Awesome New Pants!

DH pants, that is, made by Loeka. Ordered them up from my pal Jackie at Freeride Foundation...keeping me styling and warm at Whistler :)

10 Questions

We were perusing Whistler MTB's website and came across interviews for their "park sponsored" athletes: Shandro, Gulevich, Moreland, Buchar. They asked them 10 questions about mountain biking for that "get to know a little bit about you" schtick.

I though it would be fun(ny) to have some of the people going on our trip to answer the questions, too.

Here's what I wrote:

Favorite mountain bike product from the early ninties or 80's? Since I didn't have a mtb then, I'm not sure, but Dan always tells me about something called 'elastomer' shocks...

Favorite Current Trend in Mountain biking. Destination vacations...I want to get me some Switzerland, baby!

Least favorite Trend in mountain biking ever. The kits of the 90s...fluorescent lycra. Ew!

You're flying down a trail when you come to section with three options to clear a stream that is about fifteen feet wide. You can either:
1) Go straight at it, launch off a root at the edge of the stream which will get you to a small island in the middle of the stream where you could hit a small lip and clear the second half of the stream
2) Carve left and hit a hip to the tranny on the far side
3) Go right and ride a 12' wide ladder bridge that has a lip half way that sends you over a 3 foot gap to downhill ladder bridge tranny. (bridge4ft above water)
All fast and flowy…but what do you choose and why?

Since I'd probably kill myself if I tried to pull off any of these, can I walk around it?? :)

How long have you been riding? XC...4 years. DH...3 years.

Favorite Nick Name you've been given? Stephie-bear.

Dream Car? A Suby that gets over 30 mpg.

Favorite Trail in Lower Whistler Bike Park? It was probably Angry Pirate. But I thought A Line was pretty classic.

Ideal place for a dream vacation with your significant other given unlimited budget? Taking a huge, long road trip around the Pac NW to ride...then off to Europe to ride some more, with a few private clinics by Peaty, the Athertons, Sabrina, etc. thrown into the mix. Eventually finding a quiet country hamlet close to killer trails, opening a coffee shop, and riding all the time.

G-Unit or Wu-Tang Clan?
Can't stand when the kids call me Ms. G...unit. So, I have to go with the Wu.

Megadeth or Linkin Park?
Linkin Park.

Modest Mouse or Johnny Cash?
Oh, is there any question here. The man in black.

Favorite off season training activity?
Running.

More traction or less rolling resistance?
Traction, for sure. I am forever sliding out in corners.

Honest opinion of Road Riding?
Awesome cross-training, but it doesn't speak to me like mtb does. Where's the soul?

Words of advice to the Groms?
Stop taking all my little Stephanie-sized jumps and making them huge!

Cat Bait

This past week has been a busy one...getting ready for Whistler (4 days to go), dealing with bikes, trying to bring the summer program to a close, figuring out how to exercise with a sore knee.

The knee-debacle happened last Sunday while we were riding San Juan. Somewhere after we finished Viejo Tie, my right knee just started hurting, especially on the down stroke of pedaling. Coasting downhill and even pedaling on the flat didn't/doesn't hurt much. But to really mash on the pedals while going uphill causes me some pain. So, have I done what any logical person would and taken it easy this past week? Nah.

I continued with my 3 Turbulence Training sessions and went for a mtb ride with Dan and Will on Saturday at LPQ. 16 miles...not bad. Knee? A little sore.

Then, it was decision time about Sunday...to ride or not to ride? We had to take a trip up to The Path at some point during the weekend to deal with my Socom's f@#$ed up headset. Nothing quite like getting ready for the biggest mtb trip in the past 3 years and finding out the fork won't even come out of the headset. Countless tools, 2 shops, and 1 hour of hitting with a hammer later...I have a brand new FSA headset. Woohoo! (I really wanted the CK but it sits up too high).

Anyhow, we decided since we'd be up in the OC direction, to do a ride with the HTFU crew and spend all day behind the Orange Curtain. First time riding the infamous OC trails (except for downhilling at Laguna).

Would the knee hold up?

Dan and I met the HTFU crew (Allison, Justin, Luke, Jefe, and Zippy Eric) at the Aliso Canyon parking lot around 9:15...we ran late. I was in such a rush and was trying to deal with the pay parking machine that I forgot my Body Glide. Ouch.

Note of importance: the pay parking machine does not take anything expect $1 bills and quarters. The cost to park is $3. I put in a $5 bill and was like, "dude...keep my change..." but it would just spit the bill back at me. How rude. A very nice biker and Justin lent us the $$ we needed.

Dan-o heads out

Got going around 9:30. Allison had sent me the course profile on Geoladders, and it looked to have 3 pretty mean climbs in it.

Started out with a nice, flat-ish ride for about 2.5 miles. Then, up Burning Calves...I mean Dripping Cave. Short but very steep climb which I made but had to stop to let others go by. My strategy for the day was to climb everything in as small a gear as possible (which is unlike me, because usually I'm trying to see how hard of a gear I can reasonable pull off). Granny gear was my companion du jour.

Right before Mathis, Jefe informed us that his rear brake was not working. We bade him farewell and told him we'd see him in the p.m. for some BBQ action.

So, then, Mathis. Wow. I actually rode the whole thing (except for a short 20' section where I walked). The whole time, I watched the group pull further and further away, thinking "I am sooo going to be Cat Bait." Just look...a lone straggler. Sturdy. Meaty. I could hear the mountain lion thinking...

HTFU crew heads up Mathis

Of course, my imagination was running wild, but it's hard not to think these things sometimes.

Toward the top of Mathis, Justin came down a bit for some "bonus goater". We regrouped and then headed out toward Stairstep. Passed Winston and his posse on the way out there. So, Stairstep. Last time I rode it was 3 years ago on my DH bike. With pads. And a full face.

Here I stood...hardtail Niner. Lycra. Half shell.

My little green bike

I walked 2 or 3 of the gnarlier sections toward the top and picked my way down the rest. Whew! No crashes.

Allison & Eric choose the safer way down

Over to LCPW. Up Willow. Down Rattlesnake (that was exciting!). I was still caboosing it. Down Mach 1. I was on the brakes so bad!

Luke is ready to ride...LCWP

Time to climb. I walked the steep section at the bottom. I actually started to ride it and got off my line, into the scrabble on the left. Damn! So I walked. You know, my knee actually still felt decent, but I had to be wary of how much pressure to put on the pedal. I'd say the left leg was doing about 70% of the work.

How many riders does it take to figure out the map?! :)

Before I knew it, we were descending Willow and hiking back up Stairstep. Bravo to the boys for riding a lot of it, or at least trying.

Dan-o puts in a good effort up Stairstep

We descended Lynx and then had a time trial back to the parking lot. Justin 'won' right at the end!

Over to The Path for a new headset and seat post collar for the Socom (Hope in red). Then, it was time to go to Jefe's for BBQ except I forgot to ask him directions to his house. Oops. Long story short...after getting his voicemail over and over (due to 2 different calling plans), we finally made it over.

We got the grand tour of his awesome home and then drank beers, watched some DH vid, and ate some delicious dinner. Jefe fully stocked us up with American Crew product, too :) Thank you!!

Smoked Porter...yum!

Getting some BBQ action

Luke feeling the love

Not quite your size, Justin!

All in all, a busy weekend...I'm ready for some Whistler R & R.

Un Casco Nuevo (The New Helmet)

Quick as lightning, Dan's new helmet from sponsor Azonic/O'Neal arrived today. He needed a new helmet before Whistler to replace his blue/orange TLD D2 lid that took a good beating after last Saturday's crash.

Check it out...O'Neal 9 Series moto helmet, in "evil black" (no, that's not really the name, but that
what it reminds me of)!

Facebook...

The answer to every theory about a black hole...simple...there's a computer screen with Facebook on it at the center.

Nobel prize, please?!

Finished...finally!

Well, guys, the Lochsa DVD editing is done!! Can I get a "woo-hoo"?? Can I get an "Amen"??

It's taken me about 6 weeks and probably well over 100 hours of editing time to get it all done, but you know what? It was a great experience. I learned so much from my mentor, Joe, about the whole process. He was so patient when I texted, called, and/or emailed him multiple times in a row to ask the most mundane/ridiculous questions.

So, the next step is going to be to set up the file and get it ready to record. Sweet!

I was also able to make a shorter movie from the 2006 footage (back when we only had 2 boats) that will come after the 2008 footage on the DVD. It's all pretty good :)

Even though editing can be a pain, there is something about it that's engrossing...and slightly addicting. I'm already thinking of my next project: Whistler, 2008!

Lochsa DVD Teaser...

Well, the end of the editing process is nearing (I think...lol!)

For those of you who don't know, I am "producing" the DVD from the 2006/2008 Lochsa whitewater trips! Joe has been patiently mentoring me along the way, and I think it'll be done within a few weeks (once we get back from Disneyland...I mean Whistler).

Here is a little snippet of what's in store...

Went for a hike...and a ride down...

I left Dan at home this morning to rest, ice, and let the Time Warner cable guy in...yes, we have Internet again!

Anyway, expect the blog to be updated a lot more now, especially since I have the time to do it.

I drove up to Poway to meet up with Joy and Darren...the plan was to hike/ride up Iron Mountain and then ride back down again. A long push with a nice reward at the end. We got up there around 9 and it was pretty humid out...lots of hikers and Joy forgot her bear bell. But, we were super polite and cool with everyone...honestly rode down pretty slowly as we were trying to practice our technical cornering and all.
Iron Mountain is a 3.5 mile hike up to the top. Lots of switchbacks, waterbars, and rocks. I opted for just knee pads, no uppers or elbows, and my full face. The Socom was my bike of choice and it was perfect. Able to pedal the flats pretty well and smooth on the descents.








Today couldn't have been more opposite to yesterday...I felt super comfortable on the bike, I wasn't paying so much attention to my flat pedals, and I rode really well. Last night, I had Dan slam the seat all the way down, which helped me tremendously. I guess I never realized that I had been riding with the saddle up a bit, which made it harder to maneuver the bike underneath me. Hmmm...

In any case, it was, as you can imagine, a long push up. I took my jersey off within the first half mile...it was sticking to me too badly. We passed a lot of hikers, most of whom were cheering us/encouraging us on for being so "hard core" and riding up.





I didn't have to take any breaks and felt good on the hike up. Took some pictures along the way and stopped at the top to get changed into my knees/helmet/gloves. There was a nice breeze up there (2600 feet or so...we started at about 1600 for a vertical gain of 1000', give or take).







You know, for me, hiking up a trail makes everything look so much worse. Rocks look bigger. Rollers look higher. Steep parts look steeper. Today was no exception. I had myself pretty much convinced that not taking upper body protection had been pretty unwise. But on the way back down, everything was fine. I wasn't worried at all.













We took it slow, sessioning some of the corners, trying to perfect our lines. Mostly, we just had a blast.

























































Good day with good friends, some Rubios for lunch, and then home sweet home to find the Web, waiting......

Thud...

One more day until we have the Interwebz! Woot!

Things were a little rough here today. Woke up after "sleeping" in until 7 and then got ready to go out and ride the dual slalom track in PowPow. Waited for Will and waited some more. Turns out he was already almost there. We got packed up and out the door. One piece of GREAT news...our chain-smoking, idiot, d-bag downstairs neighbors got evicted about a week or two ago (I thought it had been kind of quiet and my air wasn't as polluted lately! Turns out they put about 12 holes in the walls, 3 broken doors, shattered windows, etc. Lovely...they are GONE!!)

Anyhow, we got up to PowPow (Will couldn't find the spot) and all got suited up. I would be trying out flats for pretty much the first time (save a poor attempt with Vans sneakers about 3 years ago). I scored a nice new pair of 5-10s (sticky SOBs, they are!) and was eager to try them out (for Whistler's sake).













New pedals...nice..........

Dan gets a call from Darren...we hadn't even gone up to the track yet when he tells us it was bulldozed 3 months ago. Wha-what??! Let's just go to Canadia where we can build whatever the F#$% we want! (rant off...)

So, we went over to our other ride spot to do some shuttle runs.

Ya know how sometimes you get that gut feeling? The feeling that something might go wrong. Well, I had that today and ignored it. The day started off with confusion, then the slalom track disappearing, Joy had to go back for her body armor.......shoulda just gone home.

We (Will, Dan, and I) pushed up and took a run down. Stopped to watch Will hit a couple jumps and then I shoved off.

Flat pedals = weird.

I got going and came into a berm with a huge rut on the left side...I high-sided and went over the berm to try to avoid getting sucked in. Wheels slid out and I rolled into a bush. Doh! Nothing hurt on the bike or me...an easy tuck and roll crash. I thought that was it...the bad gut feeling. So, I went on down the hill.

Will hit a jump and landed all squirrely. Ditto for Dan. Problems with the shifting and he stopped short of the take-off and rode away. We thought he went back down to the car so Joy & I followed. We messed around on some little drops and rollers for a while, figuring the guys were sessioning further up the hill.

Well, I caught sight of what looked like Dan walking down without a helmet on and his jersey off and thought, "Oh crap, did he crash?" But they got down to the cars and we were still playing around. Then Will called me over.

Gut feeling confirmed.

Dan ate it on a jump, cased the landing with his front wheel and had a pretty epic crash, according to Will. Landed partly on his head, helmet missing a lot of paint where he impacted...down to the white underneath. Damn.















Luckily, thankfully, he is "fine"...nothing broken, lots of bruises, and possibly a very mild concussion.

We joke that the riding spot has to be some old Indian burial ground or Pet Semetary or something else because so many people have gotten hurt there.

Anyway, went home to chill for the rest of the day. Ride for me tomorrow with Joy...Dan resting for the day.


By the way, I'm hoping Justin's going to still give me a HTFU bracelet :)

Oy...

A month since my last blog entry. *cringe*

Our "free" wireless access disappeared a couple weeks ago. :( Now it's time to get on the network in a legit fashion...this Sunday.

Work's been keeping me busy (summer program) and been neck deep in Final Cut Pro so I can get the Lochsa 06/08 DVD finished (...it's almost done!)

In any case, not a lot of time to say much right now, but here's a little pic for ya...

Photo credit: Allison (Super)Mann

Red Dress Run, 2008

What do you get when you mix lots of beer, lots of runners, and lots of red dresses?

Why, the 21st Annual San Diego Hash House Harrier's Red Dress Run!!! (wow, that was a mouthful).

Okay, what is a House House Harrier, to all you mortals out there?? First, it has nothing to do with that kind of hash...sheesh!!

The Hash House is a running club that started in Asia many years ago by some British ex-pats. Eventually, it made it's way all across the globe. The club has all sorts of funny drinking songs and lots of traditions. The "hares" are the run leaders who mark the trail, usually with puffs of flour. It's up to the pack to follow and not be led down the wrong path.

Anyway, the SDH3 hosts the very famous Red Dress Run in San Diego every year. I went for the 2nd year in a row and convinced Rachel to come out too...so, so fun. Beer checks, high fives from random tourists, running through Gaslamp and Little Italy, CRASHING the St. Augustine graduation!! Woohoo! Debauchery at it's finest. In any case, here's a little sampling of the pics:

I may be crazy...

...but I am going to sell the Niner.

I know. I know.

I have been doing some soul-searching and thinking about what I want from my biking life...XC racing has been "fun" (insert sarcasm here...) but it's not what I want to do. I've been down the "racing" road before (2005) and burned myself out.

Yeah, I'll probably still do the occasional race here or there, but I'm not committed to doing the full schedule. Eventually, I want to end my 4+ year state of perpetual rentership and get a house. Having a little coinage in the bank won't hurt :)

More later, esp. some Red Dress Run pictures :)

Sweet Lochsa Video

...from YouTube...



Excellent footage! We were there when the clips at the end were taken. At minute 4:45 you can see Dan with the shamrock on his back at the left of the screen. I have photos of the yellow Creature Craft posted below (plus the guy that nearly did the backflip on the blue cataraft).

Hmmm...what else is new?

School is only about 1.5 weeks from it's end! Woohoo! Who said the kids are the only excited ones?!

Got a job with the Upward Bound program at SDSU for this summer. 6 weeks, 4 hours a day. Not too bad...still gives me time to go riding, do yoga, relax, etc.

Haven't ridden in 2 weeks BUT I have hashed twice (SDH3 Red Dress Run and Humpin' Hash last Sunday. If you don't know...hashing started in Pacific Asia. It is a running club that has all sorts of quirky rules and drinking songs...usually a great stress reliever. Hoping (?) to get named soon!!

Anywho, feeling under the weather today. Going to go relax on the couch!

Lochsa, Day 3...Does it have to end?!

On Day #3, we awoke to nearly sunny skies! By now, the routine was pretty well ingrained...breakfast, drive to the put-in, wait around, then go!! My crew lost a paddler...Lisa decided she'd stay on dry land and be the videographer for the day. It worked out well, since we didn't have many action shots yet.

We put in at Fish Creek and got ready to run the lower 10 miles (yep, with Lochsa Falls). Everyone was tired and pretty sore from our double-dump and swim. Vitamin I for everyone!

Hanging around at Fish Creek


Cata-rafts floating the upper river


Our crew switched to another boat...would we flip in the Lochsa Falls again? Different guide (Doug), different boat...hmmm...

Yep, we're in that blue boat coming through Bloody Mary (I think?)


Our other two boats


Finishing up the rapid


Letting us catch up


The waves were big (again) and the highlight for me was a rapid called House Wave...you drop into the rapid and this enormous standing wave rises up to meet you!

Looking back up-river at House Wave


After that, it was not long before we had to set up for the Falls. We set up perfectly and dropped in, paddling hard. The front end of the boat got buried (we had two guys, one 190 lbs and the other 215 lbs up front). The boat stalled and started to flip over just like the day before. I resolved that I was not going to fall out as I watched Dan, Mat, and Joe all tumble into the water. Doug, our guide, managed to hold on (thank goodness, or else I would have had to try pulling them all in!)

I held on, amazingly, as the boat literally went up on it's side for a few seconds. I felt the balance tip and the boat went back down and stayed upright, with me still in it!

We fished the swimmers out pretty quickly and were on our way to the last rapids. The weather was glorious (70 and sunny) and we all enjoyed spectating again.

The road is about 10 feet to our left


Some of the other boats (from different outfitters such as ROW and Three Rivers) on the Falls:

Diggin' in






This boat sneaks around to the far left


The size of the kayaker gives you an idea of the scale


I'll give you one guess what happened to that guy


Creature craft designed to not flip over


Cata-raft getting tossed


They took on a lot of water!


Our last take-out of the trip


The trip was all-in-all, one to remember for a long, long time to come. If you like adrenaline and lots of excitement, rafting could be your next great vacation. Check out the Kern for close-to-SoCal stuff!

Our crew...would be nice to see one of these trips with a bunch of STR members