite husband!

Rockyhill Roundup

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Team Uranga

The season kickoff for the Texas XC Mountain Bike State Championship Series was this past weekend at Rockyhill Ranch in Smithville, TX. What it really felt like was Exctruciation Exam Part II! The forecast was promising rain, and rain it did…the morning of the race! Sitting in our hotel room staring out the window we contemplated not racing at all. It was still early, around 7am and Carlos’ race didn’t start till 10. We decided to at least be optimistic that it wouldn’t keep pouring down so we switched out our racing wheels that had Specialized Renegades on them to our training wheels that had Specialized Fast Traks. Still not a mud tire, but better than the slick Renegade.

We headed to the ranch at around 8:45 to check out how all the Cat 3 racers looked coming out of the trail. As they rode in their bikes and jerseys were covered in mud. The start of the race was rerouted to bypass some of the red clay areas that get real bad. Carlos’s loop was going to be one long 18 mile loop so it was commit or quit for him. There was no turning back once he got out there. He suited up and started warming up. The only way to get better at riding in mud is…to ride in mud! We were hoping with the reroutes there wouldn’t be anything bad enough to damage our bikes.

He lined up at the starting area and they were off! As his large group raced up the long jeep road start he was splashed in the face like crazy from the puddles of mud. The first and last quarter of the race were the sloppiest. The back half is generally pretty sandy so it wasn’t too bad after the rain. It was in the back half that he was in a pace line on a jeep road and fixated on the wheel in front of him. He lost concentration for one second and hit a side wall of the trail. It all happened so fast that Carlos went flying and landed on his back. A few guys passed him at that point as he got up and pressed on. In the slippery last few miles of the trail some muddied up roots claimed him. His front tire pulled to one side and he hit the ground. It was a rough race.

While Carlos was out on his adventure race, I was back at the car getting myself ready. My start was scheduled for noon, but the rain delays from earlier had carried over to our start time and it was now changed to 12:20. I rode around and tried to get a warm up in near the finish area so I could see Carlos come through. He rolled in and it was about five after twelve. I got in a few more quick sprints and lined up.

I saw several new faces, which is really exciting to see the sport growing in the women’s field. Our course was originally supposed to be around 3.8-4 miles and we were racing four laps. Like the other Categories, our start was also rerouted up the jeep road along with a few other sections through the trail. When the whistle blew we quickly formed a line going up the road and I was in third behind Christina and Jessica. When I looked back at the top of the climb we had a pretty good gap from the rest of the group. The trail wasn’t too slick for the first few miles, but the mud on a few climbs felt like it grabbed ahold of your tires and didn’t want to let go. My bike felt so heavy! I had lost sight of Christina and Jessica midway through the first lap and I rode solo the rest of the race. The last few miles of the loop I was starting to regret not taking up cyclocross this winter! I was sliding around like crazy on two sections called “The Grind” which is a big dip, and “The Wall” which is a REALLY BIG DIP! When I saw the tire of the guy in front of me going side to side at the bottom of The Grind I knew I needed to be extra careful. The whole area was really tricky with some off camber turns and wet red clay.

Each lap I could see the leaders on the other side of the trail, each of us hammering in opposite directions on the jeep road, I was heading toward the start/finish and they were going out on their next lap. On my final lap as I was passing a lapped rider I caught a glimpse of an Austin Flyer’s Kit through the trees. I didn’t have any room to let up! Not ever looking back I kept pressed the pace and crossed the finish line seven seconds before Kate Sherwin (Austin Flyer’s.) It was an awesome race with some great competitors!

I am really excited to see such growth in the amount of women that are coming out! There is so much talent here in Texas and I know had there not been any rain that morning even more girls would have been racing. I’m pretty happy with the results of this race, especially with the conditions, and my training is right on track! I’m excited to continue to get stronger and to see how the year unfolds. 2013 is going to be full of BIG goals and BIG races!

Excruciation Exam

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Team Uranga

This past Saturday was Excruciation Exam. It’s a race that’s been on our bucket list and things finally fell into place to do it…well, sort of. It was a 78 mile xc mountain bike race which starts in Warda, TX at Bluff Creek Ranch with about 8 miles of single track, then heads out on paved and jeep roads for a 30 mile trip to Smithville, TX to ride 19 more miles of single track at Rockyhill Ranch, turn back around for 20 more miles on the roads back to Warda, and then finish off with a final mile of single track heading to the finish. Two weeks before this race we had gone back home to El Paso for Christmas. We got to enjoy the wonderful climb through Transmountain over and over and over. On the last day there, we attempted a super steep, mean joke of a climb, on a road that is only POINT eight miles to the top to get to the El Paso Tramway. Tramway Us tramway climb The AVERAGE grade on this climb is a mere 13.5%! Long story short, we made it not only once, but twice up to the top, and the mean joke part is that the final ascent tops out at a whopping 21% grade…OUCH! That hurt! We made sure to take plenty of pictures at the top because I really don’t know if I want to do that again..EVER. Ha!

Soooo, we drove back from El Paso the Saturday after Christmas, and on Sunday night, Monday morning, Carlos was welcomed home with the stomach flu. 😦 Poor guy was SO sick as we rang in the New Year on the couch under the blankets. He quickly bounced back in a day and a half and next thing you know we were riding New Year’s Day at Solavaca Ranch. When we got home we checked the 10 day forecast for Smithville and Warda. Through the past week WeatherChannel.com had been teasing us with a chance of rain. It would go from 60% to 30% to 10%, and at the last-minute went back to 30%. We decided to bite the bullet and wish for the best so we signed up for the race. When we raced Tyler in the fall there was a high chance of rain and the morning of race day it came down just enough to make the trail perfectly tacky, so we were hoping for a repeat! Unfortunately, Wednesday was now my special day to get the stomach flu. Dang. My only hope to race was watching Carlos bounce back so fast from his stomach flu. In the back of my mind I really wasn’t sure if I would be healthy enough, but I wanted to at least give my body the opportunity to get well. So, chicken soup, Sprite Zero mixed with Elete, along with Vitamin C, Una de Gato tea, and B-12 were my weapons in battle. On Friday I kept telling Carlos that by Saturday morning I would be GOLDEN! I figured if I kept repeating it to myself surely it would happen! sick

We headed out to Warda early Friday afternoon. Nearly the entire drive down there it was raining. Things were not looking very promising. On a more positive note, as the day went on I was feeling better and better, and my energy seemed to be coming back. We picked up our race numbers at the ranch that evening and to our surprise the ground was fairly dry. Yay! We had a good night’s sleep and woke up bright and early for the 7:30am start. Walking outside the door of our hotel we could see that it had rained a little over night. Hopefully it was just enough to make the trail nice.

In the pre-race meeting they announced that not only was it going to be a le mans start, but we were going to be running half a mile around a field before hoping on our bikes! What?!? That’s the reason I started riding a bicycle in the first place, because I wasn’t able to run anymore. Now we were going to have to do it in a WET field, with CARBON shoes…perfect! So they blew the whistle and nearly 100 of us took off together through the field. With every step I was praying to God that I wouldn’t twist an ankle, or eat it in the dirt. As I jumped on my bike I took off hard through the field fighting for a solid position into single track. I saw Carlos up ahead, and as far as I could see I was the second girl entering into the trail behind Sarah. As I rode through Bluff Creek I was amazed at how awesome my legs felt! I made a pass a few miles into the trail and I was in first, but there was still a lot of race left! I made my way out of the ranch and headed onto the road. I was in a group of about eight guys and we had a pretty fancy pace. We were slowly inching in on riders up the road and the pace line was getting longer and longer. Our group grew into about fifteen of us and when I looked up to the front, what do ya know? It was CARLOS and he was pulling; but when I looked a few minutes later, he was still pulling, and then a few minutes later he was STILL pulling! I knew he must have been feeling good, but there were plenty of people for only one to do all the work. So I put in an effort to get close enough to the front so that I could yell at him and that I did! 🙂 “CARLOS get out of the front!!!! Quit doing all the work!” He glanced over his shoulder and peeled off toward the back like a little kid that just got in trouble. Hehe The guys behind him looked back at me and chuckled. I looked at them and said, “I know what you guys are doing! We all need to share the load!” From that point on the group worked together pretty well and we booked it pretty good to Smithville. Somewhere along the 30 mile ride a rain cloud decided to join us and tag along the rest of the day. Therefore, this made Rockyhill Ranch a bit more interesting. The trail was slick as could be, and our experience on mud (which is none) didn’t help us at all! We kept the pace pretty chill and just went with the flow. Everything was okay until we got to this tiny punchy climb that Carlos spun out of at the top. He made it over, but I had to unclip mid climb. When I put my foot down the mud was so slippery that my foot slipped! I put my hand down to catch myself and then my hand slipped, and there I went rolling onto my side full of mud! When I was finally able to unclip my other foot out of my pedal, it took me several tries before I could get my bike and myself over the hill. I kept falling over and over and over! Now my shoes had about a two-inch layer of mud at the bottom and I couldn’t clip in. Carlos patiently waited for me to finish throwing a fit and we finally got going again. A few miles later a fellow rider, and someone we know, crashed right in front of us. He was laying on his back, bike on one side and him on the other screaming, “My leg! My leg!” We moved all our bikes out of the trail and checked out the situation. We asked if he was injured or just cramping. He said he thought he might be just cramping. So we reached into our jersey and gave him one of our pocket flasks of Elete Add-in, told him to put a few drops under his tongue and his cramps would be gone soon. At this time two riders came up and a girl asked, “Is everybody all right?” As soon as we responded, her and the the guy with her zoomed on by. I quickly looked over to Carlos with anxiety in my face and said, “She’s in my group!!! What do I do?!?” He said, “Go Baby! GO! I’ll make sure he’s ok! You go catch her!” So I took off and in no time I was right behind them! The guy was leading and asked her if she wanted to pass. She said no, but he slowed and pulled to the side anyway. I knew this was my chance, so I said, “I’ll go! You two have a good ride!” I kept a pretty good pace, but I put my foot down on some slick roots and had to get off my bike. Next thing I knew the choo choo train of Kim, the guy who was in front of her, and Carlos caught me. The two went by and Carlos waited for me again.

Most of Rockyhill seems like a muddy blur to me. All I remember after that is the last two miles of muddy, clay like madness! It was like Ute Valley all over again! My wheels wouldn’t roll, my shoes wouldn’t clip in, and from all the caked up mud I was carrying around a 30+ lbs bike. It was a suffer fest! Every 10 feet or so I was grabbing another stick to chunk the gobs off my wheels. I knew Kim was probably long gone by then and as I became more frustrated with the damage that was being done right in front of my eyes to our once pristine bikes, we shifted our focus to just finishing and not letting any other girls catch us. The last two miles of the trail were absolutely brutal. I think I even almost cried. I was so thankful to be back on the jeep road headed back to the transition area. We switched out our bottles and stopped at the bike wash before leaving the ranch.

muddy shoes

The roads were wet and mud was flicking in our faces left and right on the way back to Warda. We were in a small group of about six guys and we all worked together. It seemed like the only hills of the whole road course were strategically placed on the way back instead of on the way out. In the last half mile before entering the ranch we toned down the pace to start cooling down. The final mile of single track was like a breath of fresh air just knowing it was almost over. Crossing through the finish line we had one arm around each other as we rolled through together. It was such an emotional moment for me to finish this grueling journey side by side next to the man who rocks my world. That day he was just that, my rock! We were frozen muddy popsicles and it was hours before we got all the feeling back in our fingers. The gentleman of the ranch house had such amazing hospitality that when he saw Carlos starting to turn colors he rushed him to a warm shower to thaw off. A hot shower sure does have new meaning!

I guess this race officially marks the end of our “base miles.” As for now it’s time to shift our focus toward the upcoming race season which is right around the corner. Four and a half weeks and counting…until next time!

Grand Finale of the Fall Season!

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Team Uranga

Sit tight because this one is NOT short (just a warning!) Just a few weeks ago we raced out in Waco for the Bicycles Outback Blowout. The course was a shorter distance than the traditional xc mountain bike race, running 5.9 miles with around 800 ft of climbing per lap. I was going to be racing four laps and Carlos, three. It seemed like all 800 ft were on the last two miles of the trail on a section called “Highlander.” This section was steep and not to mention VERY narrow in most spots with a nice “little” ledge to tease you if you had to put your foot down. The most ironic thing about this little section is that almost three years ago to the exact date, we ventured to Cameron Park as newbies in an attempt to ride the trails that we had heard were so awesome. If you’ve ever been there when it’s not marked for a race you will SOON realize that although it is somewhat marked similar to a ski resort, with green, blue, black, and double black diamonds, a green or blue can quickly turn into a fork in the trail. Many times there is no sign to tell you if by going one way you enter a black diamond or God forbid a DOUBLE black and what can seem like a death trap, or continue into a green, beginner friendly trail. Well, someway or the other we got tangled up in this maze and ended up descending on Highlander without realizing what trail we were on. I had a close encounter on that day three years ago when I crashed and was headed for that “little” ledge that I mentioned earlier and next thing I knew I was hugging a tree for dear life with my feet and bike dangling in the air. Soooo as we pre-rode this course for the race and I recognized the ledges, the bridges, and the gnarly terrain, I quickly realized that this was THAT section that three years ago I couldn’t imagine why in the world anyone would ride it for FUN!!! Times like this blow my mind when I think about how far we’ve come and the place that cycling has taken in our lives. I sit back and know that I’m not in control, God is, because if I was there is no way that all this would be possible!

On the morning of the race we drove out to Waco, excited for the challenges that awaited us! Carlos’ race was a blood bath! The start loop had two 180 degree turns in it and guys were rubbing wheels left and right. One guy went down in the start loop and then another right in the entrance of single track. Unfortunately Carlos was behind these crashes, but luckily he didn’t go down! Later in the race another guy slid out right in front of him and went down face first! Then, right before climbing out of Highlander toward the finish, ANOTHER guy went over his bars on a very tight downhill switch back and ended up going over the edge. Turns out he separated his shoulder.

So, after the gladiators were through with battle, only the strong survived, and Carlos was one of them! He overcame the obstacles and finished in eighth!

My race on the other hand went from only two of us being pre-registered to six of us on the line in a pretty stacked field. There was the handful of girls who are strong roadies, one of whom is a Pro for Team TIBCO, and then the few of us who primarily play and race in the dirt. Going into the trail Penny Ficker led out the first lap, followed by Jessica Rawlins, and I. Penny had the home trail advantage since she is from Waco. Coming out of the first lap I decided to make the jump. I took the lead through the start loop and then Jessica took it going into single track. At the top of the first longer climb I decided to attack. I punched it and hit the gas. After that there was no looking back! My legs felt awesome, the weather was perfect, and I was focused. Two and a half laps later I rolled through the finish line in 1st with almost an eight minute lead! It was really good to see our training pay off, especially for my legs to feel the way they did on such a tough trail.

This past weekend was the final race of the Texas Fall Cup. I love how it ends at one of our favorite trails near DFW in Tyler, TX. Tyler is always a breath of fresh air with the tall TX pines and the beautiful terrain.

We drove out there Friday to kick off our camping weekend. Saturday morning was Tyler Speedwaves format. They seed us in a wave where the other riders, no matter what age, gender, or class, and are of similar ability to you based on your previous year of race results. Then we take off in our wave for one super hot lap! It is the third year that we’ve raced this and it is always so much fun! Last year Carlos and I were in the same wave! He finished in 2nd, and I trailed in 3rd. We had a feeling that they would put us in the same wave again this year and we were excited!

We woke up Saturday morning and Carlos headed to the bathroom to put his contacts on. As he walked back to camp I could tell something was wrong. One of his contacts had ripped and he forgot to pack an extra pair! This was NOT GOOD. He was forced to race blind. 😦 For all those that ride a bike, especially at high speeds, we all know that being able to see is pretty much at the top of the priority list, so this was really going to be a task! So, for the second year in a row we were side by side at the starting line. We took off and I stuck to his wheel like glue! It was pretty cool because that’s the view I have in every training ride we do! 🙂 For the first few miles I kept him in sight but couldn’t quite hold his wheel anymore. I made a small mistake and the two guys behind me, Billy and Tom, passed. I was now in fifth and not happy about that. I tried to keep up the pace and finally caught a glimpse of Carlos! Yay! I was descending on a long park road and he was at the bottom turning back into the trail. Once I reached the bottom I made the turn to start climbing and “snap!” My chain broke. Boo! Well, that was the end of my race so I hiked up the road and waited there for him to ride by with about a mile or so to go so I could tell him my race was over. Once he saw that I wasn’t riding on his tail he knew he could back off for the loooong climb at the end and save his legs for the race tomorrow and he ended up in 3rd!

Now that I had a broken chain, and he had a missing contact we decided to make the hour and a half drive home to pick up extra contacts and buy a new chain. The drive over and back seemed so long, and it felt like nobody behind the wheel had their head on straight in traffic. We were both frustrated and it was hard to see the positive in the day. We talked and realized that it’s better that all this happens on a race like this and a day that we had the time, than for everything to go wrong on a race where there is a little more on the line. Finally, around 4:30pm we pulled into our camp site and enjoyed the rest of the evening by the fire with close friends.

Sunday morning we woke up around 6am and kept our eye on the radar because the entire day was predicted to be filled with showers and thunderstorms. Our start time was 11am and it just so happened that there was a 90% chance of rain at 11, 12 and 1! We really weren’t sure if the weather would hold out, so we started tearing down camp before the rain hit. We just kind of waited it out as it drizzled here and there. At 9:30 we drove closer to the start area and suited up. Although the sky was filled with dark clouds, it still seemed like we could miss the rain! Carlos and I warmed up on the start loop a number of times and on our last run through my bike wasn’t shifting properly. I dingled with the cable a bit and it just wasn’t helping. Literally about five minutes before go time I stopped at a Richardson Bike Mart tent and there was a mechanic there to figure out the problem. My shifter was getting stuck so he put a little lube and showed me what to do if it happened again, just as a quick fix to get through the race. Luckily the lube did it’s job and I am oh so grateful for the last-minute help!

It was only Melanie and I on the line and last time we raced each other it was pretty tight! Because of the high chance of rain, the race director decided to shorten the trail into two loops, “A” and “B,” and have us do three laps instead of two. This was like music to Carlos’ and my ears because we have always said it would be super cool to have a race with just “A” and “B”. The start was the same as the day before, on a park road, then turn onto another park road, haul butt for a little bit and then turn into the trail on a loop called EZ Loop. I caught my pedal, and took off hard. After making the first turn I looked over my shoulder and I already had a gap! I went into EZ loop and kept the same pace as our warmup. I was so excited to know in the back of my head I was going to get to ride loop “A” three times!!! Just like Waco, I was really feeling it! I never knew what kind of gap I had, I just rode hard. I finished the race in 1st with a nine minute lead and ended the Fall Cup in 1st Overall for the Pro Women!

As I rolled across the finish line I went straight to Carlos and asked about his race. He wasn’t sure, and he thought he was possibly in 5th. After talking to a few guys and the results were posted, he finished in THIRD!!!! I was sooooo excited!!!! I was excited because he is so due, and so deserving of a podium finish like this! His field is large, and EXTREMELY competitive, yet such a great group of guys, with so much experience and so much talent. He jumped into Cat 1 quickly, and not really quite knowing what he was getting into. It’s hard enough to control your bike and the crazy thoughts that go through your head, while adrenaline is pumping and then hit a trail at race pace, then add elbows rubbing, and tires touching into that mix along with a whole lot of testosterone and it’s a completely different ball game than almost any women’s race. So he went out, with clear eyes, not to mention awesome new Oakley Windjackets, to keep the cold air and wind from blurring his contacts, and a clear head. He rode just like any training ride, fast, smooth and steady, and came out with his best finish yet…and it’s only the beginning!

This weekend was the grand finale to the Fall Season! Not only was it Carlos’ first podium finish, but he also came in 6th Overall for the series! The Texas Marathon series might be a coin toss for us, but after a week or two of a little R & R, we’ll be ready to hit it hard! We’re walking away with our chips in hand, and no doubt that we are not the ones in control! THANK YOU so much to Team PACC, for the support, the cheers and the awesome team spirit! A HUGE THANKS to all of our AMAZING sponsors, most especially to Comedy Defensive Driving, for believing in us and making our dreams a reality, Elete Electrolytes for helping us keep that important mineral balance, Honey Stinger for keeping us fueled, Schwalbe for keeping the tires rolling, and ESI Grips for pimpin’ our bikes out! 2013 here we come!

teamuranga…

the adventures of Carlos & Lisa