I’m back in “my office” hurtling through space at a cruising altitude of 30,000’ in a giant metal vessel.  Today, I’m in the aisle seat for a quick exit.   I’ll try to make my very brief 30 minute layover and pray my bike and suitcase make the sprint into the next cargo space on the next plane.  I’m on my way to the east coast for a couple weeks.  My days at home in Boulder have been very limited this year. My friends are wondering where I am, and I’m thankful they still try to squeeze into my frenzied schedule.  Some of them even mark on their calendar when I’ll be in town.  I’m thankful they don’t give up on me.  I have lists on my phone and computer of things I need to get done and feel frustrated that I always seem to be behind and overcommitted.  I want to do it all… but I know I can’t and I’m simmering a little too close to the boil over point.

I just put down an issue of one of my favorite bike magazines- Switchback. This issue was particularly special.  I like the feel of the paper in my hands and the photos.  I had to pause as I felt my eyes fill up and my nose start to burn as I read Heidi Swift’s recount of MTB Ayiti.  She did an amazing job bringing me back to the event as if I was there… and the fact of the matter is that I actually was there with her, and my story about it is in Mountain Flyer.  Hers was much more eloquent- I deeply admire her writing style.  I realized I used to write more personally and from the heart on my blog, and that now my posts are rushed just to get the words out so I can move onto the next thing.   I decided to open my computer and decided to type my thought process like I used to do.  I had a similar eyes blurring/nose burning reaction 2 nights ago during a presentation I gave at Primal Wear in Denver about my race in Nepal this past March. “What’s with me?” I wonder as the pressure in the cabin changes as we take off and hope that no one notices my emotional energy swirling furiously in seat 27C.

I sit quietly for a few moments eating my almond butter and cherry jam sandwich I brought with me and realize that although these events seem like a dreamlike whirlwind, they actually happened.  I travel alone 90% of the time, and I actually enjoy sitting on a plane for hours because it gives me the rare downtime I crave if I can convince myself not to work on the plane.  I delve a little deeper about my emotional state and I realize my reaction is one of extreme gratitude and almost disbelief.  This is my real life.  I still can’t believe I got here.  It seems like just a year ago, I had my head down working 2 jobs, trying to train and race my bike as a first year pro, dealing with a heart wrenching break-up, and struggling through my masters degree in Electrical Engineering and wanting to quit.  NO DNF.  I was 22 years old.

Now it’s 7 years later and somehow I’ve gotten to where I’m at by not giving up.  My parents taught me to always do my best, to work hard, and not settle. It seems like if I keep being true to what I want to do, things work out.   It’s working, but it’s not always easy. Between dashing off to the airport every week between work, racing, and dating a Canadian, there’s a great amount of life in just one action-packed day.  I forget the great amount I’ve done and downplay it dramatically.  I break my New Year’s Resolution daily – take 10 minutes to reflect on my life with a deep presence.  If I have a free minute, I pack 2 minutes into it.  I need to stop.  I am out of control! So as I sit here, I tell myself a few facts from the year- I actually did trudge through thigh deep snow carrying my bike up to 17,769’ for the second time in my life on top of Thorong La Pass in Nepal 3 months ago.  I went to Haiti despite the CNN news reports and US safety travel advisory back in February.  I saw the devastation in Port Au Prince, I rode my bike across the unforgiving and ruggedly beautiful mountains across Haiti in the first race ever with an inspiring bunch of individuals.  I danced on stage with Haitians at the pre-carnival party wearing a mask in Jacmel…and then I remember I also danced with the Nepali women in Pokhara. And I just got a hug from Thor at the airport – my friend from the Yak Attack (a pilot) who rode/hike-a-biked with me during the most beautiful and trying stages of the race.  Apparently the airport is his office too.   He commented on the helmet hanging off my backpack; something I think of as insignificant because I always have it.  Seeing Thor reminded me of the profound friendships I’ve made along my journeys on the bike around the world.  I’m thankful to have crossed paths with so many brave, passionate people and I know I’ll see them again.  And now I’m going to race the 2^nd annual Pisgah 111K in a mountain range I’ve never set rubber to on Saturday on a brand new Canyon 29er full suspension hardtail, spending the week in Charlotte and Chapel Hill doing work meetings and shop visits, Ergon product videos, speaking at 3 community clinic and group rides…then loading into a sprinter van on Friday with a fun and rowdy group to drive the 8 hours to State College, PA to test my mental and physical will for 7 days at the Transylvania Epic Stage Race.  I’ll have been to 5 countries and 8 states by the end of May in 2013.

Whoa.  I’m moving so quickly and doing so many things that I find I miss out on fully processing the things I’ve done.

I want to do it all, but I need to take time to slow down.  I criticize myself for my lack of presence lately as I rush through what I’m doing so I can tackle the next task or pack the next suitcase, and I’m probably late to wherever I was going.  As I watched a video that fellow Yak Attacker, Rob Burnett made at our presentation the other night, I realized that all the big things I take on don’t seem that intense when I’m doing them.  However, when I stop and look back at them, I realize from an even bigger scale what wonderful life experiences I’m getting and I’m thankful.  It seems that when we’re in a situation(good or bad) that’s big and requiring a lot of energy and power, we get into a mode where we just do it.  Humans are extremely resilient creatures… and then when we get through it and take a step back, we say, “Whoa!  I don’t know how I did that!”  So I am thankful.

I’m thankful for my health, for the things that come naturally to me, thankful that each experience builds upon another giving me more confidence, empathy, love, and a much deeper capacity for the well of life.  I’m thankful for the wonderful, loving, supportive people in my life.  I’m thankful for opportunity.  I’m thankful to simply have been born in New Mexico, U.S. and A and all the opportunity that comes with being lucky enough to simply have been born American.  I could have been born in a less fortunate place without a chance to live my dreams…or even have equal opportunity as a female, or weekly trash pick up!  I’m thankful I’m stopping for a minute to think, to write, to return to myself, to who I am not just what I’m doing.  I also am trying to slow things down.  Maybe slide 50 seconds into my free 1 minute instead of trying to shove 2 minutes 1. To maybe do a little less, to travel a little less, to let a few opportunities slip by(*cringe cringe*) so I can recharge and have more balance too.

Now back to my to do list….

Yoga has been a huge part of my success on the bike. I used to have tendonitis frequently through the year in my knees from tight IT bands and in my shoulders from being rounded on the bike. Sometimes, it would force me off the bike. I started going to yoga about 5 years ago and it really changed everything.

For one, I no longer suffer from tendonitis injuries. Two, it is a great place of mental acceptance. Three, I got to know my body off the bike in a different way.

I wrote a piece for the current issue of Elevation Outdoors with a few yoga poses to help with cycling.

CLICK HERE TO READ

Just posted by Nepal Sutra!

I actually was singing at the top of my lungs at 2:13ish in the video. Watching this makes me miss everyone. What the video doesn’t show is the strong relationships and camaraderie between the riders. Dream big, do big things!!!

After Whiskey 50 and all the travel, I took a few days of R&R before Daniel  cracked the whip on me.  Friday and Saturday were pretty big training days, so I decided to unwind a grab a beer at a new brewery in Boulder – Fate Brewing.

I liked that they had a wide selection of beer.  I did a sampler of the Fate beers with Matt since I had had a lot of the others on tap.

They had some interesting brews. My favorites were surprisingly NOT what my traditional favorites are (IPAs and stout). Of the mix, I really liked the Watermelon Kolsch which is completely out of character for me. It just tasted fresh, sweet, and crisp! I think it’d be the perfect post ride beer. The pint I ordered from the sampler was the Roggenbier. It was a rye beer and almost reminded me a rich, mild sour ale.

I had been throwing around the idea of racing the Front Range 60 the next morning in Lakewood, CO (outside Denver, about 45 min from my house).  With some liquid courage, I decided it was a go and would be the perfect third day into my training block. I  knew I’d be tired, especially because I was still tired from Whiskey!!  I thought it’d be “fun” and set my alarm for 4:30 AM the next morning.

Fast forward about 8 hours when my alarm went off.  I was regretting my decision to race but I forced myself out of bed and once the coffee was flowing, I felt better.

The field was surprisingly small given the caliber of pros and battles I’ve been in the race with previous years.  The morning was cold and windy.

I only had about one lap of fight in me before I regretted my decision to put a number plate on my bike that morning.  My first lap was decent, but still below my normal race performance.  My motivation was the top 2 singlespeed men dangling right around me at the end of the lap.  After that, my motivation and will to push dwindled.  I mostly rode alone in the wind.  The trail is fast and wide open. I made myself change my attitude.  The positive was that it would be very similar to Mongolia Bike Challenge - wide open, fast, windy, and I was tired.  I achieved my training goal for the race and was definitely sore and tired by the end of the 3 day block!  By the last lap, I was just riding.  It’ s also mentally very hard for me to ride around in circles these days.  It’s great to have a spectator friendly local event and it’s perfect for a training race!  I really enjoyed the fact that I could sleep in my own bed the night before with little preparation needed!

Photo: Yann Ropars

Photo: Mountain Moon Photography 

It was happy to see my CO race buddies!  This was my first race in CO of the year.  It also helped motivate me knowing Yuki was also out there suffering!  At the finish, a small group of Whiskey 50 racers were all talking about how tired we still were!  That race ended up being harder than we perceived, probably from the heat.

Yuki and I.  He won Ergon grips. haha, irony!

Stoked to take the win given my performance!

My next set of racing will be the Pisgah 111K and the Transylvania Epic Stage Race on the East coast.  I head out that way at the end of next week!  I’ll also be doing 3 clinics/rides in North Carolina.  More info HERE.

After Sea Otter, we loaded up the Ergon sprinter van and headed to AZ to work the booth and race the Whiskey 50. Before the event actually started, we had some good catch up time for work and enjoyed some warm temperatures and singletrack.

Each year, we stay at our favorite hotel.  I highly highly recommend you stay at the MOTOR LODGE.  It’s owned by some really amazing guys who make it feel almost like you’re staying at their house.  They are friendly and fun.  The Motor Lodge also has a really fun social feel with a couple little outdoor fireplaces where most people hang out and have a drink.  Each room has a lot of detail put into it and is unique with a funky, fun retro look.

We set up the Ergon booth on Friday. We sold through a bunch of our SM3 mountain bike saddles. The GS series grips were the top selling model as well! Friday evening, we shut down the booth to race the Pro Fat Tire Crit.

Some people toed the line with slick tires. Personally, I didn’t want to make the effort so I rode the tires I was riding during the 50 on Sunday. The Fat Tire Crit is a great event because it involves a beer garden a couple hundred spectators cheering on their favorite pros! I didn’t want to max out at the crit. I put in some good efforts without burying myself and had a great time!

I even took 2 Coors handups from the Drunk Cyclist aide station. BIG thanks to everyone who was out there cheering! That crit would suck without you and believe me, that wall where you were all lined up got harder and harder every lap despite my cheshire grin! I think I was 18/50 for the crit…not bad!

Saturday was another day working the booth all day.  Sunday morning, we lined up at 8:40AM sharp for the start of our race.  I was really excited to see such a huge and talented women’s pro field.  Epic Rides  has done a phenomenal job reviving the sport of mountain biking.  For starters, there was a HUGE expo with over 70 vendors, over 1300 amateur races, food, drinks, and live music all day on Saturday.  For our race, there was equal payout – $40,000 to be split between the men and women paying 12 deep.  They will be duplicating their events around the country.  The next one is in Grand Junction over Labor Day – Grand Junction Off-Road

I’ll keep my race report brief!  I was feeling pretty intimidated lining up in the field of women.

Photo: MTB Race News
I lined up in the third or fourth row. I wasn’t sure how I’d be feeling after working the booth and the 2 week road trip. I didn’t have any high expectations for myself. The reason was I didn’t want to feel disappointed if I didn’t ride well. However, the fact was that I have been riding much stronger this year and I was afraid of what it would mean if I didn’t ride faster this year.

I was pleasantly surprised to find myself riding very close to the front group with racers I have always considered much faster. I  kept thinking, “I don’t know how I’m up here…maybe I shouldn’t be riding up here…” and then I’d tell myself, “No, this is where you’re at and it’s a good thing, keep going!”

Photo: Dave McElwaine

I ended up riding most of the race with Amanda Carey and Teal Steton Lee. Amanda came around me around mile 15 and dangled ahead. Teal and I went back and forth. She dropped me hard core on the long downhill and there was some dualing up the Skull Valley Climb. She came around, passed me and some others ahead.

It was really hot and I was pushing myself very hard for the whole race. It was great to have the fitness to be able to push that hard for 50 miles. Around mile 40 and near the top of the climb, my legs felt crampy and I tried to keep pushing. Just after entering the singletrack, my legs cramped horrendously, like they’ve never cramped before. It was unbelievably painful. I was screaming in pain trying to straighten my legs off the pedals and keep rolling. I had to stop and move slowly. Once it subsided, I could continue but at a much slower pace… about 25 beats (heart rate) below what I was doing before. I rode in and finished 17th. I think I was riding 12th-15th ish before my legs started to shut down, but it sounds like most people cramped.

Photo: MTB Race News

I was excited to ride strong and for me, 17th place was a real accomplishment in the caliber of field.  It was also SO great to see my racing friends again.  This was my first race in the US of 2013. It’s going to be a stellar year with great adventures!

We celebrated a great weekend at our new favorite Prescott restaurant - Prescott Station. I highly recommend the Elk Fajitas and Flourless Chocolate Brownie. HEAVEN.

The next day, I hit the road back to Boulder.  I was glad to get home after 2 weeks on the road and sleep in my own bed!  2 days later, it dumped another 10 inches of snow.  The winter that won’t go away!

I’m heading to the East coast pretty soon for some Ergon shop visits and to race the Transylvania Epic Stage Race.

First, I’m going to Charlotte, NC.  I’ll jump in and race the Pisgah 111K  on a brand new 29er Aluminum Canyon full suspension.  I can’t wait to get some squish in the back!  After that, I’ll be hanging out in Charlotte doing my visits and a couple of talks/clinics/rides.  If you live nearby, I’d love to see you!

May 20 — Ride with myself and Bike Source

Charlotte, NC

May 21 — Dirt Divas Meeting

The Kickstand; Charlotte, NC

May 22 — Ride with myself and Performance Bike

Briar Chapel Trails   Chapel Hill, NC

Feel free to email me with questions!  Hope to see you there!

I am flattered that people take interest in what I do! If you want, here’s an interview that went up today for the Gadling Travel Blog.

Click HERE for my interview

On Tuesday 2 weeks ago, I stepped off the plane in Monterey, CA. I’ve gone to Sea Otter the last 5 years or so. I used to race and work the Ergon booth, but these days I opt for lower stress and just work the Ergon booth.

Sea Otter is always a good time because it’s a huge bike festival with all disciplines of racing. It’s also the first big event on the year, so I get to see all my bike racer and bike industry buddies I haven’t seen all winter long.  The weather has also been nice the last couple of years with blue skies, 70 degrees, and green rolling hills.  April was by far our snowiest month in the last year with over a foot of snow dumping weekly.   I was even more grateful to escape this year!

My MTBR buddies.  He ended up wearing the disco ball to lead out our fat tire crit at the Whiskey 50 the next week too.  Rad!

Cruised the demo loop with my Backcountry.com shredder buddies.  Cory Wallace came with us too.  Everyone was absolutely hauling ass!  I tried my hardest to keep up!

I got to ride with my teammates for the first time in a long time too! (Jeff Kerkove and Yuki Ikeda)

Ride video that Jeff Kerkove made with Yuki Ikeda and I

I got to spend some time with Roman Arnold – the owner of Canyon Bikes (our bike sponsor)  Franc Arnold, the owner of Ergon also came to  Sea Otter.  Both brothers live in Koblenz, Germany.

With all the snow we’ve been getting, I enjoyed the bright colors.  Plus, purple is one of my favorite colors!

Working the Ergon booth! We now have a saddle sizing tool.

My wonderful clothing sponsor, Primal, had a women’s road ride on Saturday AM. I was getting ancy to actually do the XC race, but this commitment kept me in check! Karen Jarchow came with me. As we sat at breakfast, we noticed that it was mostly guys walking in. Comical!

Pat Cupcake Mayben drove my bike out for me, and committed a homicide with my bike on the roof of the sprinter van.  I guess it was insanely windy driving across Utah.  Poor bird!

That’s something you don’t see every day!

We still had a good group!

Myself, Karen, and Nicky Wangsguard

Curly bars, ocean, trees, new friends

We also rode the mountain bike Gran Fondo course on Sunday with people.  That was a good time too!  On Monday, we all loaded in the sprinter van and started the drive to Prescott, AZ for they Whiskey 50.

I just wanted to share this feature about me in a newer wellness magazine called “Why Blue Matters.” I had fun answering all the questions. It was a great time to sit down and put on paper why I do things and why. It’s been a great journey so far. If you want to check it out –

Download the pdf of the issue here to read the story: http://issuu.com/whybluematters/docs/wbm-autr-wellness-aprilmay2013-vol2 I’m page 42-51!!

Here’s an excerpt

Thanks!

I’m getting close to being caught up! A couple weekends ago, I loaded into a lovely AWD sport wagon with some new friends from Elevation Outdoors and we headed to the winter haven for mountain bikers in Colorado – FRUITA.

The sad truth was that despite living in Colorado for 8 years, I had never snuck off for a weekend to Fruita. I rode a Mountain States Cup XC race years ago at Rabbit Valley, but that was the extent of Fruita riding! I was excited to go back and check things out.

We were on a mission that was more than just riding – create a TV episode for EO TV. The plus side was sweet digs via Fruita Crashpad (really beautiful, spacious vacation rental house), great food, and quality time.  The downside to any type of videoshooting is that you don’t get to shred as many trails as you’d like!

Here were the players for the weekend:

Tim – badass bike handler with balls of steel and biologist extraodinaire

Cameron, aka Off Yonder.  He was our cameraman and on the most vintage bike of the group.  He has also enlisted himself as my big brother, so you boys better watch out!

Nick – the ringer – the 17 year old in the bunch, and more mature than all of us!

Chris - climber and writer, braving the trails and crushing it!

Cameron cracked the whip and we were all out of bed at 6 AM Saturday morning… and some of us had a camera in our face!

We headed to Aspen Street Coffee to fuel our morning. Chris also made us coffee at the house before we left and it was so good. (thank you Chris!) Aspen Street Coffee’s owners Michelle and Tom were super cool. They bake all their own pastries in house and have a good menu selection.

They also have cool local art for sale on the walls.

We rode Horsethief and got to test our tech skills.  I didn’t make the drop in, but Tim and Nick were having at it!  It was my first time on a 29er (hardtail) on rocky desert terrain.  I was really happy with the big wheels!

Tim is badass Photo: Off Yonder.  It was cool to see all kinds of people out trying to nail this section!

I was more keen on the drop ins with less severe consequences!

After Horsethief shenanigans, we headed to Grand Junction and rode some of the Lunch Loops trails.  Holy Cross was a HOOT!

Our tortured hungry souls went to Hot Tomato that night for dinner.  It was fun because I got to see some of my racer buddies there refueling after the race that was out in Fruita the same weekend!

Hot Tomato for dinner with super yummy cookies, super yummy pizza, and of course, super yummy beer!

Sunday morning, Cameron and I got started and tagteamed making breakfast for the group we were riding with that morning – the Singletrack Sisters. They are a large group of local shredders and they do lots of rides together. I enjoyed getting to know some of them and getting out on the bike on the 18 Road trails. Super fast and fun!

After a killer weekend, we headed home just ahead of the next crazy spring snowstorm.  I enjoyed the blue sky as we cruised through Summit County.  Can’t wait for summer!

I am excited for the video editing to be done on the episode. You’ll get to see the trail, a lot of great personal stories from local business owners, and the Singletrack Sisters!

2 days later, I got on a plane to California.