As I type this, just a day after my 28th Birthday, the air through the screen brushes on my shoulders and almost gives me the slightest chill. It's October and finally a hint of fall in the air reaches the Valley. The summer in Phoenix was HOT! It's not the time of year you want to come visit or plan to do a whole lot of training. July and August we experienced day after day of 110+ temperatures and nearly three months without rain. For me, the summer is my 'winter training' where I'll relax, not worry about structure and just try to survive the inferno. After the Whiskey 50 race in April, I was able to upgrade my racing category in mountain bike to a pro - so as an incentive to somewhat train, I signed up for my first mtn bike pro event in Grand Junction, put on by epicrides.com.
For many people, traveling and racing in Grand Junction at the end of August was challenging with the heat - however, for the AZ riders that showed up for this technical singletrack challenge, the heat was not an issue! I traveled up with two wonderful ladies, Regina Jeffries and Sarah Muench (both founders of the new site clippedinaz.com). It was Regina's first big race and much to her luck, she crashed early on, bent her front brake lever to the point of it being unusable, and still managed to finish in one piece! My races included a mtn bike crit in downtown Grand Junction on a Friday evening and a pro 40 mile race on Sunday. Our field was stacked with some incredible talent including a few world cup racers, some 24hr solo champions - you name it! My goal for this race was not to have any expectations except to a. finish in one piece, and b. figure out how badly I'd need to improve my skills and fitness for this level of racing.
The race started off like most mountain bike events where everyone races for a good position onto the single track. I knew that I needed to pace myself at the start as it was a long race ahead. When we hit the singletrack, it happened so quickly with the lead women taking off and everything getting strung out. We climbed and climbed up some gnarly singletrack and within a couple of miles had a massive hike-a-bike. The walking wore me out! I got back onto my bike and kept pacing myself through the bumpy and rocky terrine. Over time, I would catch a few riders, but then a few would drop out of the race. About halfway in, as I was grinding up a 6 mile climb, I could hear the engine of the moto sweeps. "Great, I'm in last place because all those ladies dropped out!" I picked up the pace and soon found another rider ahead that I managed to pass. Later on, she ended up dropping out so I was the final finisher! I made it to the final feed station where my brother-in-law Evan, had a banana and a coke for me, "You look so beat!" he laughed and handed me the drink. I stuffed my mouth. "Almost done Melissa!"
The last section was Andy's loop. It was extremely technical and looked intimidating but I had ridden it the day before and knew what to expect. Most of it was rideable however as my body was fatigued, I realized there were sections of narrow trail that were best done off the bike. I finally made it back to the finish where the announcer and everyone was waiting. There was an intersection we had to cross before finishing and as a reward for having to wait (and being slower), you got a popsicle at the light. My popsicle was the best reward and as I came into the finishing shoot, I high-fived the announcer and attempted (twice) to do a wheelie! Both times failed as I was extremely tired, and also I had just learned how to wheelie a few weeks before.
After Grand Junction, Aaron and I took a few trips. One to see family in Laramie WY and then a week long trip to visit his brother in Crested Butte. While in Laramie, I mostly spent time with the family, however a good friend of mine, Carrie Gose, lent me her mountain bike and I was able to take my brother Matt up to the Happy Jack trails and get a great taste of altitude. That Sunday, Laramie was hosting a cyclocross series event so I twisted my sibling's arms and signed up. My little brother Morgan won the kids event, my brother Matt who has never done a cross event beat me! And my sister Marie crushed it as well. I on the other hand definitely went into this very informal event thinking I would do awesome and ended up going out way too hard and having the altitude just beat me down! It was quite humbling to say the least but I did have a great time!
In Crested Butte, I spent alot of time riding with Aaron's brother Evan. Aaron purchased his first dirt bike over the summer (a KTM 350 EXC-F). While he too his 'mtn bike' out on some crazy adventures, I got in some good ol high altitude training for my upcoming race in Pinetop. The first day, the mountains were covered in fresh snow that made part of the trails, snowy, slick, and very muddy! It was quite the adventure!
Evan and his girlfriend Tiff both work for and help manage the Crested Butte Mountain Guides. It just happened to be their employee end-of-year party while we were there and we had the opportunity to drive over to Canyon City for some awesome climbing and a great camping trip with some phenomenal people. These guides were so welcoming, kind, funny, and very encouraging when we were on the ropes. They also have some extreme talent when it comes to what they do - so if you're ever in Crested Butte, I highly recommend you check them out!
After are almost week in Crested Butte, Aaron and I headed south. I had a 50 mile mtn bike race in Pinetop, AZ. We drove about 8 hours the first day to Gallup, NM. It was dark when we arrived and I remember pulling into town seeing cars pulled to the side of the road and what appeared to be a drunk man laying on the pavement. We had the option of staying in a $25 per night motel that would probably smell like alcohol, cigarettes, and semen or the Route 66 RV park. I voted to pitch a tent in the RV Park. As the place was at it's max - the owner let us pitch a tent on the turf near the playground. I actually felt pretty safe and wasn't worried about our belongings in the trailer.
Finally we made it to Pinetop, AZ with a warm welcome at the historic Brusally Ranch! Our good friends "The Hanson's" had a father that lived on the ranch and had offered us up a beautiful cabin to stay in for the weekend. We couldn't turn that down! Plus it was only 8 miles from the race course. Much better than camping!
With a good night's sleep, I awoke early and carpooled up with the Hanson's. Right after they picked me up from the cabin (Aaron was going to moto over to the course), we turned a tight corner in their big rig, and immediately the right front wheel went over the edge of the road and we were stuck! It was a huge 'thud' as the wheel was jammed to the side of the concrete slab. We all bolted out of the truck and ran to find some jacks or ranch equipment. Trust me, the best place to get your vehicle stuck is on a ranch - you'll get unstuck very quickly! Jen's dad came driving up the dirt road with a massive car jack and extra wood to jam under the wheel. Within a matter of minutes, we were on our way to the race with our adrenalin high!
The morning event started off very windy and chilly with temperatures in the 30's. I kept a thin cap on my head along with a wind jacket to block the chill. The race started with us racing up the road and onto the trails. The pace was high with people fighting for position. I had my eyes on a couple of women that I knew would be my nemesis for the day. Initially, I managed to get ahead of them, however as we flew down a dirt trail, I accidentally aimed my wheel into a washed out area of the trail and wiped out to the side. I quickly got up, pulling my bike aside as not to get run over by the chaos, and jumped back in. I could see that two women were now ahead, one being a strong pro, Beth Utley. I was able to move up over the course of the first 10 mile by staying on the wheels of a fast group of guys. I would pace behind them and then move up when I had the opportunity. Soon, I found myself closing in on the lady with the STANS bibs. We hit a patch of double track and I took my chance and passed her. Another group of guys was not too far ahead so I caught up to them and we drilled it down the road! I was hoping to make some big gains and catch Beth up ahead.
After the long section of road, we hit several areas of bumpy singletrack. Our pace slowed, however I kept drilling it and pushing along. One of my teammates from FASTER, Todd Tankersley was in our group too so we tried to work together to stay on the pace line. At about mile 35, my body started to feel the fatigue so I shoved more dates into my mouth and kept hydrating. As I approached one of the feed zones, I heard a loud boom-box playing. I crested over the hill and there was a 6 year old child, dancing like a cheerleader to the tunes. I smiled as it was the highlight of my race! I moved on past the feed zone where Aaron was waiting to hand me a bottle, "Only 4 minutes back, Melissa!" I pushed on up the hill to the next section. My body was getting hot from my jacket so I stopped for a second to remove it. It just so happened, that it was bad timing on my part as the lady behind me came through the trees. "Shoot!" She passed me and boy was she looking strong! I could see for for a while as we had a long section of hike-a-bike. More fatigue. I pushed on but I was losing some mojo and getting sloppy and bounced around by the bumpy trail. I ended up finishing 3rd overall and about 10 minutes back. I was happy with my result for such an early season race and knew that I just need more training, more skills practice, and I'll get there!
