Last weekend I had the pleasure of heading down to the Lake Tahoe/Truckee area to visit my lovely friends Yvette and Andrew. As per their usual M.O., they had talked me into some bike related tom-foolery and we had signed up for the Boggs 8-Hour race out at Boggs Demonstration State Forest on Cinco de Mayo. 

Started out the long weekend in Truckee with margaritas at Casa Baeza.  The next morning we headed out for the 4 hour drive out to the race site.  Along the way we were detoured through some dirt roads and some beautiful wine country.  We arrived to the race site to find that it was already very full - we found a place to throw out stuff down and stake out a spot.  We also threw out a tarp to save a spot at the pit zone and then we got everything prepared. 

Had a pretty good sleep until about 3:30AM when we were woken by an earthquake! Fortunately it was a small earthquake and we went back to sleep pretty quickly!

Was a beautiful day if not a little chilly when we departed. We started with 680 other participants in a massive group.   Was really expecting some very non-technical terrain and a lot of fire-road.  Though there was a 2 mile fire road climb in, and one on the backend (except the last .5 miles) the in between was some fun, swoopy single track with some great super-d like course!   There were some fun up and downs with a few technical rocks thrown in – but mostly ripping downhills with some switchbacks, one really steep downhill with switchbacks that were reminiscent of Ashland.  Each lap was around 8 miles and around 1100’ in elevation.   I rode my Diamondback Sortie Black 29r and Yvette decided to give it a go in single speed (crazy girl!).  

There were a number of us out on the course – a couple of teams with some of the gals from the Bay Team LUNA Chix team as well as the some significant others and friends.  We were sad to not have Andrew with us but he would be joining in a few hours.  We did our rounds, ate along the way (CLIF Shots, watermelon, and potato chips for the most part) and worked on keeping up our fluids and trying not to blow up.

As 8 hours approached and our laps wound down, hunger for actual food really started kicking in.  I finished lap 6 and decided I probably wouldn’t make it back in time for a 7^th.  To be honest – the vegetarian enchiladas were calling my name and so was the beer.   Ate some food and waited for Yvette to come in from lap 6 on her single speed.  As the cutoff time approached we saw Yvette coming in with minutes to spare.  Her 6 lap on the single speed were enough for a 1^st place win in the category of single speed!

She described Andrew’s arrival on the course as the white knight approaching on his single speed steed!  He had arrived and gone out onto the course and found her as she was starting to fade.  His presence gave her legs new strength and energy and she finished her last lap strong! 

Got some food for Yvette and a beer and a margarita and we enjoyed the rest of the evening listening to a tribute to MCA (allllll day long!),  watching the festivities, and relaxing.  We were particularly amused by the “kids race” which really was just adults on kids bikes being stopped along the course for Tequila and Tecate.  Yuck but they seemed to have a good time at it.

NW Cup #2/ Pro GRT #1 Race Report – By Ady Bee Lane

For the third year in a row Dry Hill in Port Angeles was the host for the first stop of the Pro GRT DH race series, which is one of the qualifiers for Nationals. This means that the big guns come out to play in our back yard! The list of top riders was impressive with names like Steve Smith, Aaron Gwin, Mick Hannah, and Greg Minnaar in the ranks for Pro Men and a whopping 19 Pro Women showing up, including local favorite (and winner) Jill Kintner, Miranda Miller, and Holly Feniak.  It was fun being star struck by all the talent wandering around.

For this round of the NW Cup the hosts introduced two new sections of trail- the Chunderdome on the pro line, which was steep, rooty, and nasty, with a monster step down thrown in there. Cats 2 and 3 were sent down the new machine built section Muffin Top, which tested the rider’s cardio endurance with an uphill climb (!) Although the section was a challenge with soft fresh dirt, once it gets run through a bit the track will be sweet, fast, and flowy.

Sturdy Bitches Katie Jackson and I came out to represent in Cat 2, with practice on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and racing on Sunday. Thursday was spent getting a feel for the new track, and Friday was spent picking lines. Pretty quickly Katie and I figured out where each other’s strengths were, with Katie killing it on Muffin Top with her “versatile” and relatively light Diamondback Scapegoat and me plowing down the steep switchbacks of Motoguzzi. If Katie caught me on a section it was her job to scream “pedal pedal pedal” as motivation. Usually my reply was to yell back “I’m not freaking pedaling anymore!”

Unfortunately I was suffering from a lingering sickness which left me pretty weak and unable to sufficiently refuel after each day’s practice. My race run reflected my empty gas tank and I coasted to a 7^th place spot. Katie was on fire and placed 1^st, with a 10 second lead. This makes it the 2^nd NW Cup to have a Sturdy Bitch on the podium! My goal for the next round is to get both of us up there on the podium. We had a great group of women in Cat 2, with 17 ladies racing. It was a stellar turn out for the women.

After the amateurs finished racing it was time to hike up and watch the pros in action. I was able to make it through the Pro Women before I had to crawl into the car and take a nap, missing out on a lot of the action including Katie’s trip up to the podium! D’oh!

Overall it was a fun weekend watching the world’s top riders and rubbing elbows with idols. Looking forward to NW Cup #3 in two weeks!

Budu Series  Race #6 / Budu Series Results – by Susan Clementson

Or we’ll call this – Who Says Short Girls Can’t Ride 29rs?!?

This is going to be short and sweet, but not to be outdone by our DH goddesses, Jenn and I finished up the Budu Race season with a race and overall series podiums, woohoo!!

We headed back out to Black Diamond, WA on the Henry’s Ridge side of the property this time and had a great time in the overcast weather – the trails were in good shape and the technical sections let us forge through the roots and the technical downs on our brand spanking new Diamondback Sortie Black 29rs.

Can’t say more than I am so pleased to be riding this bike!  It climbs like crazy, isn’t silly light and twitchy like lots of XC bikes but it will climb like crazy, takes the switchbacks, berms, and down (and uphill for that matter) roots like it’s on fire.  Really looking forward to more riding and racing on the 29r. 

In spite of our somewhat diminutive size – of 5’3” or so – neither Jenn or I had any problems adapting to our new bikes.  Jenn pulled in a 1^st place in sport class in her age group and I took a 3^rd in mine just moments behind her (darn those fast 40+ ladies!).    Those podium finishes allowed us enough points to also place in the overall series – Jenn with another 1^st and I with a 3^rd.

The Budu is a fun little series that gets you going and racing early in the season.  Always have a lot of fun at this one and now looking forward to the rest of the race season on our awesome 29rs!  Now…off to the Boggs 8 Hour in Demonstration Forest near Sacramento, CA.  We’ll see how that goes! 

Wow, 2^nd weekend in a row of
beautiful sunshine and the sweet technical riding we have here in the PNW.  Yesterday was the 5^th Budu Race and it was out at Black Diamond.  There are 2 areas of trails, one on the west side and the other on the east side. 

Awhile back, Real Life Church had purchased the property on the east side.  There was a lot of concern that the trails might be closed and access cut off.  Instead, the church embraced the mountain bike community and helped develop a free ride and jump park on the property.   For a little snapshot of that looks like, check it out here!

The race of course wasn’t through the gap jumps and the big drops but we did get a small taste of it during the first downhill section of the race.  The best part of the race was the short road climb followed by the bermy descent and the short steeps with all those dang roots!  For those without a ton of endurance on those long climbs, but a little bit of skill on the technical side,
 it was the best course ever! Not to say that
running through the twists and turns being chased and chasing the pack wasn’t difficult, but it sure was the most fun I have had all season.

Sturdy Bitch Racing had a good showing, with Katie, Susan, Ady, and Jenn riding and Marie taking pics and supporting.  We had one 1^st place, two 2^nd places and one 4^th place. 

Since racing is thirsty business, we thought the best thing to do would be to head out to the local pub that used to be the Swinging Arm Pub.  The good part is they serve our sponsors nectar of the gods, Lucille.  Of course we also like that they serve Chopper Red and Manny’s as well! Yummy!! 
The bad – they only take cash and checks! 
Fortunately my lovely teammate Jenn stepped in and covered me, whew!! 

Great job Bitches!!  Had a great time sharing the sunshine and rolling through those so sweet trails!!

A few years back, while we were training for the BC Bike Race we went up to Bellingham and rode three of the best areas around the Pacific Northwest! 

Anyhow, I digress into the politics and will move on…  Our group was led by Kathy and we had a band of 16 riders which include Kathy and Lisa, our birthday girls.  We headed off through Galbraith Mountain through trails that, while recently logged were really in pretty good shape.  Locals said they felt pretty good about how much communication they were getting from the logging companies and how well they were doing trying to save the trails while still doing their jobs.  Up the Ridge Trail we went and out through Rock and Roll.  We rode some new trails or those that had been fixed back up after the logging. Props to WHIMPS and to the locals doing trail maintenance. 

We exited Galbraith Mountain out to Lake Padden.  For those that are familiar with the Padden Pedal, we came up from the Lake Sammish entrance and  jumped into the trail mid-way up the single track climb.  Mount Padden isn’t quite as big or as technical but there are some really great switchbacks, smooth berms and some drops on the descent.  We headed town towards the lake and out towards Fairhaven on some very smooth double track being shared with moms with baby joggers, cruiser bikes and dog walkers enjoying the sun. 

We departed through a neighborhood and rode Fairhaven Parkway down for a little bit of asphalt down to hook up with the Interurban Trail.  We followed the Interurban Trail and crossed Chuckanut Drive to enter the trails at Chuckanut.  Rather than heading out to Cleator Road to take the road up, we climbed up the trails we usually descend.  We hit Hush Hush and climbed up to a newer trail called Raptor Ridge.  Hush Hush is very technical with a lot of roots and rocks.   Fortunately it was a beautiful sunny day so it wasn’t wet roots that could be our downfall, but our fitness and technical skills.  We climbed up through Hush Hush and got to Raptor Ridge.  Raptor turned out to be a little less technical but a really well built trail with great rock features through old grown forest.  We climbed up to the top of Raptor to find ourselves on a rock outcropping with views of the forest for as far as the eye can see. 

After some snacks, we mounted back up, headed back out the way we came in for some screaming fun down all the torturous single track we had climbed on the way out.  As we hit the asphalt on Fairhaven Highway we took a quick stop at the AM PM to refill some water bottles, grab a PayDay (yup – protein and sugar!) and on to Padden.  This time, rather than heading back up Padden, we stayed left around the lake and took a 10 minute detour up the road to the Lake Sammish parking lot.  Figured we better save our legs to enjoy a descent down SST.  Road climb back up to the blue rock at Galbraith, out to SST for a ripping good finish for the day.

We headed down to Whatcom Falls Park to load our bikes back up  and head for some food and rest.  The birthday girls headed out to the local brewery to get a birthday beer and some grub.  We had an amazing day in the sunshine and we are already planning the next trip!  Thanks to all who joined, really couldn’t have been a better 30 miles and 5,000'!   

Race Report by Katie Kackson: Katie’s first DH race

I successfully survived my first DH race last weekend at the NW Cup in Port Angeles.  I was so lucky to have the support of teammate Ady Bee Lane all weekend.  She showed me the ropes and helped me every step of the way.  I knew I was shadowing an awesome rider, and that proved true when Ady finished first in Cat 2 women.   I finished 5^th out of 14 in Cat2.  It was a fabulous showing of women and there were at least 5 of us racing DH for the first time in Cat 2.  It was super fun to chat with the girls as we waited at the top and I look forward to seeing each of them at future races and out on the trails.  Way to go ladies!!

I was a bit nervous about the fact that my bike was quite little in comparison to just about every other bike at the race.  Although size does seem to matter in a DH race, I found the Diamondback Scapegoat, aka The Goat (for a review click here)  to be incredibly fast and versatile.  I didn’t crash at all despite a few valiant efforts.  It took the “chunder,” steeps and corners with relative ease and, once I started taking the right lines, each run felt quite smooth.   My race run felt FANTASTIC and I ended the weekend with a giant grin on my face.  J

We really lucked out with some fabulous weather in Port Angeles for the first round of the NWCup.  The trails were in perfect condition and I was surrounded by the best possible crew a beginner DH rider could hope for.  Huge thanks go out to Ady Bee Lane, Gretchen Nelson, Team Big Tree (holler to our sponsor Big Tree Bikes!), and everyone else that helped me out last weekend.  Everyone was so very helpful in getting me out on my Diamondback Scapegoat for my first ever DH race.  It was an experience that I will never forget.

Here are a few pictures and my summary of the weekend at a Kindergarten reading level.

“Day 1 - Katie drives to Port Angeles for NWcup Race”


“Day 1 – Katie rides in PA Gondola.”

“Day 1 – Katie rides bikes with Ady.  Katie and Ady are happy.”

“Day 2 – Katie has fun with family in Port Angeles.”

“Day 2 – The view from our hotel room.”

“Day 2 – Katie rides bikes with Ady.  Katie and Ady are happy.”

 “Day 3 – Katie and Ady race bikes. Katie and Ady are happy.”

“Day 3 – Ady wins Cat 2!!!”

And here are the noted and most apparent differences I observed between a DH race and an XC race:

Submitted by:  Adrienne Bee Lane

This past weekend I threw on my Sturdy Bitch downhill jersey and headed over to Beacon Hill in
Spokane, WA for the Double Down Hoe Down which is the first race in the All Gravity Downhill series.
The DDHD gets its name from its unusual race format, where you race twice over the weekend on two
different courses. This means that you need to learn and practice two different race courses over two
days! And Beacon Hill doesn’t have a fancy lift or stinky moving van to shuttle you up to the top- you
have to earn your turns by pushing up to the top.

We lucked out with beautiful race weather, it was partially sunny and all the snow had melted leaving
nice tacky sandy soil and dry rocks and roots.

Saturday’s course was fast and flowy with lots of jumps, berms, and a few technical rock sections to
keep you on your toes. The course ends at the “Hollywood Line”, a crazy fast and windy jump line which
was great for spectators. Unfortunately during practice I took a rock-roll a bit too fast and went over the
handlebars, landing chin and chest first, and perhaps with my bike on top of me. Thank goodness for
chest protectors and full face helmets! Banged up, but with nothing broken, I got back up and rolled it
again, without crashing. Luckily my race run was clean, and I made it down to a second place spot on the
Cat 2 women’s podium.

Sunday’s course was very different from Saturday’s, with a number of very technical challenges to face
including a double drop, a big step up, and two gnarly rock waterfalls to work your way down. After
Saturday’s crash I decided to stay within my comfort zone, and skipped the step up, focusing instead on
the double drops and rock sections. My plan mostly paid off until I realized that I had spent too much
time working on the technical aspects and had forgotten to actually memorize the course, which gets
confusing where it meets up with Saturday’s course. I lost a few seconds on my race run getting lost
and not being able to find my line, but overall felt good, confident, and fast, which resulted in another
second place win.

Diamondback’s newest DH5 team member, Charlie Sponsel, pulled off two first place wins in the Pro
Men’s category on his prototype DB DH bike. I can’t wait until that bike is in production! Next time
I need to be prepared with some Georgetown beer, but unfortunately, I wasn’t on the ball this time
around, and had to settle for Rainier.

Overall it was a great weekend full of challenges, bikes, beer, with new and old friends. I couldn’t ask for a better way to kick off the 2012 race season! Looking forward to the first NW Cup race at Port Angeles in two weeks, especially with teammate Katie Jackson joining in on the gravity fun.