Maplelag stage race

Every season I always look forward to racing at Maplelag for the Laddies Loppet stage race over Labor day weekend. This year I was a little torn on what to do as it was the same time as the National series finals in Brian Head, Utah. I was not real excited about racing at Brian Head which climbs to over 11,000 ft but it would be the first national race I would miss in the last 4 years. After weighing the pros and cons I decided to head to Maplelag and boy am I happy with my decision. Thanks to the Richards family for all of their hard work to put on the best race of the season. This year Justin was able to get off of work on so we were able to attend the whole stage race. The trails are awesome, the weather was great, the race was run smooth, and the accommodations were the best. Unfortunately I forgot my camera this weekend but there are some really great pictures on skinnyski.com. If you have never done this race before you are missing out on the most fun race in the Midwest!

Kyia and I out front in the Expert women's/comp short track race. I ended up spending way to much time out front in the short track. I was trying to break up the large group we had and try to drop Kyia. Unfortunately she got taken out by a guy who had good fitness but not very good handling skills. That is another reason why I tried to stay out front to avoid that stuff. Its too bad cause I think we would have had a good battle to the end.

Descending the Lakeside Drops (skinnyski.com)

I did get one picture of Paul and Mr. Anderson at the arm wrestling match.

Ore to Shore

My first attempt at Ore to Shore was successful and super fun. I was a little nervous off the start cause I had no clue which way we were turning and what to watch out for on the fast pavement start. I started on the front line and followed Scott KJ's wheel to near the front of the pack. I kept the leaders in sight for as long as possible and then just focused on staying on Scotts wheel. I stayed with his group until just after the first feed zone and then I fell back to another group. I felt lucky cause I always had a group to work with the entire race and was never riding alone. This made it exciting and go by really fast. I dropped my bottle before the first feed zone but luckily Justin was there to feed me at the next one. I was glad that the temps were cooler and I don't think it affected me to much. For the last half of the race I was with a group of 6 of us that worked really well together. I felt strong the entire time and came home with the win! The course was lots of fun and there was never a dull moment. I was impressed with how well run the race was and I will definitely be back again!

Recovering at the finish

Podium (Sue, Kyia, Me, Chloe, Abby)

We stopped in Duluth on the way home and walked along the board walk and did a lap at Spirit.
Luna checking out the ships coming in

Vermont

I've been hanging out in Mt. Snow Vermont since Monday relaxing and having some fun waiting until the races this weekend. The course is in great shape and very dry. I was a little bummed that they took out most of the single track climb and the descent is shorter but it is still a fun course. We are racing 3 laps at 11 am tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be hot and humid. Sounds like fun to me! :) It has been so hard trying to rest and recover here when there is so many fun trails to ride. I don't have any cool pics to post of the riding but I do have a bunch of us eating!

Here is Mr. and Mrs. Anderson enjoying a lovely Mexican lunch in Troy, NY

Out to eat in Wilmington, VT

We went to Battleboro on Tuesday and got massages! :)

Battleboro, VT

eating again...

eating some cake at our party for everyone that had B-days on this trip.

New York

Kyia and I left on Tuesday and had a relaxing stress free drive to New York. Made it to Windham on Thursday and did two laps of the course. The course is so much fun. Lots of climbing weaving in and out of single track and tons of fun bridges. You can tell that they put a lot of work into the course. By far the best National course so far this year. Even the workers, volunteers and town residents are friendly. A totally different vibe then what we received in Deer Valley two weeks ago.

Went for a nice spin in Allegany state park, NY

The race was pretty hot and humid with hardly any breeze. We only did 3 30 min laps which I was kinda bummed about cause I usually do better in longer races. I had a good start and felt pretty good the entire race. Just kinda found a spot and stayed with the same group the entire time. I went back and forth with Lea the last lap but she punched it to get around me at the top of the climb and I wasn't able to get around her on the descent. I ended up 11th again. Not too crazy about the result but I guess I'm just missing a little something to bump me up to the next level. I was excited to see that I was 5th American though. Those Canadians sure are getting fast this year! Thanks to Mr. Kris Anderson for his wonderful support during the race!

Short track- I felt pretty good and not too tired as the XC race was only 1:30. It rained for awhile this morning and a little more before the race. It actually felt kinda nice and it didn't make the course too slick. I had a nice start again (been getting much better at those this year). I hung on with the lead group for the first few laps and then fell off. At about halfway I kinda blew up a bit and was just riding out there by myself. I got caught by Zephanie and Chloe. Chloe and I had a nice battle for the last three laps of the race. She got me in the sprint for the finish. I ended up 11th again!! I'm starting to get sick of that number. :) The mens short track was so much fun to watch. It is great to see a bunch of Midwesterners out here kicking some butt! Nice job to Jay Richards, Chris Peariso, TJ, and the Lalonde brothers on their single speeds!

Saw this sign at a Pizza shop in Windham!

Tomorrow I'm headed to Vermont with the Andersons and the C-Dale girls. It will be so nice to just relax and hang out in one spot all week. We are going to have a big B-day party for all of us that have a b-day on this trip. Nina was on the 9th, Theresa 10th, Me 17th, Chloe 21st. Sounds like a good excuse to eat some cake! :) I can't wait to ride my favorite course! I wonder what the conditions will be like?

More Deer Valley

Short track was hard! I was riding in the top 10 for the first half of the race and then I went backwards. Maybe someday my body will learn how to race at altitude!

End of the NMBS? That is the rumor going around.

Sausage at Albertsons in PC

Kyia and I found some nice accommodations in Lusk, WY

The rally car got us home safe and sound!

Deer Valley

Kyia and I finally made it to deer valley after the rally car failed on us in Rock Springs, Wyoming. We had to get it towed and spent most of the day Friday waiting for it to get fixed. We finally made it to the venue around 4and then got yelled at by the crabby UCI lady telling us that we missed registration (even though online it said it closed at 6). She made a big scene and told us she could fine us but would let it go this time. What a nice welcome to the race. I was wishing I would have stayed home and raced Kato this weekend instead. I have some photos showing how sad the NMBS series looks this year that I will post when I get home.

The race was a big sufferfest for me! I just seem to struggle so much with the altitude. I had a pretty good start but after the top of the first climb I just started to go backwards. I couldn't get enough oxygen to my legs and could hardly turn the pedals over. I got passed by a ton of people on the first lap. Finally the second lap my body finally started to find a rhythm and I settled in to a steady pace. I started to pick off some riders and was moving forward for the rest of the race. I ended up finishing 11th. I was really hoping for a better result but considering it was at altitude I'm satisfied. Time to get ready for short track!

Midwest racing

Its been great being home for the last month or so. The weather has been awesome and I've been getting in lots of hard training. I've been doing some really intense workouts for the last 4 weeks to try and get ready for a big block of races coming up in July. I'm feeling pretty exhausted right now but hopefully it will pay off after my recovery week next week.

I've been enjoying some local racing the last few weeks as well. Unfortunately the women's field isn't very big in MN but they have been starting us with the Expert men. I really enjoy racing with them. It helps me push hard the whole race. I try to pretend that they are the women's Pro field at a National. Its hard to imagine that sometime though. But the guys are great and they encourage me to go harder.

Afton was a tough course as usual this year. I always forget how much climbing is on that course. I had a solid race finishing 1st for women and was around top 15 expert men.

I decided to head over to Wors cup in Mt. Morris, WI. Wow, what a great event Don put on. The course was really fun and challenging. Sometimes I'm not sure what to expect heading to over to WI as their courses usually seem to be pretty easy and flat. But this course had good climbs and rock gardens. Wors puts on the most organized race series I have ever been to. Hmm...maybe Don should teach the National series how to actually put on a race sometime. Anyway I did the xc, super d, and short track and ended up winning all 3 events. Thanks to the Pearisos for letting us stay with them in their brand new house. By far the best accommodations I've ever had!! Oh and I almost forgot to mention that Paul almost rolled his car trying to back out of Pearisos driveway. I was pretty scared. I'm hoping he will post a picture of it on his blog soon. Always an adventure traveling with Paul! :)

Last weekend Justin, Wenknsta and I headed up to Duluth for the Mt Dulac race. I was feeling pretty tired but had an okay start then it started to rain and I crashed. Then I just kinda gave up and started to go backwards but managed to hang on for 1st. Wenk was doing good and then his rear brake broke so he had to finish the last lap with only his front brake.

Up next is Deer Valley, Utah. Kyia and I got the rally car loaded up and are leaving in the morning.