Marathon National Champs, Bend OR

It really wasn't supposed to be like this but sometimes you just have to roll with the punches.  I had a plane ticket and was all ready to go to the 24 Solo World Champs in Canada and then...It was cancelled.  What?!?!?  That's right, it turns out they can just cancel races.  So instead of racing my bike for 24 hours I went to the marathon national race in Bend, OR.  It turned out pretty good.  Not my best race but not bad either.  I ended up 7th.  A much better lead into the 24 Solo National Champs this weekend.  So wish me luck and hopefully it's not as dusty as Bend. 

My first Enduro race, by Janea

A few months ago, I had never heard of an Enduro.  Someone suggested I try it.  "Lots of downhill," he said.  "You'll love it."  Sure, I thought, I can do a twenty-something mile downhill race.  How hard could it be?  Now I know:  really, really, really hard.  How fun could it be?  As fun as bike racing gets!  Last weekend I tried out the Kennebec Pass Enduro, the second event in the Big Mountain Enduro Series.  Thank goodness a local dude in a Durago bikeshop told me to go with Nomad instead of the Tallboy.  The two big climbs were untimed, leaving two downhill timed stages.  I was stuck in a no-man's land of physical exertion.  The race sections were shorter than sustained-pace cross country races but longer than five-minute, all-out sprint downhill races.  I had no choice but to just go for it on a "downhill" trail I had never seen. Thirty minutes each of phenomenal riding.  Thirty minutes each of sheer craziness and pain.  Anyone who says downhill is easy isn't trying hard enough.  I'm pretty sure that race might have been more difficult than most cross country races.  I sprinted up all of small climbs with a desperately low saddle, and held on with screaming triceps on the descents.  I patted my bike every couple of minutes and thanked her for not flatting.  Despite two really big crashes (thank you SixSixOne for keeping my knees and elbows intact and Rudy Project for protecting my head), I learned at the after-party of my victory.  Next up....perhaps The Whole Enchilada?  That sounds seriously intense and incredibly fun.

Podium at the MSC Telluride

Here's a couple of shots of the AO team at the Telluride Mountain States Cup race.  It was a super fun course with lots of single track.  YEA!!