Joyride Bicycles

We rode singletrack for almost two hours to get to the top of this mountain at Keystone Resort. Mike and I both rode 2011 S-Works Epic 29ers. That bike is super sweet! Climbs great and it was the perfect bike for descending the green trails.

I just got back from Keystone. More news about all the cool stuff later.

+ Bring your helmet, shoes and current pedals if use a clipless set-up.
+ Bring or wear your favorite bike shorts.
+ Note the measurements on your existing bike if you’re trying the same kind of bike (road, cx, mtb, etc.).

Having these things and info will help us set up the bike you’d like to try such that it matches they way you’d ride it if you took it home. Below are the text descriptions for the measurements.

• Bottom bracket to saddle top
• Bottom bracket to saddle nose
• Saddle nose to center of bars
• Front axle to bar tops

Coming down from the first climb

Saturday, I raced my third XC mountain bike race of the season (and ever), this time equipped with my new-to-me Surly Karate Monkey.

With how much rain we have been having, trails have been unrideable, and so I hadn’t even been on this bike in a couple weeks. Luckily, Ponca was dry, and after a beautiful night of camping, I lined up with the other Cat 3s, Juniors, and Masters. Since I was the only Cat 3 female, they seeded me in with the Masters 45+ men, a nice group to start with. After the Cat 3 Men’s Open and Masters 35+ rolled out, we were the next to take off.

A nice section of wide doubletrack/open grass through the playground preceded our first climb into the singletrack.

Lining up at the start

Once we started climbing, I discovered that the adjustments I’d tried to make on my front derailleur after a chain-dropping warm-up lap had not been successful — I had no granny gear for what would be several long climbs without the benefit of gravity-assisted rollers. Bummer. After losing position and admitting defeat to the mechanics, I settled into a groove with my middle chainring and cranked as hard as I could past a few who had already started walking. I ended up running/walking up more sections than I would have liked to, but hey, that’s cyclocross practice, right?

After those climbs, the long descents were really rewarding, and the big wheels let me fly down at speeds well beyond my comfort zone!

I came around to the finish line 34 minutes after starting, and all things considered, had a good race. It was a beautiful venue to race in, and a great little weekend trip!

Coming in the last turn to the finish