WORS Cup Short Track and Cross Country Races

It’s embarrassing to admit that my road season is over. Maybe it was the asthma and poor performance, maybe I just saw one crash too many and lost my nerve. Not sure. It ended very early. I know I barely raced this year compared to years past- 14 races total, but you can’t force motivation, it is either there or it’s not. Lots of roadies go through this and they come back hungrier than ever. I will too. At first even though I felt “done”, I had planned to do as many crits at ToAD and Prairie State as I could to support the local scene- (You should do this too! We all should! I hate the word “should”!)- but when I found myself counting them down (Six crits to go! Just Six crits!) I knew that it was time to pull the plug on the season.

I was not about to torture myself further by taking time off the bike. I already did that a bit before Northstar.  I also know from burnout experiences past that when it happens you’ve gotta change the game—not just put it down and pick it back up again. So on June 28 I was looking for something to do instead of moping around the house and beating myself up for bailing on the last couple ToAD crits, and I was looking for that game-changer. Kurt Breitenbucher invited folks to go riding mountain bikes at Kettle and I tagged along. It was me, Kurt, Lindsay, Trent, Badass Becky Mikrut, and Ellie Blick among a few others. I didn’t have a mountain bike and hadn’t been on one in many years, so I rented a Trek Lush from Backyard Bikes. It was a good bike- I named her Joline.

I didn’t know what I was doing on a mountain bike and still don’t, but I loved it from the start. I didn’t worry about anything except what was coming next on the trails, living, riding, responding moment to moment. I didn’t care whether I was fast or slow and still don’t, I was just taking what the trail gave me, using momentum, finding my line, sometimes clumsily jumping or saving a crash. I liked it so much the first time that on June 29 I rented Joline again and went riding with Kelly Clarke and Kelsey Phillips. I got poison ivy and concocted some soap for it in the lab that works ok… still tweaking the recipe.

On July 5, the following Saturday, I bought Ray- a Specialized Epic comp. I could write a blog post just about that, but suffice it to say that Johnny Sprockets really is the best bike shop in the entire universe. Ray is a rocket that fits me perfect. On July 6 I went to The Pretty Fast womens cycling group’s Dirt Days ride, at Kettle again. I rode up with Sarah Szefi, a fellow triathlete-gone-roadie-gone mountain biker? It was comforting riding with Szefi because she’s a steady wheel that I know. We’d glue up to each other’s wheels and then one of us would bobble, both of us would have to clip out, and we’d laugh about it. Great times.

This is Ray. He calls me "Baby".

 On July 11 and July 13 Szefi and I entered the WORS cup short track and cross country races at Cascade Mountain in Wisconsin. We went up there with Ronit Bezalel, Becky Mikrut, and John Cline.

Group photo of Sarah, Becky, Ronit, and me at the races, taken by Amy Dykema

Sarah and I were both completely new, but we both started as category 2 riders because of our road experience and fitness. We found mountain bike racers to be really friendly folks. All my stupid first-timer questions were answered and I felt at home.  There were people of all ages and all fitness levels there. The sport is similar to cross country skiing in that skill and finesse on the singletrack count for everything, so you can’t tell how a rider will perform by his or her age or apparent fitness. Getting schooled by more skilled riders was awesome.

Short track races happen on a relatively non-technical course with very little singletrack so that it is easy to pass. I thought of the short track race as a technical time trial on grass and trail, probably because I don't like cyclocross. But I'll admit, it is really very similar to cyclocross except for being fun. I did very well and got 2^nd place! Sarah got 3rd! It was our first podium in a long time, so we had John take a photo even though it was unofficial and we couldn't find the first place gal.

Note the impeccable roadie podium etiquette.

The cross country race was longer and more like a normal mountain bike trail ride, except that it was also a race. Cascade provided a challenging and beautiful venue as we wove our way up and down the ski hill. I started in kind of bad position thinking I’d be slower than I was, and ended up picking people off all race. I crashed pretty hard on the first lap but was totally unhurt because the ground was soft. On the second two laps I settled in and really worked the course, and it helped that Andy Sfekas and my hubby Eric were there watching and cheering. I ended up in 3^rd place overall. The Clif bar folks were awesome. I embarrassed myself by grazing on their free trials of the new Mojo bars before the cross country race, and afterward I won a box of Sierra Trail Mix bars. It’s a really good flavor.

First time I've ever hit the ground AND the podium.

Last weekend I went to Kettle again both Saturday and Sunday, the 19^th-20^th and rode over 50 miles. Skill-wise, the side-to-side motions (cornering and switchbacks) are coming along, but the forward-to-back skills like bunny hopping and pump tracking aren’t there yet. Both knees are bruised, I’ve got some pretty good scrapes, thorns from prickerbushes in personal places, and the poison ivy welts from last weekend are finally fading. I’m sore but I like the soreness. My arms, back, and core need to become stronger- you’ve gotta be more than a set of quads and lungs for this sport. Mentally I feel great after four very intense weeks of mountain biking. I’m getting better at cycling, developing better overall fitness, and having fun.