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May 22, 2021. Lynx Creek Rough Riders Hare Scramble.

My inaugural trip to this race, with Gayle and Bennett by my side we headed up around 7 AM for the nice, 90 minute drive to Prescott Valley. Staged behind Little Dealer, Little Prices in an area that looked like a landfill, we set up camp in the shuttle in the 30 MPH wind, got through registration and Tec inspection then laid down for a nap. The race did not start until 2:30 but registration ended at 10, so-NAP TIME! Friday afternoon I pulled off a surprise retirement party for my fiancé Gayle. 22 years teaching high school science deserved a party even though it was the night before a race! Got to bed about 11 and up at 5.

The race format was Hare Scramble, which means we race the same loop multiple times for a period of time(90 minutes was our designated time). The number of laps is determined by the time the leader goes through. If you’re too far off the pace, you will see the checkered flag come out, otherwise you get the white flag and press on for another lap. I got tangled up a little in the start and was almost last through the 2nd corner and then we hit the first bottleneck-steep rocky downhill and then straight back up. I got around a few people, passed one on the next straight and then started picking them off whenever there was a place to pass. Ordinarily you take it kind of easy the first lap, figure out where to be safe and where to take chances but I took chances anywhere I could. I got into about 8th place or so after lap one and picked off a few more to end up in 4th. I fell quite a bit-usually at about 2 MPH but never had a big delays. I rode harder than I ever have and it felt great!

April 19, 2021. Camp Wood ISDE Qualifier-2 day race.

My first trip to Camp Wood, North of Prescott. Absolutely beautiful area to visit! Although the staging area was 15 miles outside of town on rough dirt road with ZERO cell reception, it was a majestic place to camp and start from. Tall pines, rolling hills and cool temps. I think the high each day was about 60 and Sunday we saw a little rain. The 3 tests we did each day were about 13 miles total but the transfers(the non race paced route between tests) totaled another 18 miles on mostly fire roads.

Day one: first test was GNARLY! Rocks, rocks and more rocks! I found myself taking dirt naps quite often among the large, loose rocks, luckily no injuries. We started 30 seconds apart, so a little slip up caused a road block for the riders behind. I crashed so many times in the first 3 miles I was worn out before the check point. Several miles cruising slow and drinking water got me going again. Test 2 was a mixture of ROCKS, tight single track and hill climbs that was a little easier on me but I still struggled, crashed a few times and got frustrated. The 3rd test started out easy and free flowing, then was tight and rocky for a while, a few nasty hill sections and then the last few miles were fast and free flowing with some spectators cheering us on. I felt like a hero until I saw the results posted-7th in my class 😦

Day two: first test started on the day one 3rd loop but backwards so we got lulled into a false sense of ease! Overall, the three tests were easier and a lot more fun, through incredible but sad scenery. Evidence of recent wildfires showed the devastation fires cause. SO sad to loose hundreds of miles of forest-usually due to human fault. It makes me angry, really angry to see someone being irresponsible with fire. Anyway, 3 tests down, a few less falls and retained my seventh place standings-yuck!

  • Rocks!
  • More rocks!
  • AND more rocks!
  • My camp site!
  • On the start line!
  • Fire for warmth!

March 6, 2021.

I took the bus on it’s maiden journey to an AMRA race in San Manuel, AZ about 2 1/2 hours South of Phoenix. It was a warm day, around 80 when I started at 12:43 PM, 2 laps of 3 tests totaling about 55 miles through sand washes, rocky desert and a school-YES, a school! I made it to each check point with plenty of time to rest before the next start and was riding fast and full of energy but many crashes ended my hopes of a victory and I settled for 3rd in my class(C-50)

Last year this race about killed me. About 10 degrees hotter, a format with no time to rest between loops, not hydrating properly, crashing into cactus-which I still have mementos of to this day, little bits of cactus forever a part of me. The last few miles I was exhausted, so hot but I had the chills and was feeling nauseous. I finished and immediately chugged ice cold gator aid and laid down in my trailer. I felt awful. Luckily my good friend Greg and his wife were there and made me get dressed and out of my trailer so they could poor ice cold water over my clothes. Then came the vomiting, headache and then the shakes, indicating my core temp had come down. By now I was so cold I had to crawl into my sleeping bag with my dog Bennett for warmth. Talk about a drastic change! I learned a very important lesson that day-HYDRATE and keep an eye on your friends and anyone else near you during an event in high temperatures. Honestly, if Greg had not checked on me, I may have ended up with brain damage or worse.

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