WORS Women

Potluck at the Crystal Lake Classic

admin — Thu, 06 May 2010 02:13:34 +0000

Who: WORS Women and their friends & families!
What: Potluck (and 13th birthday party for Andrea’s daughter)
Where: Andrea’s place. 408 Carr St., Rhinelander
When: Saturday, May 15th @ 6:00pm

Andrea will provide plates/cups/silverware/coffee/music. Bring a dish to pass and chairs if you have them!

Andrea’s daughter Laina, who is really getting in to mountain biking, turns 13 the following Monday. Presents are not expected but if you have ladies small/medium bike stuff, we know she would love it! Also, Andrea has a little room in the back yard for tents and floor space for inflatable beds if anyone needs a place to stay. It’s cozy, but the door is always open to her bike friends!

RSVP: ridesabike2@yahoo.com or 262-364-7777 or Facebook
Please RSVP your potluck dish at luckypotluck

WORS Women SUPERFANs

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 07:21:37 +0000

WORS Women are getting ready to welcome the ladies of the Pro XCT in style this June.

We’re going to be there cheering for them by name, we’re going to know what’s up in the rankings and big contests of the season, and it’s going to be sweet. Join us.

1. Pick your lady. We want to keep tabs on as many of the lady Pro’s as possible, so we’ll spread the love around. I’ll update the list below - the current Pro XCT rankings - as we get new registrations during the season. Feel free to SuperFan for a lady who is not already listed! Claim your Lady Pro in the comments below!

Byberg Lene
Gould Georgia - Luna Pro Team Cathy is her WORS Women SuperFan!
Koerber Willow - Team Subaru / Gary Fisher Molly is her WORS Women SuperFan!
Sawicki Pua - Danielle is her WORS Women SuperFan!
Irmiger Heather - Team Subaru / Gary Fisher Claire is her WORS Women SuperFan!
Batty Emily
Emmett Kelli
Pendrel Catherine
Carey Amanda - Kenda/Tomac/Hayes Regina is her WORS Women SuperFan!
Dombroski Amy
Nash Katerina
Forsman Chole
Freeman Judy - remember Judy from Ray’s Women’s Weekend!
Butler Susan
Mann Allison
Mooradian Aleksandra
Powers Alison
Mcquaid Melanie
Dyck Mical
Park Krista
Pennington Alice
Sin Amanda
Sherwin Kathy
Baum Nina
English Lizzy
Looney Sonya
Rush Rebecca
Koons Linnea
Pichette Andreanne
Guynup Joele
Liske Holly- woot! woot!
Studley Kari
Lin Chang Wan
Fortner Anna
Betz Christina - Team Adrenaline Sonni is her SuperFan
Tanner Lydia

2. Help make her a “Women Who Ride” page here at WORS Women. E-mail us a couple paragraphs and some photos (or more, if you like), and we’ll post it.

3. Keep tabs on your rider over the season and keep us posted via the news page. To update us, email links or photos to our news page at “596qocouff@tumblr.com”

4. Get ready to Super Fan at the Subaru Cup! Want to make some banners? Want to paint your face? Or maybe just want to have a nice cup of tea and e-mail your Pro racer to let her know that you’re a local fan who could help her out with WORS Stuff if needed? We’ll hook you up. We’ll also make a special poster for the event just for our Super Fans, that you can have the lady Pros sign.

Let’s give the ladies of the Pro XCT a sweet Wisconsin welcome that will be even better than podium girls!

Spring Fling recap

claire — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:11:17 +0000

The Lapham Spring Fling was a great start to the 2010 season for WORS Women.

This semi-informal event initially came together because of the ideas and organization of several WORS Women, including Claire, Sonia, Kate, Regina and Kelli - and grew into a true community event.

Our “group photo” on the Parade Lap.

Before the run

We had a great time with the run! Sonia picked a great course, complete with the Indiana-Jones-esque water crossing. Unfortunately, Claire decided to go the wrong way and got the entire field DQ’d. (d’oh!)

We also had a great time with the biking portion! The headwinds were almost forgiven by the tailwind on the back half of the lap.

We had an amazing potluck and a white elephant gift exchange prize table - complete with schwag from Hayes, Team Pegasus and Team Extreme.

We had the support of Wheel & Sprocket Delafield, who brought out demo bikes and offered neutral mechanical racer and rider support along with some great skills clinics.

Wheel & Sprocket also donated the $100 fee to reserve the warming shelter for the day - we owe them a big thank you! Big thanks also to Trent from Faith Mobile Fitting, and Russell and Chris who represented for the gentleman timers and course-markers.

I had a great time with the Learn to Race Clinic, as always. Thanks to everyone who came out to talk about tire pressure, passing technique and getting ready to rumble!

Most of all, thank you to all the ladies and gentleman who came out to share the day with us, brought potluck treats and gifts to exchange, and are excited to get out and ride this summer!

WORS Women Spring Fling at Lapham Peak from Team WORS on Vimeo.

Rider Profile: Sonia D.

SoniaBegonia — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 02:43:01 +0000

Riding in Guatemala in 2009.

Hometown: Madison, WI

Current town: Waukesha, WI

Team: Alterra MTB team

When and why did you start mountain biking? In 2001 I met Carlos (now my husband) in Guatemala and he took me on some rides in Guatemala. After he came to the US in 2003 I started riding a lot more, and began racing the next year.

Favorite place to ride: Guatemala.

Training plan: Ride to work with a heavy bike. Do some road rides. Go mountain biking once a week.

Dirty little secret: I actually prefer long road rides over long mountain bike rides.

Women who ride: Willow Koerber

claire — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:17:01 +0000

I didn’t know a lot about Willow before last week when she took the Bronze medal at XC Worlds. I knew she raced for Gary Fisher, that she lives in Ashville, NC, and rides the trails at Pisgah National Forest often. Having been to slick, rocky, rooty, steep, and river-crossing Pisgah, this explained (for me) why Willow is said to be one of the best technical riders on the women’s Pro XC circuit. The petite Koerber was a gymnast as a younger woman, and doesn’t have the amazing power of, say, Sabine Spitz, but when the course is very technical, she rocks.

And so, my first guess about the course in NZ this year was that it must have been quite a ride! Willow finished ahead of Sabine to snag the final podium spot!

It’s easy to find photos of Willow on gnarly terrain too - here she is in B.C with a downhill rider:

From Willow’s web site, I learned that she likes jumping out of trees and sweeping the floor - truly a lady of many talents. This is one rider who I would travel a long way to watch on a course. Meghan! met her at Nationals this year and said she was incredibly nice and very down-to-earth. And, of course, she got Willow’s autograph for her boyfriend too.

Here’s a video of Heather Irmiger (left) and Willow (right) after Nationals and before heading to Worlds this year. Heather, who won the race at Nationals, finished 10th at worlds.

I think it must be hard to be interviewed after a race like that, but I loved the way these two answered the final question - “did you think you’d be here winning a national championship 10 years ago?” And they both said - YES.

Women Who Ride Weekly Digest

claire — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:41:24 +0000

Google Reader - "WomenWhoRide" via claire

War is not the answer.

via Kyia's Just Riding Along by Kyia on 9/9/10

Got a ride in with Crash, Sheila and E this a.m. If you blow up the photo above get a look at Crash's jersey. I wrote on Crash's MN State Champ jersey "Bikes Not Bombs" the eve of the 2001 Chequamegon only a few days after 9/11 and he rode the race wearing this jersey. I'll never forget the calmness on Main Street in Hayward, WI on that early Sat. morning when Gary Crandell asked for a moment of silence for those wounded in the 9/11 incident. Eerie, sad and curious about the next steps the country will take...Okay, let's race our bikes...(sometimes it seam's so trivial)

I just finished reading the book Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes a Marine that served in Vietnam. His writing style captivated me and I was addicted to the book after the first few pages (total 598). I admit, I know little to nothing about the Vietnam War and have a "No War" stance, so it really opened my eyes (kind of like the time I read a Rush Limbough book). The fact that the soldiers didn't get the respect back home (60's peace rallies, etc) that they deserved and the the fact that the soldiers really didn't know why they were sneaking through the jungle searching for "gooks". Even how the blacks were viewed at that time in history and their role. The disposal of young humans for political gain is what confuses me the most and how the government wanted numbers (casualties at no expense to kill the North Vietnamese) for the journalists and politicians back in America. The book has really made me a lot more curious about the Vietnam War, soldiers in any service and War in general.

Back to my regular schedule of training...and blogging

via D A N I E L L E M U S T O by Danielle Musto on 9/9/10

I can't believe that it's already been a week and a half since the Salsa two-four.

So what have I been doing?

A whole lot of recovering.

It never fails to amaze me how freaking long it takes to recover from a 24 hour race. In my case, it takes almost two full weeks before I start to feel normal again.

I've been riding, but only about two hours a day (if that) and it's been slow moving. So slow in fact that I got dropped by my parents this weekend when I joined them for a ride. In my own defense, my parents are pretty fast. But still....I got dropped by my parents!!!

This weekend my coach has upped the intensity and I think I'm ready for it. I need to do something fast so that I won't go into complete shock at the start of Chequamegon 40. This is a race I've been wanting to do for a long time, and I'm really excited for it. I don't know much about the course, but have been warned repeatedly about some fountain that's in the middle of the course. I would hope that I wouldn't ride right into a fountain, but I think we all know that that's exactly what I would do :-)

Labor Day Weekend: Riding, eating, drinking. What else? September 3-6, 2010

via Tales from the trail. by Sue on 9/7/10

The only thing laborious about Labor Day weekend may have been the stinking intervals I had to get out of the way on Saturday. Other than that, super fun riding and good friends, good food and good fun. We had the rotating guests this weekend. Friday night we had the Weemans, along with Graeme and Jamie. Then Saturday the Standish's replaced them, along with Kendra and Melissa and Kris and Maia, and then Sunday, Emily and Wendy made it up. The only brave souls to stay the entire weekend were Lisa and Doug Turnbull. It was fun.

Friday night we took to the trails by foot, as we were babysitting Indie Punkin' (the Wenborn's dog), then Dawn and the boys took over the kitchen and whipped up some fabulous pizzas. It was amazing. Saturday everyone went their separate ways. Tim joined me for a cx ride, where I squeezed in some intervals. I love riding on the forest roads around Mt. Hood. I didn't bring the camera though. It was a workout. Who needs pictures of that? Returning from our ride, the fun began. The Standish's brought up some Salmon their son Zach had caught and it was Zander's birthday. A big weekend. Dinner, drinks, and darts. Then I had to shove a cupcake into Zanders face for his birthday. I am such a grown up.

Yummy salmon dinner.

Zander wearing his frosting compliments of me.

Sunday it was sweet singletrack. One of my favorite rides. We did not supersize it this time, But did Boulder Lakes, climbing up from Pocket Creek and then finished with Gunsight and Gumjawic. Of course, this time I forgot my camera, so Jeff was kind enough to be the photog.

Kendra, me, Melissa, Lisa, Doug & Tim.

Riding my favorite rocks in Boulder Lakes. Nice pic, Jeff!

Boulder Lakes.

So scenic, I can put 2 pics in from the same place.

Being dorks.

Kendra in her domain. With Indie.

Monday, we headed out and did 15 mile and trail 450. Last time we rode this trail, there were trees down and it was pretty unfun. This time we verified it was clear. Aside from a few down trees on the descent, it was in great shape.

Girl picture. Emily, Lisa, Wendy and me. (apparently posing. What a dork!)

Lisa didn't like the ride at all. Can't you tell???

This time of year is always bittersweet. I am soooo excited for cyclocross, but yet know that my cabin time will be limited and I will not be seeing as much sweet singletrack in my future. I may make a few mid-week getaways, so if you want to join me, let me know. Stay tune for some CX updates!

Maplelag Skillz Clinic

via Kyia's Just Riding Along by Kyia on 9/7/10

Anderson and I had a very successful skills clinic up at the Maplelag this past Saturday. Many riders improved in the short hour that we had. Track Stands, moving over obstacles, climbing and descending. Sometime I wonder if I make sense while explaining things but it must have worked because everyone got better at everything.

A rider learning how to un-weight the front and rear tire over a log.

Riders over accentuate their climbing as we were working on steep short climbs where rear tire traction is necessary while also keeping their front tire down. The goal was to get everyone prepared for the Lake Side Drop's. Several riders were able to clean the section and some just watched.

After lunch we rode a lap of the course with these guy's, helping them with a few techincal things. The goal was to take it easy since most of them were riding the STXC later in the day but it seemed like we moved along pretty well. Those Jr's have a lot of energy...

The Richards pulled off another grate race weekend for the MNMBS racers, Thanks again! We always have a good time hanging out with the MN bike community.

This Bronze feels like Gold

via Willow Koerber by willow on 9/6/10

HUGE sigh! I am finally on the plane back to Durango. I am totally exhausted but I am happy! That was the greatest fight of my bike racing career. My goal since last year was to win the World Championships. I started that race not wanting to leave anything out on the track. For me, that included riding the knarly rock section so there would be no question in my mind that I did everything I could to ride as fast as possible.

Myles was a huge help in my line choice. I had a crash on that section practicing the day before the race. I am what you would call “fiery” so I threw quite a temper tantrum. He calmed me down and helped me see a better way to ride. He also walked up to check out the section the morning of the race and came back to let me know it was good to go. I trusted him, and went to the start line with no fear. No fear AT ALL. This already was a victory for me, because this year I have been scared alot. I am a great technical rider, but somehow I had been doubting myself all year. I found myself in alot of lose-lose situations becuase I was too scared to ride a section, and also too hard on myself to ride a B line without beating myself up about it. It is impossible to ride “in the zone” when you are constantly fast forwarding to the “dreaded” section up ahead!

Knight in shining armor

Fear conquered, I led out the start lap and hit the first big climb. A couple girls sneaked in front on the singletrack and I got balled up on the first descent. I crashed into a swiss rider running down the A line and hit the rocks hard. Once I hit the climb I made some passes pretty quick, and was in 3rd behind Catharine before I knew it. The pressure was always on with Maja not far in front and Irina not far behind. I pulled away from Catharine on lap 4 and headed in to the final lap :38 seconds from first with a :15 second gap on 3rd and 4th. I could see Maja up the climb and put my head down to chase. Heading into the rock section my tire slipped and I crashed into the fencing. There goes my :15 seconds. It felt like I was stuck for 5 minutes. When I finally got up Catharine was right behind me with Irina on her wheel. I could not get into my pedal and had to take the B line so I could find a chance to clip in. All 3 of us hit the bottom of the switchback climb together, and just like that I slipped from 2nd to 4th.

I was heartbroken, but only for a second. My Dad was running up the hill on the left and Myles was to my right. He yelled “do NOT give up on a medal!” I looked into his eyes and I swear, I absorbed some of the “red mist” he always saw before his downhill runs. I charged up the climb after them and follwed them into the last piece of singletrack. One more time through the feed zone, a few grass turns and then it was the finish line. I did not think about danger or strategy, in fact, I didn’t think at all. I just stood up and hammered. I passed Catharine on the left before the fly-over bridge and just kept sprinting. I won the bronze! After all that drama in the last 10 minutes, that felt like gold to me.

It was so great to see Myles and my Mom and Dad from the podium! Thank you all so much for believing and supporting me! I really can feel your energy and I really do use it! The 2010 race season has come to a close and now I need to seriously decompress. However, I am already thinking about how great it is going to feel to ride the gap jumps in Champery! 2011 will be sweet. 11 is my favorite number and right now I am sitting in seat 11 A!

Mom and Dad

(title unknown)

via SKJs by Sara KJ, Scott KJ on 9/6/10

Minnesota Short Track State Champion!

photo by: skinnyski.com

Sara's finish sprint win

Once again, the Maplelag Stage Race was an incredibily fun, well organized event. The Richards crew has this event down to an art thanks to the on-site lodging, great food, and terrific company. A huge thanks to Jack Richards and his buddy Jack, Jonell, Brendan's parents and the rest of the folks that pitched in to watch Kiera for us while we warmed up, cooled downed and raced.

Sara had a great start to the racing on Saturday by taking the win in the time trial and short track. She nipped Jenna in both events which enabled her to snatch the overall stage race competion. For the second year in a row, an Elite female won the overall in the Elite Women/Comp Men's race (Jenna nabbed it last year).

Photo: skinnyski.com

In the cross country, Sara led out the field but struggled in the single track. After a few crashes she was able to settle down and ride in for second place.

I had a rough start to the race weekend. I went out way to hard in the time trial and had to soft pedal most of the race. All things considered, I could have finished further down than I did. Thankfully everything went uphill from here. I ended up 6th in the short track but finished with a little too much left in the tank. After the time trial I was a little hesitant about going out too hard, so I started in the second row and wasn't aggressive enough to stay close enough to the front.

My cross country start... Where is everyone????

Photo: skinnyski.com

This picture says it all. Went out too hard, rode with Brendan for the first 1 1/4 laps, got caught by Doug and tried to hold his wheel for too long and ended up limping home for 5th. All in all, great weekend!

Up next is the CHEQUAMEGON FAT TIRE FESTIVAL.

(title unknown)

via SKJs by Sara KJ, Scott KJ on 9/3/10

CATCH UP TIME Seeley Classic and Lester Park Recap

Seeley:

Sara's racing is coming back after an early season knee injury. She had a very impressive ride last weekend at the Seeley Classic and hopefully this will help bring up her confidence to pre-Kiera days. She was able to ride with FAST guys, the likes of Todd McFadden, Mike Bushey, Adam Swank, Nikolia, etc. for the first five or so miles until crashing. She was going so well that she was even PULLING this group for a bit until Bushey made her ride behind him. She ended up finishing 11th overall in the race and almost snuck into the top 10, but after pulling Nikolia around for most of the race, he outsprinted her at the line. If she can ride like this at Chequamegon she'll be in good shape.

I was a little disappointed that I didn't pull off the win at Seeley. Nobody would take a pull down the long blacktop leadout so I got to buck the wind and settle in. Somebody came by me right before the road turned to gravel and that's when the pace picked up. I got on Aaron Swanson's wheel on the ski trails and he immediately opened up a gap for me and Chad Sova. We rode together for the first 9 miles of road/two track and I entered the singletrack first and shed Chad and Aaron. I was able to get rid of Chad in the small singletrack section and he would catch me after a few miles of two track. This happen on both laps and I was able to stay at the front until 50 or so meters from the finish where Chad proceded to blow by me for the win.

Seeley is a fun course and a great lead up to Chequamegon. I would prefer much more singletrack (I'd guess it's about 30% singletrack)so I'm happy with my two track/road fitness level. The Trek Fuels seem to made for these types of rough, undulating courses.

Lester:

There is nothing better than having a hometown race! I wish it would have been muddier, but I'll take what I can get. I put the Bontrager Mud X tires on the bikes and they worked fantastic! Sara rode off the front from the start and never looked back. Her mud skills continue to improve and I'm always impressed by how fast she can go in all conditions.

I ended up 4th. i didn't have much trouble stay at the front for the first lap and a half but then I started to crumble. I would pick up plenty of time in the short muddy sections but I didn't have much power on the climbs. Cody stuck to my wheel until the last half lap until I asked him to go by. I was riding way too slow and was starting to cramp. He was being overly kind and wanted to let me keep 3rd since I was leading him around the course for most of the day but I hate not earning my spot. I sure appreciate the gesture, but I'd rather race it out or limp it in, as was the case for me.

Up next: MAPLELAG STAGE RACE This is one of my favorite courses of the year and Jay and family do an unbelievable job organizing this event. If you haven't raced here, it is a must!

Declutter Your Desk

via Arsbars.com by Arleigh Jenkins on 9/3/10

A good friend reminded me of a quick and easy trick to clear out your mind.

Quickly, Organize Your Desk

This old college trick simplifies your thought process, gives your mind a moment to slow down and refocus. Personally, it subconsciously reminds me to take a step back and re-start by taking one step at a time. Any project, writing or design can easily be handled if you break it down into smaller ones.

Start with Something Small

Start with something such as the top of your desk, a pen jar or your computer desktop. Lately I’ve been taking this idea further. Taking 15 minutes – timed – as a mention break between projects. I’ll work on my Gmail Inbox, cleaning out the mess, replying to emails I’ve been putting off, etc.

Next was my phone. I deleted FourSquare, added a camera app, and uninstalled the clutter or programs I haven’t used in the past 60 days.

Next was my computer. I’ve started to back up all photos, images and old site designs on to external hard-drives.

Why Hold the Clutter

These processes are also teaching me not to sit on things.

Take Action

This is the part I am practicing and fine tuning. Google’s new Priority Inbox will help with this, but I’m trying to gauge what is important in my life – taking action on those things instantly and then setting SET times to take care of the others. For example :

Personal emails need to be responded to within 12 hours in my mind, unless you are on vacation, if so – put up a vacation response. Other clutter emails can be changed to reviewing at lunch, at night or even maybe three times per week for those mailing list or “Quote of the week” emails.

Carry It On (in Life)

My girlfriend will laugh when I say this. Do things now.

Breathe

Just remember, pace yourself.

Minimizing

via Snacks the Pegasus by Snacks on 9/2/10

A kind of perfect storm has been in the works for a while. While working long hours, things got messy around the apartment. I had just long enough to make messes, but not enough time to clean anything up. Two, the bike room seems to be filling up. And that's a large room. Three, I've been reading some minimalist blogs lately, some so extreme that people pare their lives down to 100 items. All these things combined were finally enough to get me to take a hard look at all my junk. While 100-item living is decidedly not for me, there are some things that could stand to go, and others that could stand to be organized.

Cool chair w/ a good looking pillow that's color goes nicely with the books on the book shelf? Great, but I haven't sat in it in about a year or so. Gone!

The closet. So sad. My unmentionables were stuffed in shoe boxes and a garbage can thing that I've had since college. It's so shameful. Could you even call this living?!

Since the closet's a weird size, I went online to find some containers with which to organize. I found some options, the best of which was per box. I'll be damned if I'm going to pay the man to house my skivvies. I'd rather spend that ON skivvies. So I found some nice three-ply cardboard boxes, painted them, put knobs on them, cut out some vinyl to label them and called it a day. They don't look quite as nice as what I could have bought, but... SO?

Next on the organizing block: books. I can't bear to part with many books, but I'm going to wrangle them. Currently they're infesting the apartment.

Art books, library books.

Design books, kids' books.

Big books, little books.

Oh, books.

I love 'em. I'll have to post an after photo for those eagerly awaiting the solution that I shall arrive at. All in due time, fans. All in due time.

Now, to attend to the detritus cluttering up the couch.

See more of "WomenWhoRide" via claire ...

WORS Women Weekly Digest

claire — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:28:49 +0000

Google Reader - "WORS Women" via claire

It's like living with the Jeopardy! theme song on repeat play.

via (even) slow(er) bike. fast life. by Julie on 9/9/10

Tick tock. Tick tock. Still technically more than a week to go, but I don't care. With Ben leaving for Interbike on the 18th, I'm motivated. Started acupuncture last night, going back tonight. Herbs, visualizations, exercises, trying it all. I'm being very careful not to get stressed about it or feel desperate- baby's going to come when it's good and ready- but just really do all I can to contribute to a speedy delivery.

Still walking. It's, erm, a little boring. It's also easy. I feel like I could walk forever, but the problem is, it takes forever. So slow.

The women's cx clinic is this weekend. I should be really looking forward to it, but in reality I'm hoping I won't be there. It's odd helping to plan something with this odd situation attached.

The long *ss weekend

via One-eyed Pirate by spicyride on 9/7/10

Heading out Friday night I thought for sure the mesa would be wet. I half-heartedly headed out on the paved path. When I came up to the steel bridge I noticed how dry the singletrack was. It meant one thing, the mesa is dry. I'll admit to being very surprised at how great conditions were. Not one wet spot. Perfect actually.
On my way back home from my ride my phone rang. It was Ben Popper. He and a few others wanted to give the mesa a shot Saturday morning if I was up for being a tour guide.
HELL YES.
When I got home I called my mom up right away and asked if she wouldn't mind watching the girls. Being the good sport she is, she agreed.
Mike, Ben, Brandon, Dave, Al, Paolo, John and I headed out around 8am. It's been a long time since I've been chilled on a bike ride. Once we got into the woods, it ended up being perfect. Well until Dave had a chainring mishap on the first hill... John ended up towing him back to our house and gave him th3ocon's bike.
It was a good ride. I don't think I've ever ridden Sublime that fast the second time around. I'm sure John's challenge had a bit to do with it...
Sunday we headed up to the Klugs. John and Kevin headed out to the Kettles while Holly and I gossiped while hiking and hanging out with the girls. When John and Kevin came back, Holly and I headed out to Emma. We rode Emma and the connector. It was my first time on Emma since they re-did the trails, I approve big time. I think it may actually be one of my favorite sections. However I think the connector on the way out from Emma still rates pretty darn high. Another good ride. When we were done it was brats and frog hunting.
Monday I headed out to Palos to participate in the women's only Half Acre ride. There were about 14 of us, I think. We ended up in groups. It turned out to be another great day on the bike. Fabulous weather, good company, fun trails, we saw a dude endo spectacularly on dynamite road and then a dude puking on three ravines. Nice.
My weekend ended with a beautiful breeze coming through the doors while I sat on the couch drinking a beer watching Phineas and Ferb. Awesome.
This coming weekend has a lot to live up to. It's at a disadvantage already seeing as it'll be a day short. I am however looking forward to seeing some WORS peeps. Last time was Eau Claire, I think.

Still waiting.

via (even) slow(er) bike. fast life. by Julie on 9/7/10

Nope, no baby yet.

Spent the weekend lazing about. They say walking helps get the baby out, so it was 4 3-mile walks, which made Molly pretty happy. Joined in the ladies' trail ride on Monday morning for a couple super-slow hours on trail followed by a great brunch. In all, though, the 1st trimester exhaustion is back and by 7 or 8pm all I want is to be laying down. No fun. The weekly schedule is now shaking out to be midwife on Tue, chiropractor/acupuncture on Wed, and massage on Thu. Trying to get a baby out is time consuming.

I'm also pretty done with running. I just keep injuring myself in new and more serious ways. This body was not meant to carry this much weight. So, walking it is, with some riding and yoga and strength workouts thrown in. Still getting in 5-7 workouts a week. Still logged 15 mi last week. Counts.

Anyway, nothing exciting. Sorry.

Today...

via One-eyed Pirate by spicyride on 9/4/10

Meet Fucker Log

via One-eyed Pirate by spicyride on 9/3/10

aka Rachael's log. It was named after me because the first time I went over it I almost broke my neck. I crashed off it and knocked myself unconscious. 4 years later I rode it again, successfully, many times.

I am never riding this again as most of you know, because I crashed going the other way a couple weeks ago. Fucker.
I'm bitter about it.

No, I didn't try it again, but clearly you can see I'm not over it.

It's weird looking at it, you may not think much of it. It's a veritable beast, however.
You may ride it once and be like this isn't hard at all, and then 10 times after, but one day... it will get you. Don't say I didn't warn you.

a little OCD.

via (even) slow(er) bike. fast life. by Julie on 9/1/10

Monday night, Audrey and Ben finished the baby room. It looks like this. While they did that I sewed a ring sling using leftover curtain fabric and rings from slingring.com because OF COURSE there's bound to be a website devoted entirely to selling rings for slings. Duh.

Anyway, you'll note the chaotic stack of fabric on the table there. That would be my cloth diaper stash, or just a small part of it, because the rest is shamefully hidden behind the cabinet doors below. I've somehow taken my bike component OCD brain and temporarily converted it to be about cloth diapers. Right now it's about 48 newborn-sized prefolds, 12 covers, 6 Snappis, and about 50 cloth wipes. Also, a sprayer of diaper potion for the wipes, a hanging wet bag to serve as a diaper pail, plus a large (for daycare) and small (for out and about) wet bag. This should last us till about 6 weeks, when baby outgrows the newborn size and we'll be switching to simpler all-in-one diapers that we'll buy used from my sister. Actually, just about all of these are used.

It's funny, getting OCD about cloth diapers is just like collecting components for a bike build. There are a bagillion options and three times that many ways to make it work-- new or used, high tech or old standby. It's a simple thing to obsess over but it's really quite satisfying to have it all come together like this. It makes me feel... prepared.

And on that note, at our midwife visit last night, we were handed instructions on what to do when I go into labor. It makes this all so real. Any day now. 80% of women birth between 38 and 42 weeks, and 66% birth within 10 days of their due date. Only 5% birth on their due date. Since we have several due dates, this doesn't mean all that much to me, except that I shouldn't be getting too excited, it could be a long wait.

Aw Man!

via Bitches/Smash by smasherella on 8/30/10

I coulda gotten 13th if I raced Alterra. Only because there were only 12 ladies racing. I still would have been like an hour back.

I really want to race Treadfest, but I’m not really sure that’s a good idea. I LOVED that race last year, and it was my first race that I felt super dialed in and it was MY race from start to finish. If I go back and race it without doing any riding, I’m afraid it’ll just ruin it for me. This season’s already been a wash for me, so I’m not really sure why I give a shit. But to more or less ride my bike and be demoralized doing it just isn’t that appealing.

My lab job neglected to put in a request for a permanent position before my student classification ran out, so it looks like I’ll be out of a job until the department finally posts it, or my special student application get processed so I can keep my job (and be paid as a student) until they do. Basically, it’s FUCKED UP. I’m trying not let it get to me, but it’s hard not to be pissed about it. I spend so much energy at work trying to just do my job and not let it affect my performance/morale that by the time I get home I am just so pissed off at the world I have no motivation to do anything else except fester in my anger. I’d go to CamRock or something to ride my mtb, but my car started making a new weird noise, which is probably a prelude to the self-destruct sequence. So, basically I need a new car with the money that I won’t be making and can’t apply for a loan because I don’t have the salaried position that I should have had months ago. Looks like I’m in the market for another 0 car.

At least the weather’s nice enough for me to commute in on my bike…

ugh. GDMF

i like my bike.

via (even) slow(er) bike. fast life. by Julie on 8/30/10

This weekend, Ben, Molly, and I ventured to Eau Claire, WI for my grandmother's 90th birthday party. Knowing this meant Ben was missing riding his bike this weekend and was sitting in a car for 11 hours r/t for my family gathering, I made efforts to include our favorite things in the weekend. Sure, it was a long time in the car. But we also made a stop to see a train tunnel, had a nice hike in the woods, rode the Lowes Creek trails, and ate at Culver's. What's not to love?

Riding is frustrating though. Two reasons-- first, my lungs are smooshed and can't keep up with my legs. Hills? Yeah.... not so much. Second, my front/back balance is all screwy from this bowling ball, so I don't trust myself to stand and climb much and I sort of wimp out at some technical stuff. But I guess it's all to be expected. Don't take this as complaining, it just is what it is. I'm super thankful that this whole pregnancy thing has been easy enough that I can still ride trail at nearly-full-term, and I'm SO happy to have had that time in Lowes Creek- I love those trails!

So, we're at the "any day now" point. Sure, it's supposed to be about 3 more weeks, but statistically, we're inside the window. Hoping for sooner rather than later. Tonight Ben's going to finish up the baby room and I'm going to sew our ring sling. Things are pretty much ready.

Elite Mens start Alterra race Crystal Ridge

via Super Fly by Christine on 8/30/10

IMG_3029
Originally uploaded by tyrine03

See more of "WORS Women" via claire ...

TWIN SIX DAY AT BORDER BATTLE

claire — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:01:53 +0000

The TeamWORS racer who posts the WORS photo contest after each race also rides for TWINSIX… And Team WORS is declaring the entire weekend of Border Battle TWIN SIX DAY. Wear your T6 gear and Ts, and snap photos of racers, spectators, and podium moments in T6 for the win of a special T6 prize package!

WORS WOMEN at O2S

claire — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:51:12 +0000

The ladies of WORS turned in some great times this weekend at Ore to Shore.

One of our younger riders was awarded the Stanley Cup of MTB racing, for fastest time by a rider under the age of 15 (photo above). Way to go Moriah!

Elite racer Lisa Krayer was the top finisher among WORS regulars, placing 5th overall in the 48-mile Hard Rock.

Other WORS regulars who raced and placed at O2S include Elite Racers Holly Liske in 6th place, Andrea Matter in 8th, Meghan Korol in 10th, Murphy Kate Montee in 15th, and Christine Czarnecki in 26th and Sport racer Molly Wolf in 29th.

WORS irregulars Kim and Brian Eppen placed 14th overall on their tandem bike, while WORS Subaru Cup winner Jenna Rinehart won the women’s Hard Rock and placed 46th overall - with a time to beat much of the WORS Elite men’s field! Jenna was followed by Kyia Anderson who placed second at WORS Chippewa Valley Firecracker this year.

Thanks to Christine Czarnecki for the photos and the suggestion to post them here!

WORS GoPro HERO Cam: Sonia D’s first Sport Lap at Subaru Cup XC

claire — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:17:37 +0000

WORS GoPro Hero Cam: Sonia D Subaru Cup Cat 2 XC lap #1 from Team WORS on Vimeo.

Sonia D, who races for Team Alterra, was generous enough to try out the new WORS GoPro HERO Cam dedicated to WORS Women at the Subaru Cup. Because Sonia rides a wide stem, we mounted the camera facing backwards on her seat post. The footage turned out great!

The cameras are new and we’re still deciding which way we like them best. Our camera came with two different helmet mounts, a chest strap, and various mounts to attach to your bike. We’ll be looking for volunteers to try the camera in different ways throughout the 2009 WORS season. If you’d like to try it for a race, or a pre-ride, let me know at worswomen at gmail dot com.