Looking Back

It's that time of year where I have to look back in order to move forward. I have had a great chunk of time off the bike since cross Nationals and plenty of time to think on long skate skiing and backcountry adventures. However, unlike so many blogs, tv shows and magazine/newspaper articles at this time of year, this isn't going to be Amanda's "greatest hits" of 2010. But it is an opportunity to reflect briefly on my year seeing as it is -10 outside...well, right now, all I have is time.

So how'd 2010 go? Results wise, I think well. I won 4 NUE series races and the NUE series title, Iceman, and the Pisgah stage race (which was the best riding I have ever done). I came oh-so-close to a Master's National Championship in cross and made the top ten in the Elite race I was gunning for all year. I raced in tons of new places, made lots of new friends and gained an even deeper respect for my husband and all his always available on-demand mechanical skills. I learned that I am good at racing in the mud. I confirmed that I still like to suffer and ultimately prefer ultras to cross country racing. I learned that the Felt Nine 29er HT is the bomb-diggity ultra-endurance race machine, that Karmas are still my favorite tire and I learned that there's no one in the world I'd rather ride with than my sister and/or Nate.

Of course there were some rough times. Flatting and having poor performances at both the Leadville 100 and the Firecracker 50 were real downers and tough to swallow. Especially because I flatted at both those races in 2009 as well. I learned a lot from those experiences, too.

Most importantly, my year was a great one thanks to a long list of wonderful sponsors. That list to the right of this entry "sponsors" is full of great companies that have generously supported me all year long, and in many cases, the last 3 years. I am extremely grateful for their support and realize that I'd be nowhere with out them! Although I've made a few significant changes for 2011, I am most grateful to say that I will once again be riding for the Kenda/Felt team with the same awesome teammates and many of the same sponsors. Looking ahead has never looked so good.

Happy New Year everyone!

Bringing it to Bend: Cross National Championships

I think I am still in shock from the excitement in Bend. I've never had that many spectators surrounding me, screaming, ringing cowbells, heckling and just being darn-right-stoked to be at a bicycle race. It was AWESOME. Although it feels great to be done, I am a bit saddened by the end of cross season. This fall was so different from last year and it has been really nice to finish the season feeling fresh, fast, motivated and still wanting to ride my bikes.

At this time last year I had had a sinus infection for almost a month, had to pull the plug on Nationals and honestly really didn't care. This year I couldn't wait to ride and race every weekend and I managed to come on strongest at Nationals. I'd say that's a well managed training plan!

(All these photos in this post were taken by Dave McElwaine at Trailwatch.net except for a few by Tim Gasperack and one by Jill Rosell. Thanks to these guys I have a ton of photos to share of the weekend.)

I arrived in Bend after a wonderful 3 day visit to Seattle to see our great friends Deb and Murph. We did the city thing up, shopped in Pikes Market, had some wonderful dinners out and just enjoyed time with friends we miss dearly. Murph was my original cycling partner back when I was just getting into riding in Jackson Hole and is the one responsible for getting me into bike racing. My long days in the saddle with Murph taught me early on in my career that riding is about the ride, about the friends you ride with and the experiences you have together. Murph taught me to love the ride, to love the sport, regardless of your results. I've taken that lesson with me throughout my entire career. Hanging with Murph and Deb sent me off to Nationals in a great headspace, loving my bikes more than ever.

I rallied for my Master's time trial on Thursday morning, viewing it more as an opener rather than a race. It was icy, rutted, a little scary but fun, too. I won the TT riding cautiously but fast. I only won by one second, so I knew Friday was going to be a battle. And a battle it was, ending with me coming in a close 2nd place.

Master's 30-34 Race

Geeze, I think about how close that race was and how many stupid mistakes I made and I get a case of the "could-a-should-a-would-as" as I came incredibly close to getting myself a Master's National Championship. I came in 2nd to Devon Haskell, who rode a great race, but I cannot help but know that I beat myself in that race.

Crashing badly up and over a steep uphill corner when I was in the lead, getting thrown into the course tape a few times and not fighting back stronger when questionable roadie tactics were unleashed upon me...the list could go on. In retrospect, I know exactly what happened that day. I put a ton of mental energy into Sunday and not so much into Friday. Perhaps I conserved a bit too much? Who knows, but most importantly, I viewed my Master's race as my warm up and course preview for the Elite race, which had been my main goal all along. And judging from my Elite result, well, it was exactly what I wanted to happen! Here's my post Master's race interview:

Here's the footage of the Master's race. Colt does such an awesome job with race footage:

Friday's race provided me with invaluable information about how to race on Sunday. That info and experience not only helped my legs (I'm an ultra racer. More racing=Faster Amanda) it helped me put together a much better race plan for Sunday. I had a good rest day on Saturday opting for a ride on the trainer rather than a ride in the rain, watched some master's races and hung out with my roomies at the condo, a great group of New England gals who are fun AND fast.

Elite Start

I woke up Sunday feeling a little tired, but so ready to race. I did 2 laps on the course and knew that the conditions were perfect for me. It had stopped raining the night before so the mud got thicker and slower. The course required an incredible amount of power just to keep the bike upright as there were numerous grass-mudbog sections that made you feel like you were riding on velcro.

Photo by Jill Rosell

Lining up (I had a 4th row callup) with 105 other women in front of crowds that numbered in the thousands was inspiring. Seriously, to see this sport come so far in the US had me grinning ear to ear on the start line. I remember feeling an incredible sense of calm in the last minutes before the race. I was just so elated to be there, so ready to race.

I had an okay start, not great. I managed to not loose any spots, but not gain any either. You can see me below in the bottom left corner,# 26:

First corner. As you can see, I had a lot of passes to make!

I made some great early passes into the mudbog section and before I knew it I was riding up in the top 10. 2 laps in I had broken free and was slightly ahead of a group and was riding in 7th. I felt good, strong and like my head was really in the race. I had just passed the pit...I think it was maybe the 3rd lap?...and felt my rear tire hitting the rim. Nooooooo!

The Bend course was really rocky and I must have hit one a little too hard, leading to a rear flat. DOH! I had to ride 1/2 a lap pretty conservatively to make it into the pit again. Thankfully it only went down to about 15 psi (thank you, Stan) so I could still ride it, but it forced me to slow and made railing corners no longer an option. I pitted and that's when Laura and Barb caught up to me. The 3 of us rode in a group for the rest of the race and they were able to pull away from me for good on the 2nd to last lap when I got popped out of my pedals on both the steep ride up after the barriers and again on the flyover (my B-bike pedals are jacked.)

I ended the race in 9th, 6 seconds off Laura Van Gilder (7th) and 1 sec. behind Barb Howe (8th). I was proud that I put together a strong and smart race and that I made the top 10 that I had been gunning for all season long. I felt great, I loved the battle and I was actually able to pull my head out of my heinously suffering body to actually look up and appreciate the magnitude of what was going on around me. It was my greatest racing experience to date.

Elite Race

The fight of the weekend: The Luchador vs. Gumby

The details of the afterparty shall go unmentioned. Our entire house went out and let's just say I think I made up for 10 months of being a weenie bike racer in one evening alone. Looks like most of America's best crossers did the same, as I saw more than a few podium finishers hitting it hard on the dancefloor of the afterparty.

One of the less muddy parts of the course

Portland USGP

The Portland USGPs were a great way to erase a horrible drive from my memory. Bergy and I left Victor on Thursday in the early afternoon in a snowstorm, overnighted with pals in Boise and were up and at 'em early on Friday to finish what should have been a 6 hr drive to Portland. After 8 endless hours of black ice, thick fog, fishtailing, lots of semis and cars off the road and too much white knuckle driving, we made it to the venue, grateful to have survived the drive.

Mud in the teeth. Must mean I was going hard.

Photo @dcmackintosh

The preride on Friday revealed a great course filled with mud, mud and more mud. I opted for multiple laps on the track seeing as it was going to be my only opportunity to ride a moving bicycle since Jinglecross before race day. It was fun. But, I made the call to walk around the course Saturday instead of doing recon laps so I could keep my bikes clean and functional. Nate was in Colorado Springs taking the USA Cycling Mechanic's course, so I wasn't at liberty to trash my bikes pre-race as usual.

I approach every USGP thinking that I belong in the top 10. It's just a matter of getting myself up there. It's no secret that my greatest weakness in cross are my starts. No matter from which row I start, I end up going from 2nd, 3rd, 5th or 10th row almost straight to the back. Ugh. I think it's the ultra endurance neuromuscular memory in me....I just haven't trained my brain/body to go ballistic at the gun. I inevitably therefore always end up trying to make up all the spots I loose in the first 100 yards of the race. Saturday was no different. Gun went off and by the 2nd corner I was in the last 3rd of the race.

Late, last lap surge. Photo @dcmackintosh.

I was getting splits from my pit crew and friends on the course telling me I was in the 20s....then 18th...then 15th. By the last 2 laps I had gotten into a slightly strung out group of the gals who were in 10-16th position. I tried to go after each one, one at a time totally in the hunt for a top ten. By the last 1/2 lap I had passed Devon for 10th. I was making up my time in the deep muddy sections, being able to ride a lot of what others were walking and suffered for each pedal stroke, evidenced by this photo:

Photo @dcmackintosh

That's me in the back of this pile up in the 2nd corner. Kind of made my Sunday race a bit harder than I would have liked. Photo @ Dave McElwaine.

I held the chasers off for 10th. I was stoked.

Sunday was a much faster course, definitely favoring the roadie-speedsters. I again didn't do myself any favors, as I missed my pedal 3 times at the start, then got caught in 2 major crashes in the first 1/3 lap, then in another right in front of the pit. I again found myself in the 20s and again had to play catchup all day. Although Sunday's conditions made it way harder to chase people down. I rode my heart out though luck wasn't really on my side and finished the day with a good, but not great, 15th.

I packed up the car, took the dog to the dog park, got dinner at New Seasons and then hit the long, dark interstate to Seattle. Nate flew into Sea-Tac last night and we're here chillaxing at the Murphy's place until we head to Bend on Wednesday. We had a lovely urban assault on Seattle's lovely bike lanes to Seward Park along Lake Washington. Wow, it may be dreary but Seattle sure is purdy!

One More Haul

4 to go, 4 to go!

4 more races until the end of the 2010 cycling season. I'm loading the car and driving to Portland with my pal Bergy for the USGPs and the National Championships in Bend. It feels a bit too soon, as I have only been home for 36 hours. The deliciously deep snow and all the nordic grooming that has already started is making it very hard to leave. But, at least the packing is easier than usual as I haven't unpacked from the last trip and I am really looking forward to the racing.

I took all these shots on the plane from Salt Lake on Tuesday. It's not often you get a clear view into Jackson Hole and Nate and I took full advantage of the view to check out all the skiing we want to do when bike racing is done.

No trip home would be complete without some big game sightings. This mom and baby were standing in the middle of the road yesterday when I was driving the pass. Maddy almost jumped through the windshield she was so excited.