Sarah Kaufmann

D-U-N

December 20, 2011 by sarahkaufmann

Officially. UTCX wrapped up the last race of the series on Saturday and with that, it is time for two weeks completely off the bike. Hitting the reset button. Two months ago I had no expectations for CX but I surprised myself by (barely) riding away with a series win - by two points! The last few races especially were not pretty and though I didn’t have any top-end and I sure as sh!t don’t have any barrier skills or running speed, I was able to improvise and turn my diesel mountain bike engine into a few wins.

The last race of the series is double points so a win there counts more than any others. According to Steven’s calculations, I could finish one place behind Kris and still take the series, but further behind than that and I lost it. It was a tough call between the lazy part of me that said, grab her wheel and play it safe and the racer in me that said, go for it no matter what. As it turned out, I never got near her wheel as she rode away from me from the start. Go figure. I remembered from last year that Kris knows how to build an incredibly strong peak for Nationals and she is well on her way, so I knew she would only be faster than the last time I raced her a month ago, when she soundly beat me at the golf course. Kathy also came out to play, which complicated things. Hehe…for me, anyway. I was pretty sure I wasn’t gonna hang with Kathy so I was just hoping that Kris wouldn’t either. But races rarely play out entirely the way you expect.

I fumbled the start, then made a last second pass just before the singletrack to go from fourth to third behind Kris and Kathy. Apparently my pass effort was a little much because as soon as we hit singletrack, I rode right off the trail. Somehow I kept it upright, riding through bushes and branches and over logs and managed to get back on the trail losing only one place – yeah, it was a small field. Relax and breathe, Sarah. And don’t be an idiot. I moved back up to third when it opened up but I was already gapped off the front and spent that lap about 10-15 seconds behind Kris and Kathy who were together in front of me. At the start of the second lap, I shifted into my easiest cog on a short pitch and heard a loud crunch as my bike jerked to a stop. My chain was caught behind the cassette. Luckily I didn’t break anything and once I hopped off, I was able to get it dislodged pretty easily and get going again, noting that I would need to use a little more grace when shifting. By this time Kris and Kathy were out of sight so I could only hope that Kathy would take it and leave Kris and I to finish two/three. About a minute later, the course doubled back on itself and I could see Kris in front by herself. Dammit, there went the series. And then another minute later, I saw Kathy soft-pedaling in front of me, nursing a flat back to the pits. Okay, maybe I still had a shot. I came by her and kept on it for the rest of the race, sloppily climbing over the barriers every time – they were on a small hill and I never did figure out a graceful way to get over them. But the people yelling and cheering at the top made me giggle every time (and curse out loud, too. I’m pretty sure I did that more than once) – they were awesome.

No recovery drink and no cool-down because I am off the bike now and there is nothing to recover for. It’s the little things Heading home to Massachusetts in a couple days. Thanks to Matt and the UTCX crew for an incredibly fun CX series. Being able to race locally every weekend is enough to keep the motivation going now that the temperatures have dropped and the inversion prevents us from ever seeing the sun. Thanks also to announcers Bruce and Ronnie who always made me laugh with their enormous enthusiasm. Between laughing at them and at myself when I tried to get over the barriers, these races were pretty fun(ny).

Posted in Not Riding, UTCX | 3 Comments »

Clammy

December 16, 2011 by sarahkaufmann

Backing up a few weeks. Though UTCX has the stranglehold on CX racing in Utah, each year there are a few other races that crop up and present an alternative. This year, I made it to two Clammy Cross races. The venue is easily one of the most fun I have raced on. The two races I did included a little bit of everything – grass, singletrack, dirt fireroad, a paved climb, rideable logs, a microscopic sand-pit (I’m stretching it to even call it a sand-pit, though), a (also microscopic) mud puddle and best of all, a trip though dirt jumps where weenie CX racers just go up and down the whoops and call it fun. The second race included a heinous steep, loose run-up that came right after a longish (by CX standards) paved climb so you were already fully redlined when you hit the run-up. I lost lots time every trip up it, but that’s no surprise.

My first clammy race, three weeks ago, we lined up behind the B men and started a minute after. Jennie took a massive hole-shot and gapped the rest of us before we even hit the dirt. I followed her over the first log and up the pitch to the pavement climb, where I came by. Erika was right on my wheel so I led her out for a bit until I was able to get a gap. From there, I tried to ride smooth and take fun lines through the dirt jump section, even letting my tires leave the ground. Barely. Weeee! The set of five, FIVE barriers made me grumpy every time (guess I need to learn to bunny-hop) but the rest of the course was a lot of fun and I hung on to win.

Photo credit: Steven Sheffield

(The camera on my head would suggest I was filming. I was. I attemped to upload the footage the next day and ran into some technical difficulties, which turned out to be not just because I am simple, but because there was an actual issue with the camera. So, no video).

The following week I traveled bikeless to warmer climates in California to see family. Though this is my off-season and training consists of piddling around and getting some base work done for next year, it often doesn’t feel like an off-season it when there is local racing almost every weekend. So even though it meant that I missed the Utah CX State Champs, the sunshine, warm temperatures and no bike were a welcome break.

Back in Utah after the weekend, I debated what to do this past weekend. There was another Clammy CX race in American Fork or a Plan 7 group ride or the option to blow my bike off completely and go skiing. But I have a soft spot for promoters who do a good job but don’t get much participation, especially from women. So on Thursday, when there was only one woman registered for Clammy CX, I decided to go. I came down with a cold on Friday and hemmed and hawed but ultimately decided to go anyway (mainly because, though I wasn’t super motivated to race, I was less motivated to train. And I had slept in too late for skiing). A few more women showed up but our field was still quite small so we started with the B men instead of one minute behind. This was nice because it gave us a bigger field, which meant more back and forth, more people to chase and be chased by and, in short, more fun. I started slowly and probably hit the dirt 10th wheel of 12 or so of us. I was able to move up a couple of spots each of the first few laps, always making time on the paved climb, losing it on the steep, loose run-up right after and usually losing a little more on the grassy flats and over the barriers. Not sure what my finish was, somewhere mid-pack.

One more UTCX race this weekend and then two weeks completely off the bike to decompress, rest and prepare for next year. Some big and exciting changes coming for me, but it’s on the down-low for now

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I’m out of CX post names. This one is about another race at Wheeler.

November 23, 2011 by sarahkaufmann

After last week’s frigid snow-fest at Mt. Ogden, it was nice that the temps were a little warmer this week at Wheeler and the sun was even shining.

The course was similar to those we raced at Wheeler several weeks ago, but a little shorter. Although that would mean more lap traffic, I was pleased to see that the parts that had been removed were the flat, grassy power sucker sections.

I wanted to start well because I wasn’t super confident with my mud skills and I wanted a clear line through the first section of trail, which was a soupy, sloppy, sidehill mess.

I couldn’t find my pedal off the line, though, and wound up third wheel as we rounded the first corner. I made a way more aggressive pass than I meant to by taking the corner onto the singletrack wide, riding the highline above the trail on slick, wet grass, somehow maintaining enough momentum to get by both Allison and Erika, then sliding down the hill into the trail, magically staying upright and now in first. It was WAY more aggressive than was necessary and I am still not sure how I not only didn’t crash myself but also did not take out the entire field. (Also, I was not trying to be a crazed, aggro racer – I was only trying to squeeze in one quick pass before the singletrack. I bit off way more than I could – or should – chew).

Now on the front, I did my best to ~~ride hard~~ stay upright. After flailing through the slick corners last weekend, I spent a little time during the week on the CX bike to try to get more comfortable. And I seemed to be riding the muddy stuff a little better. Until I wasn’t. As I came through the barriers on the second lap, someone told me I had 15 seconds. Approximately one minute later, I wrecked on a slick descent. It takes a special kind of idiot to take oneself out with a 15 second gap. I am that idiot. I got up and immediately started riding like a pansy, now super skittish from going down. But with a few minutes of positive self-talk (I’m good enough, I’m smart enough and dog-gone it, people like me), I pulled it together and started to open the gap again.

Luckily, I got distracted from my self-talk session by my shifting, which was ceasing to work in the front, as the chainrings were caked in mud. The course was all big ring except for two short sections. I decided I would either need to run those or figure out a way to muscle up them in the big ring so I wouldn’t need to shift the front at all. And I really don’t like running my bike. So I mashed the big ring through those sections on the last few laps. This had the added benefit of making me think I was such a monster because I was big-ringing everything.

Photo credit: Jason White

Thinking you’re a monster is nice confidence for winning bike races, which I was able to do.

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Another week, another CX post.

November 16, 2011 by sarahkaufmann

The race at Mt. Ogden is the closest race to home of the series – maybe 10 blocks. But I still drove. Because I am a priss and I needed my trainer. And my spare wheels, etc. Pathetic, I know.

Everyone seemed stoked on the sloppy, snowy, cold weather but I was…less excited about it. I keep thinking that sloppier, more technical races suit me but after three years of CX racing, I’m noticing that it doesn’t usually play out that way. Live and learn. Though I wish I could have lived and learned a little quicker than three years. I guess I always just assumed, since I seem to ride well in those conditions on the MTB, the same should be true on the CX bike. But perhaps handling a CX bike is different enough and my level of comfort on a CX bike is low enough, that ceases to be the case. (That is also not to say that I did anything special this week on the pedally portions of the course. I’m just saying that I was not able to mitigate any losses on the pedally sections with any kind of exceptional riding on the techincal sections. Just to be clear). And speaking of the pedally sections… The theme for this CX season has been getting slower while everyone else gets faster. Any MTB fumes are gone and base miles for next year do not make you fast. What, you thought I was done whining? Au contraire. Okay, really, now I’m done. On to the race.

I actually had a pretty good start and moved to the front on the first straight. I held on partway up the climb until Kris zoomed past, putting in a gap immediately, that would only grow through the end of the race. I spent the first lap battling with Megan, who was riding strong and yo-yo’ing behind me. My hands were completely numb after half a lap so as we finished our second lap, I asked Bob if he would grab a pair of thicker gloves I had left at the start. On the next lap, he had them and I stopped to switch them out. Ah yes, I also wrecked as I prepared to stop to switch them out. I was on quite a roll. Megan and, I think, Erika went by but armed with warmer gloves (and a now twisted brake/shift lever) I chased them down before too long and got by before the climb. Kris was well out of sight so I just motored head-down through the last couple of laps doing what I needed to hang on to second. That is, until I realized how much faster Erika was riding the descent. She nearly closed the gap as we finished our last lap and when I couldn’t clip in after the barriers, I pulled an unclipped semi-sprint to ungracefully hang on for second. Barely.

Photo credit: Mike Sohm

This was earlyish in the race because I hadn’t yet switched out to warmer gloves. In a related story, I was generally way underdressed for the race. The temps kept changing in the hours before the race and I erred on the side of dressing for the warmer temps while I was warming up. But when the snow began falling fast minutes before our race, the temperatures dropped and everything got wet, it was damn cold. Maybe I’m just in denial that winter is ~~coming~~ here. Sad face

Posted in UTCX | 5 Comments »

CX Weather

November 9, 2011 by sarahkaufmann

Snow falling on Friday night meant UTCX would get our first taste of true CX weather on Saturday. Kels and I drove up to Heber through epic snow in Parley’s canyon, only to arrive in Heber to a light dusting. But it was cold. We got on the course for a lap and found it was pretty straight-forward aside from a few slick, off-camber corners on grass where you needed to keep your head on straight. Oh, and also, a heinous, sloppy run-up. I knew we were all racing for second place since Kels was there but I hoped to make her work for it a little. When I saw there were two dismounts per lap, including the run-up, I began to question whether I would even be able to do that. Oh well, I could only try.

We started and Kels grabbed the hole-shot and led into the first corner. I glued myself to her wheel and planned to stay there as long as I could.

Photo credit: Eric Greenwood

Since it looks like I’ll be able to complete the eight races required to get paid $$$ for the series, I am now racing for points. Since Kels is just there for a workout, I felt zero guilt sitting in and letting her drag my sorry butt around the course. I yo-yoed behind her for a few laps like that – Kels would gap me (okay, drop me) on the run-up, I would close it up on the corners right after and grab her wheel right before the barriers, when I would get gapped again, and then close it up again near the start/finish. This picture is on the run-up and should be called, “Sarah hating life.”

Photo credit: Eric Greenwood

Running on MTB fumes at this point, I can’t match attacks because I have about one solid attack per race in my legs. But I still seem to have some diesel engine running so I had to be patient and just ride steady, not matching attacks or surges but slowly reeling them back. So I would yo-yo as Kels attacked corners and transitions but I seemed to generally be hanging on. But I was clearly on the defensive – I knew there wasn’t anywhere on course where I could put in an attack that would buy me enough real-estate that Kels couldn’t immediately close it by the run-up and/or barriers. So I kept sitting in, figuring patience was my only option.

Kels had attacked right before the run-up for two laps so as we came into that straightaway on the third (or fourth?) lap, I got ready to hang on when she went for it again. But she was just playing with me so this time she held steady. I was a little too amped to go and overlapped my front wheel with her rear and wrecked. Not hard and I wasn’t on the ground long but it was long enough for Kels to gun it and leave me in her dust.

: Photo credit: Eric Greenwood

Ho hum, I was probably getting dropped pretty soon anyway. Tactics are fun though and Kels definitely played them for the few laps that I made her. I held on for second.

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Halloween CX

November 1, 2011 by sarahkaufmann

UTCX does a double race weekend every year for Halloween and everyone dresses up and it ends up being one of the best weekends of the series. There is nothing like watching people race their bikes in costume. Case in point:

Photo credit: Pete O'Brien

I was a rabbit. But I lost my ears less than a lap in. They were catching major air and yanking my head back – it only took two paranoid peeks over my shoulder to see who was behind me and they flew right off. That was Saturday. I took third off the line, came by Erika (who is still dealing with a loooong-lasting hip injury) and Alison a bit later and was able to hold on for the win.

On Sunday, Dr. Kris was there so I knew my work would be a little more cut out for me. I was late to the start and missed the first callup I had in the series. Beth was nice enough to let me slot in next to her on the line. I was still not paying attention and was busy chatting with my friend when Steven said, “Go.” Oops. I clipped in and got going. Unfortunately, (for me) the course was set up to go immediately into two sets of barriers after the start. Since I get over the barriers slower than most small children, this only exacerbated my already bad start and I went backwards some more. Back on the bike, I finally got myself going and got chasing. I was able to chase back to second before the singletrack but Kris had already opened a gap and was well off the front. Then we hit the sand pit and I was slow through there as well. Here is my suffer face as I tried to turn the pedals over in the sand:

Photo credit: Chris Bingham

I spent two laps chasing her before I finally closed the gap and got on her wheel. Once I was glued to her wheel, she slowed way down and we started playing cat and mouse. It was a tough course for passing so I was waiting for a chance to try and Kris was waiting to block/counter. I came inside on a 180 degree corner and got my wheel in front but when I tried to grab some gears to sprint out of the corner, I couldn’t shift (I’m still not sure if that was a shifter or a finger malfunction but my derailleur didn’t budge). Kris got back in front before the next singletrack. The next open section was a loose, gravelly corner. Again, I tried. I ducked inside, couldn’t hold my line and then went way wide. Kris tried to duck back inside to cut by me again and went down. I asked if she was okay and when she said yes, I put my head down and rode as hard as I could for the rest of the race, holding on for another win. But, barely – that one just came down to who paid a higher price for our mistakes.

This was the most fun part of the course; a short down hill into sand followed by banked corners. (Also, probably the only corners on the course that weren’t off-camber and that I could carry any speed through). Weeee.

Photo credit: Chris Bingham

I should add, thanks to the Revolution/Peak Fasteners Team for adopting me for the weekend

Posted in UTCX | 4 Comments »

CX Out Cancer, Wheeler Farm

October 25, 2011 by sarahkaufmann

Back from Mexico, the week was super mellow and I didn’t ride much, mostly just puttering around to let my legs and body recover and decompress. Saturday was CX out Cancer so it was time to switch gears yet again and race CX. The last three weekends have been 45 minute race, 5 hour race, 45 minute race. I think my body may be slightly confused

I like the course at Wheeler and this time it was even more technical than usual so I figured that would be good for me. Especially with some lingering fatigue, I liked the idea of a slower paced race. Unfortunately I forgot to pack my technical skillz so I couldn’t rely on them. (It turns out my running skills must be on backorder because they were NO WHERE to be found. Read: I lost a place on the runup every_single_lap until the last one. Slightly demoralizing).

Even without a callup, the start stretch was long enough that I was able to take the first corner in second. Erika was on the front, drilling it. I nearly could not hold her wheel. Less than half a lap in, I slid out in a corner and hit the ground hard (like I said, missing tech skillz). The first thing I thought was that it was so early, the entire field was going to pass me. I jumped back up and didn’t waste any time looking at my bike, figuring if it wasn’t working, I was better to at least try not to not get gapped off and see if it was something I could fix on the fly. Luckily the field had already split slightly and I only lost three or four places and I got a couple of them back right away, slotting back into third before long. I made a move on the back stretch and took the lead, losing it (for the first time) moments later to Erika on the runup. I passed her back through the sand pit soon after, then Kris passed me before the start/finish. I grabbed her wheel and we stayed together for most of the rest of the race. I would trail her in the early sections of the lap, come by on the back section and lose it on the runup. Hehe…not gonna lie, I tried very hard to bump her and block her out on that runup cuz I was so damn frustrated. Didn’t work – Kris was not afraid of my elbows

Photo credit: James Evans

Finally, on the last lap, I was able to come by a little earlier in the lap and I hoped that I could open a larger gap that I might be able to hold through the runup. But I blew it moments later when we got behind lap traffic on singletrack, I bobbled and Kris came by again. But my bad luck became hers when we caught more lap traffic soon after and Kris had to take a bad line to get around, I came inside and ducked by her. (Questionable tactics on my part to use lap traffic like that. BUT, I figure we both got screwed and both benefited. So…we’re even? Maybe). I put my head down at that point and tried as hard as I could to open a solid gap that I could hold through the runup. And pretty much no gap would have been big enough at that point. Good grief. It was big enough, though, and I managed to remount still on the front. I rode what felt VERRRRY slowly through through the sand, stumbled over the log right after and and knew she was gaining on me really fast. Finally back on my bike for good, I pedaled as hard as I could and was able to justbarely hold on for the win. Youch. That one hurt. Amazing event put on by UTCX. More CX coming!

Photo credit: Christy Rowe Estlund

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Baja Endurance 100K

October 21, 2011 by sarahkaufmann

Where to begin?! Bajadventours 100km race in Ensenada turned out to be the best weekend of the year. No question. At Interbike in the elete booth, we were approached by two guys who were promoting this race. Jorge Contreras and Jorge Trujillo – the Jorges They were interested in bringing elete to the event and to Mexico and I was also invited to come do the race. I hemmed and hawed…I wasn’t even able to ride off-road yet from my broken collarbone and I had heard that the race was a lot of two-track. Being a singletrack snob, that wasn’t a big seller. But I figured if it meant it was pretty tame, than might be nice for my broken bone and a nice way to extend my prematurely ended mtb season. Not to mention a chance to go to Mexico! (Ironically, if I had known how rough the course turned out to be, I’m not sure I would have gone). Once I was able to ride off-road again and the bug to extend the season really bit, I was in.

The Jorges arranged everything – I felt like a rockstar! Jorge T picked me up at the airport in San Diego and we drove down to the venue in Ensenada, detouring along the way to scout a couple small sections of the course. I built my bike and settled in, nervous but getting comforatble as I could see that everything was managed and well-run and the people were incredibly kind and welcoming – things that make a huge difference when alone in a foreign country (not that I have so much experience). I also began to see how passionate Jorge T was about the race. That kind of passion from a promoter always means the event is a special one.

On Friday, the Big Bear crew rolled in; Derek, Paul, Karen and Jordan, Casey and Ernst. Familiar faces eliminated some of the latent nerves. I participated in the pre-race press conference (!). I think if I hadn’t been so nervous I would have been giggling the whole time. As it was, I barely said anything and just tried to grasp as much of the spanish being spoken as I could (which was, admitedly, very little).

Photo credit: Derek Hermon

I wanted to get out on my bike and see a bit of the course so I headed out with Manny. He’s only won the thing twice so I figured I could learn a thing or five. We checked out the KOM climb, which was the start of the course - Manny went to the top and I cruised up until I met him on his way back down. I was beginning to grasp that this was NOT going to be a mellow cruise on 60 miles of fireroads… Loose, chunky, rough and technical. (Incidentally, this is the last time I hear ‘fireroad’ and think, easy. Just because something is wide does not mean it is mellow. Lesson learned). Not mellow:

Photo credit: Juan Sebastian Ochoa Meza

The race started the next morning exactly at 7am. After an early morning coffee run, I spun around a little in the dark before staging. We cruised out on about five miles of neutral rollout, with a police escort through the city streets to the base of the KOM, where the elevation gain was still very gradual. When the road turned to dirt and the grade kicked sharply up, the race was on. The group split quickly and I upped my effort. As I rode into first place for the women, I knew that being down at sea level, it would be easy to underestimate my effort and blow quickly so I kept things pretty conservative. As we neared the top of the KOM, I could see Karen not far behind me and I realized that perhaps, I had been a bit too conservative. She descended faster than I did and rode faster on the flats and rollers that followed, eventually closing the gap. We worked together on a short singletrack section before the next big climb. This was the only time during the race that I was able to work with someone so that was nice. We hit the next big climb and I was able to open the gap again. I wasn’t sure whether to go for it then or wait until later but at that point I figured I would take my chances and go for it now. I went for it for about the last third of the climb and was able to open a pretty solid gap. Though I rode consertavatively on the descent (read: like a pansy – I’m still very cautious about the collarbone), I was able to maintain. I hammered the flats and rollers that followed, looking over my shoulder constantly since she seemed to be riding that stuff faster.

Though I was head-down racing the whole time, my favorite part of the race was going through various villages and aids along the way where people would see me and shout, “Vamonos, lady numero uno!” It made me giggle every time and I yelled back, “Gracias!”

Photo credit: Juan Sebastian Ochoa Meza

I was having so much fun that I stupidly I rolled through the next aid station and realized about a mile later that I was down to my last few sips of water. Jordan was feeding us (thank you!) but he wasn’t at that station so I spaced it. I knew there were many aids on course and that I would surely see another one soon but there was definitely some mild panic. Of course, before long, I came to a remote aid and they happened to have a cold cooler of Gatorade. Despite hating the stuff, I figured it was still better to get some fluids in me so I filled up. And sure enough, not two more miles down the trail was the next fully stocked aid and Jordan. I took my last two bottles and kept hammering. I knew I needed to keep the pressure on because Karen was probably riding these flats and roller sections faster and I wanted to keep the gap open. I relaxed whenever the climbs lasted more than a mile or so because I knew I had to be opening (or at least maintaining) in those spots. Finally, we were on the last climb that brought us over a ridge and above the city of Ensenada. I couldn’t see Karen behind me so I knew the gap had to at least be comfortable. We descended urban singletrack through neighborhoods that dropped us on the edge of the city. A little jog on city streets, then a couple of miles along a dry riverbed/wash through the city, popped us out on the sidewalk around the corner from the hotel and the finish line.

I was stoked! Coming back from an injury and overcoming some fears about traveling to a new country by myself, winning was very, very sweet. I was overwhelmed by the whole experience, by how kind and friendly everyone was, by how well taken care of and safe I felt and how well-run and organized the event was, as a whole. I also had to laugh, noting that even in a different country, the cycling communities are the same. Everyone takes care of everyone, everyone geeks out over the same stuff and racing will always be racing. It’s universal.

Photo credit: Blana Urroz

Muchos margharitas that night after the awards and an early morning trip back across the border to the airport in San Diego and finally back to Utah. I’m already excited for next year!

Posted in Racing, Travel | 9 Comments »

It’s good to be back!

October 11, 2011 by sarahkaufmann

The last race I did was the I Cup series finale at Snowbasin at the end of July. I followed that up two weeks later by breaking my collarbone, having surgery and cutting myself off of some of the races I was most excited about; the Mt. Ogden 100K, the Park City Point 2 Point and the Pisgah Mountain Bike Stage Race. Poor me…I know. I had to miss three races after a summer filled with races. But I was bummed. Though I did my best to keep it all in perspective. Because, really, collarbones are a dime a dozen (actually several thousand $$$ – I know, the medical bills are pouring in), spines, necks and skulls are a bit more serious, comparitively.

Getting my collarbone plated meant the downtime was much quicker than when I did it last year. I really didn’t even bother with the trainer this time. It was August, which meant sunshine every day and I figured any benefit in fitness I might get from riding the hamster wheel would be offset by the mental burnout that it would no doubt cause. I took a couple of weeks off, laid low, did some hikes, got fed up and started riding outside. But these were cruiser rides on my mountain bike, on the road, nice and cushy, very slow, HR sooooper low, take my hand off the bar for every bump in the road. Probably not what you would typically call ‘training.’ Maybe the rest did me some good but my body wasn’t really resting – mending bones is hard work. I was zonked all the time. But I am now riding pain free, even on stuff that is pretty technical, for me – and you know I launch huge gaps on a regular basis.

Determined not to to let the fracture end my mountain bike season, when the opportunity presented itself to race the Baja 100K coming up this weekend, I was in. It has turned out to be the ultimate in getting my stoke back after a long XC season and a bummer injury. Preparing for CX this time of year equals short rides on skinny tires, running and playing with barriers. Preparing for a mountain bike endurace race this time of year equals loooong singletrack rides in just right temperatures, on trails with perfect dirt, beautiful leaves and as many rocks and corners as I can find. Pretty much exactly what I would choose to do if I wasn’t ‘training.’ At this point, even if the race is total crap, getting ready for it has been good enough. Plus, a trip to Mexico, now that the snow has started to fall doesn’t sound too bad, either.

But UTCX started last weekend so the CX stoke was simmering. Still, under the guise of not being healed, I skipped the races. The truth was, I was having too much fun cramming in 10 hours of singletrack. Seriously, it was awesome. But this weekend, UTCX came to Ogden at Fort Beunaventura, which is a super fun course and only a mile from home. And since it’s been raining all week, it promised to be slippy and sloppy (read: fun). I had about zero expectations having not looked at a barrier since last year and not having, um, any top-end fitness. But I did have a couple of things going for me: Zero expectations is never a bad thing; pressure does funny things to people. Plus, the slippy, mountain bike style course was good for me. There were sections I was confident I could ride faster than most of the other girls (that is, when I wasn’t getting in my own way and riding like an idiot. Which I did. Plenty).

The UTCX vibe was as fun as I remembered and it was nice to be back :) The weather was clear by the time our race started but the course was still good and sloppy. I was third into the first corner. I felt comfortable and waited until things opened up, then came by Alison and Kris to move to the front. I thought Kris might try to come by again on the next open straight so I pinned it as hard as I could to be first into the next corners. I wanted a clear line but my plan was to be patient, see how I felt and let things unfold later. But when I saw I had a gap, all rational thought vanished except to ride as hard as I could. I’m a brilliant tactician. It didn’t take more than a lap for the self-doubt to creep in, though, and I figured I had about T-minus 30 seconds or so until massive implosion from the anaerobic shock to my non-anaerobically-prepared system. Surprisingly, this implosion never materialized. The announcers kept insisting every lap that Kris was closing the gap. I ride like an idiot when I’m scared, and hearing this really got in my head. But I was watching the gap in the same places on every lap and I was pretty sure that they were full of crap (I’m actually really proud of myself for having the presence of mind to not just freak out when I heard that but to consciously note that they were incorrect. Warrants mentioning). I tried really hard not to hear it and just continue to ride steady. Which I did, for the win. It felt great. Lots of confidence now to go race my mountain bike in Mexico. And lots of excitement to come back and race more CX!

Posted in Injuries, Racing, Trails, Training, UTCX | 3 Comments »

It’s been a while…

August 24, 2011 by sarahkaufmann

Reviving this thing, I guess. First one race goes by without an update, then two, then the task feels more daunting, then life gets in the way and all of a sudden it’s been a couple of months. Oops. Here are a few sentences about the races since mid-June.

Sherwood Hills: My brother and his girlfriend were in town, which was awesome because I never have family at my races. I nailed my goal of taking the hole-shot and had fun leading for the first half a lap until Erica sailed past me with ease and rode away for the win. Fun course and super fun weekend with Dave and Willow.

Wisconsin: Awesome venue. LOVED the course. The first two laps may have been the most fun I’ve ever had racing my bike. I felt great and after a sloppy start, seemed to be slowly but steadily moving up. I noticed that my fork didn’t feel right (as in, it didn’t seem to have much travel) but that wasn’t a problem until I crashed on a corner with some braking bumps. Got my bell rung and lost a few places. Also got the wind taken out of my sails. Finished 14th but was motivated by how strong I felt. (Although apparently not as motivated as I thought cuz I rode like crap in the next day’s STXC and SD races). Ho hum, it was a super fun trip and not a venue to miss.

I took the following weekend off to rest a little before my first ever World Cup race.

Windham: A combined trip home with this race made things crazier/mellower – know what I mean? You know how family is. But once again, I had family on the sidelines, which, once again was wonderful. This time it was my parents. And I suspect the UCI World Cup feed zone had a slightly different feel than the one D + W did handups for at the I Cup. I had a third to last call-up in a field of 55 women. I wanted to finish the race without being pulled. I hung on at the start and genuinely had fun racing almost the entire time. It was back and forth and there was never a moment to recover because girls were everywhere all the time. Which was great for me because, evidently, I am very externally motivated and I need to see people ahead and behind me to not be lazy and JRA I was in a good group of four or five for most of the race and there was lots of back and forth between everyone. I fell slightly off as we finished our fourth of five laps and as we headed out for our fifth and I realized I wasn’t pulled, I breathed a sigh of relief. As we started the lap and all of a sudden, I couldn’t see anyone behind me and I realized that I was the last rider to not be pulled, and the girls in front of me were pulling away, the external motivation kind of faded. There I was, gapped off my group but unable to go backwards any further… I tried to stay motivated but the last lap turned into a bit of a glory lap as I relished (okay, survived) my first World Cup experience.

Nationals: I was bummed on the course. To say the least. I think everyone was disappointed that a National race went straight up a road and back down a single singletrack (meaning, it wasn’t broken with anywhere to pass, just one, connected segment) and a little loop at the bottom with some silly, man-made rock gardens. I also thougt it was funny how the promotors called the road climb a two-track climb in the promo stuff for the race. Please. That was a road, let’s not glorify it by calling it two-track. I tried to stay positive (as I think everyone did) because being totally bummed about a course is no way to race. We did five laps so I prepared myself with the goal of five 10-ish minute intervals and smooth riding on the singletrack back down. The start was going to be pretty meaningless because we were just shoved onto the road but in characteristic fashion, I still blew it. There were two options in the opening 50 yards of the race; right or left around the tree. I’m sure all of us scoped it out, saw the deep, wheel-sucking gravel on the left and chose to go right. I know I did. But when I lined up in the second row and glued myself to the wheel in front of me and that wheel went left…well, I panicked and went left, too. I came off my bike in the deep gravel, ran up the first pitch of the climb, before I could remount and finally get back on my bike. In last place. Evidentally, I really enjoy starting from the back because I seem to go directly there when the races start. Give me a decent callup? I can still find the back. Watch me. Really, it’s an art. I moved through some girls on the first climb, passed some more through the rocks on the bottom and caught a couple more on the next couple of climbs. On laps 3-5, I could see Popo, Allison, Krista and Kelly mixing it up in a good fight in front of me. I knew that group was where I wanted to be but I never made it there, losing a little more time on the last lap. Finished 17th.

Missoula: Course was awesome. Full-stop. Not super rocky or technical but lots of tight, sidehill trail and steep switchbacks that took some skill to ride and more skill to ride quickly. Lots of steep climbing, too. It reminded me of Bonelli in some ways (although, about a zillion times more fun) because it was all out the whole time – the descents were short and required lots of muscle, too. I was motivated because I liked the course and because it was the last Pro XCT so I wanted to close out the season on a high note. But my legs had other plans and I went backwards pretty quickly. I had fun on the descents but struggled lots on the climbs. I wanted my body to put energy into my legs but unfortunately it was being diverted…elsewhere. Chalking this one up to, eh hem, Lady Troubles. I think that’s plenty explicit. Finished 13th.

Now: I was pleased to have a few mellow weekends before some super fun longer races to close out the season. Unfortunately, I’ve closed the season out prematurely by breaking my collarbone last weekend. Yes, this is the second time this year. And the fourth time I’ve broken the same one. Thankfully, this time I had a doctor who had some sense to see that the bone was thrashed and needed to be plated. I should have had the surgery three fractures ago – the last two times it broke were not hard crashes, the bone just snapped like a twig at this point. This is kind of a bummer time of year to be laid up. It’s 90 degrees and sunny every day so there is no way that I am going to flog myself with hours on the trainer. I’m either riding outside or not riding. Fortunately (or unfortunately), the remaining races that I was most excited about were too close so I can’t do them anyway. Barring those, there isn’t much motivating me, but there also isn’t much I care about losing too much fitness for. So I’m balancing in some kind of injury limbo trying to hang onto a little fitness and have some fun with CX but not really willing to work that hard for it. Oh, and also mending a broken collarbone But without lots of training, I do have a lot more time on my hands. So, check, the blog is up to date.

Posted in Injuries, Racing, Travel | 4 Comments »

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